VOL 30 NO 24 | 2011

VOL 30 NO 24 JUNE 11 – JUNE 17, 2011 FREE 29 YEARS YOUR VOICE

PRSRT STDU.S. Postage PaidPermit No. 746Seattle, WA

■ 412 Maynard Ave. S., Seattle, WA 98104 • t. 206.223.5559 • f. 206.223.0626 • [email protected] • [email protected] • www.nwasianweekly.com

THE INSIDE STORYPUB’S BLOGBill Gates: the man behind the brand » P. 10

A-POP!All things Asian in popular culture » P. 9

NAMES IN THE NEWSWho’s doing what in the Asian community? » P. 3

FOODEdmonds man an expert on instant noodles » P. 7

WORLD NEWSBan Ki-moon to vie for second term as UN SG » P. 8

By Joe McDonaldTHE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BEIJING (AP) — Li Na’s landmark French Open victory sparked celebrations and recog-nition throughout Asia on Sunday, while Chi-na’s state media told its athletes to learn from

her as they prepare for the London Olympics. “She is now the pride of Asia,” said re-

tired Thai player Paradorn Srichaphan. Li’s victory over defending champion

Francesca Schiavone last Saturday came at

{see LI NA cont’d on page 13}

Asia and China savor Li Na’s French Open win

Li Na

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By Jean WongNORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY

The post for U.S. Ambassador to India has just opened up after the sudden res-ignation of former Ambassador Timothy Roemer, who was appointed by President Obama in 2009. Although Roemer cited “personal, professional, and family con-siderations” as reasons for his resigna-tion, only hours after his announcement, he expressed his disappointment in India’s elimination of American aircraft manu-facturers Boeing and Lockheed from the bidding for a $10 billion contract for new-generation combat jets.

The Washington State India Trade Rela-tions Action Committee (WASITRAC) be-lieves that Congressman Jim McDermott is the best man to replace Roemer. WA-SITRAC is calling all Asian and Indian Americans, as well as others who have an interest in India, to support a public peti-tion to the president to consider McDer-mott for the position of U.S. Ambassador to India. There are currently 43 signatures and counting.

McDermott was born in Chicago and was the first member of his family to attend college. After completing his medical res-

idency and military service in the Navy, he was elected to the State Legislature from the 43rd Legislative District of Washing-ton state. In 1974, McDermott successfully ran for the state senate and was re-elected three times.

In 1987, after 15 years of legislative ser-vice, McDermott decided to leave politics. He planned to continue in public service as a Foreign Service medical officer based in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of

{see MCDERMOTT cont’d on page 11}

McDermott a good pick for India ambassador?

Jim McDermott

By Jason CruzNORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY

Spring is the start of another season of bats, balls, and scoring runs. For some, it’s not baseball that’s on their

{see CRICKET cont’d on page 12}

Asia’s sport gains new fans in the U.S.

Samarth Shah, from Microsoft Cricket Club, batting during a weekday evening practice session at Marymoor Park

By Tiffany RanNORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY

Journalist Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan stood in front of the wok clutching her Blackberry, admittedly scared that

if she diverted from the recipe, she’d make a mistake. This is an unchar-acteristic sign of insecurity not often seen by those who know her.

She was born into a traditional Chinese family — from a long line

of first-born sons that ended with her — and born in the year of the Tiger, bestowed with fierce and headstrong qualities that are considered unlucky

{see LIFE cont’d on page 15}

A tiger enters the kitchenCheryl Lu-Lien Tan shows why she isn’t the typical cookbook author

Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan and her Aunt Khar Moi make pineapple tarts just before the Chinese New Year.

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2 JUNE 11 – JUNE 17, 2011 asianweeklynorthwest

29 YEARS YOUR VOICE JUNE 11 – JUNE 17, 2011 3

June 2: Julie Pham, Hasegawa Dentistry, high school students, and others honored at Rainier lunch

Scholarship winners from Cleveland, Frank-lin, Garfield, Rainier Beach, and Southlake High Schools and others were honored at the Rainier Cham-ber President’s Lunch at New Holly Gathering Hall.

Julie Pham received the John Merrill Memorial Service Award. Brian Fairchild received the John L. O’Brien Lifetime Achievement Award. The Rainier Valley Food Bank received the Community Service Award. The Hasegawa Family and Esthetic Den-tistry received the Business of the Year Award.

Scholarship winners included Charissa Shoe-craft, Lauri Tran, Amari Blanton, Edsel Blanche, Susi Burdick, Mel Ellis, Alex Tong, and De’Auz’janae Pickett.

Keynote was Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn.

May 19: LIHI board elects Pearl Leung and Joe Ingram

The Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI)’s board of directors welcomed Pearl Leung and Joe Ingram as new members. Leung is the community relations manager at Vulcan Inc. Ingram is the exec-utive director of Vets Edge, a nonprofit agency pro-viding advocacy and outreach to homeless veterans.

LIHI owns and manages more than 1,800 afford-able housing units for low-income individuals and families throughout the Puget Sound region.

May 20: OneAmerica turns 10, celebrates with flash mob

OneAmerica celebrated its 10-year anniversary with a dinner and celebration at the Westin Hotel in Seattle. The event featured speakers and dances,

■ NAMES IN THE NEWS

which included a surprise 80-person flash mob with Salsa, African, and Bol-lywood dancing.

About 650 people attended and $175,000 was raised.

OneAmerica was formed directly after 9/11 in response to hate crimes and discrimination targeting Arabs, Muslims, and South Asians. It has ex-panded to organize and advocate for many diverse communities of color.

May 21: ICHS holds 2011 Bloom Gala, raises $200,000

International Community Health Services (ICHS) held its annual Bloom Gala, which brought together more than 400

ICHS supporters to raise more than $200,000 for patient care. The event was held at the Westin Hotel in Seattle.

ICHS awarded is Bamboo Award for Health to The Puget Sound Affliliate of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure and Dr. David McLanahan.

Hasegawa Dentistry and Julie Pham, from left: Pam Stokes, Kumi Hasagawa, Pham, Fred Hasagawa, and Paul Hasagawa.

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From left: Mayor McGinn, Charissa Shoecraft, Lauri Tran, Amari Blanton, Edsel Blanche, Susi Burdick, and Mel Ellis. (Winners not present: Alex Tong, De’Auz’janae Pickett.)

Vulcan Community Relations Manager Pearl Leung (left) with Low Income Housing Institute Executive Director Sharon Lee

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OneAmerica Executive Director Pramila Jayapal

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Supporters at the Bloom Gala listen as ICHS Executive Director Teresita Batayola speaks.

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Accepting the Bamboo Award on behalf of Susan G. Komen for the Cure is Executive Director Cheryl Shaw


■ COMMUNITY NEWS

The only weekly English-language newspaper serving Washington’s Asian community.

The NW Asian Weekly has one simple goal: ”To empower the Asian community.”

The Editorial Board reserves the right to reject any advertisement, letter or article. Subscriptions cost $30 for 52 weeks of the NW Asian Weekly and

$25 for 52 weeks of the Seattle Chinese Post. The NW Asian Weekly owns the copyright for all its content. All rights reserved. No part of this paper

may be reprinted without permission.

AssuntA ngPublisher

[email protected]

stAcy nguyenEditor

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HAn BuiLayout Editor/Graphic Designer

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Account Executives

ReBeccA [email protected]

Kelly [email protected]

JoHn [email protected]

412 Maynard Ave. S., Seattle, WA 98104 • t. [email protected] • [email protected] • www.nwasianweekly.com

The Washington state required certifica-tion for food workers can now be obtained online. Individuals can take the course and test at their convenience. Individuals will be able to print their card right after they have completed the class online and passed the test, The cost of the class and test is $10, payable by credit or debit card. The class and test take approximately one hour

to complete. Online training is available in English,

Spanish, Korean, Russian, Mandarin, Can-tonese, Vietnamese, Cambodian, and by closed caption.

To take the class and test, visit www.foodworkercard.wa.gov.

The Migration Information Source (MPI)’s journal has published “Spotlight Asian Immigrants in the United States.” In the Spotlight, MPI’s Jeanne Batalova examines the size, distribution, demographic, and socioeconomic characteris-tics of immigrants from Eastern Asia, South Central Asia, South Eastern Asia, and Western Asia. From the most re-cent government data available, it was found that:

— Immigrants from Asia number more than 10.6 million, accounting for 27.7 percent of all foreign-born currently residing in the United States. The largest groups of Asian immigrants are from the Philippines, India, China (including Hong Kong), Vietnam, and Korea.

— While California, New York, and Texas together are home to nearly half of all Asian immigrants in the United States, close to half or more than half of the immigrant populations in Hawaii (78.2 percent), Alaska (51.6 percent), West Virginia (51.6 percent), Michigan (45.5), and Virginia (41.4) are from Asia.

— Immigrants from Asia are more likely than the overall foreign-born population to be proficient in English and be naturalized U.S. citizens. They are more likely than both the foreign-born and the native-born to have a bachelor’s degree.

— Asian immigrants account for about 58 percent of

immigrant physicians and surgeons and for roughly 60 percent of immigrant registered nurses practicing in the United States.

— South Eastern Asians make up the largest proportion of the Asian-born population, followed by those from Eastern, South Central, and Western Asia.

MPI is a nonpartisan think tank in Washington, D.C. The organization studies immigration issues, trends, and policies in the United States and around the world.

For more information or to view the spotlight, visit www.migrationpolicy.org.

How do Asian-born immigrants compare to other U.S. residents?

Wash. state Food Worker Card now available online

Japanese high school girls (ages 15–16) will be in the Seattle area for three weeks this summer, from July 21 through Aug. 10. Host families are needed to share Ameri-can culture with them. No experience is needed. The only needs are a bed, meals,

and helping the student get to classes each day.

For more information, contact Kelly Riffle at 206-423-4819 or e-mail [email protected].

Host families needed for Japanese students

Latino and bilingual foster parents are urgently needed for temporary and long-term care. International Foster Care of Catholic Community Services (IFCCCS) is currently seeking loving homes for un-accompanied refugee minors. Training and reimbursement will be provided. Individu-als should meet the following criteria:

— Live within the Tacoma area.— Have a valid driver’s license and current car insurance.

— Have sufficient proof of income to sup-port household and dependents.— Be able and willing to take initial and ongoing foster care parenting courses.— Have social security and proper docu-mentation for residency.— Pass a background check.— Have the ability to drive foster children to appointments/school.

For more information, call Rosalinda Ramos at 253-502-2639.

Latino homes in Tacoma area needed for foster care


■ COMMUNITY CALENDARTHU 6/9

WHAT: Panel discussion explores strategies for working with community-based mediaWHERE: North Bellevue Community Center, 4063 148th Ave. N.E., BellevueWHEN: 1–3:30 p.m.RSVP: [email protected]: www.bellevuewa.gov

FRI 6/10

WHAT: “International District” film screening, digital stories produced by residents and other community members of the ID.WHERE: ID/Chinatown Community Center, 719 8th Ave. S., SeattleWHEN: 6–8 p.m.COST: FreeINFO: Linh Vuong, [email protected]

WHAT: LIVE! 4th Annual Women’s Empowerment & Prosperity Summit: Moving Confident Women Forward in Business, Leadership, and LifeWHERE: Renaissance Seattle Hotel, 515 Madison St., SeattleCOST: $99–$500REGISTER: www.womensempowermentsummit.comINFO: 206-349-4297

WHAT: “Discover Shiseido” tour, sharing the best of Japanese skincare scienceWHERE: Westlake Park, 4th Ave., Seattle

WHEN: 10 a.m.–6 p.m.INFO: [email protected], www.facebook.com/shiseido

FRI 6/10 & SAT 6/11

WHAT: “Beijing Taxi” director Miao Wang Q&A and film screeningWHERE: Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Ave.,SeattleWHEN: 8/9 p.m.COST: $6–$9INFO: www.nwfilmforum.org

FRI 6/10 THRU 6/19

WHAT: Beyond the Threshold, 6th Annual Seattle International Dance Festival WHERE: On the streets of South Lake Union neighborhood and on the Seattle StreetcarCOST: $15–$45INFO: phffft.org/sidf.html

SAT 6/11

WHAT: Community meeting with Councilmember Rasmussen to address Residential Parking Zone issuesWHERE: Rainier Beach Public Library, 9125 Rainier Ave. S.,SeattleWHEN: 3:30 p.m.INFO: Justina Guyott, [email protected]

WHAT: Interim CDA’s annual dinner & auction, “Refresh 2011”WHERE: Grand Hyatt Hotel, 721 Pine St., Seattle

WHEN: 5:30 p.m.COST: $100RSVP: by 6/1 to [email protected], 206-624-1802 extension 15INFO: www.interimicda.org

WHAT: Community Alliance for Global Justice presents the 5th Annual “Strengthening Local Economies Everywhere!” dinnerWHERE: St. Demetrios Church, 2100 Boyer Ave. E., SeattleWHEN: 5 p.m.TICKETS: $40–$75, www.brownpapertickets.com/event/171343INFO: 206-405-4600, [email protected]

SUN 6/12

WHAT: Learn about Refugees from Burma, facilitated by Mona HanWHERE: Kent Library, 212 2nd Ave N., KentWHEN: 2–3 p.m.INFO: Erika Berg, [email protected], www.refugeechildren.net

THU 6/16

WHAT: Launch party for Ana Louie’s Holiday 2011 line and preview of Spring 2012 line. WHERE: Sodo district, 2916 Utah Ave. S., SeattleWHEN: 6–8 p.m.INFO: www.analouieapparel.com

WHAT: Celebrate the International Children’s ParkWHERE: International Children’s Park, 700 S. Lane St.,

SeattleWHEN: 12 p.m.–5 p.m.INFO: www.friendsoficp.org

SAT 6/18

WHAT: Learn about Refugees

from Iraq, facilitated by Baidaa WeliWHERE: Renton Library, 100 Mill Ave S., RentonWHEN: 11 a.m.–12 p.m.INFO: Erika Berg, [email protected], www.refugeechildren.net

WHAT: Second annual Chinatown-International District JAMFEST, featuring music and bandsWHERE: Wing Luke Asian Museum, 719 S. King St., SeattleWHEN: 6:30–9:30 p.m.COST: $8–$25INFO: 206-623-5124 extension 119, www.wingluke.org

WHAT: Homeownership Preservation WorkshopWHERE: Korean Antioch Church, 4308 Jonas Ave. N.E., RentonWHEN: 9:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m.INFO: [email protected]

WHAT: 21st Annual ACRS Walk for RiceWHERE: Seward Park, 5902 Lake Washington Blvd. S., SeattleWHEN: 8 a.m.INFO: www.walkforrice.org.kintera.org

THRU 6/19

WHAT: Second annual

Chinatown-International District JAMFEST, featuring music and bandsWHERE: Wing Luke Asian Museum, 719 S. King St., SeattleWHEN: 6:30–9:30 p.m.COST: $8–$25INFO: 206-623-5124 extension 119, www.wingluke.org

TUE 6/21

WHAT: People of Color Meet and Greet with local candidatesWHERE: Amber, 2214 1st Ave., SeattleWHEN: 5–7 p.m.INFO: [email protected]

FRI 6/24 & SAT 6/25

WHAT: Two-day Japan benefit concert featuring YouTube music stars Megan Nicole, Josh Golden, Clara Chung, Jennifer Chung, Arden Cho, New Heights, Gowe, and Erin KimWHERE: Washington State Community Church of Seattle, 3727 240th St. S.E., BothellWHEN: 7–10 p.m.COST: $20INFO: www.united4jp.org

MON 6/27 THRU 7/1

WHAT: Case Studies in Teaching about China and Japan, a summer institute for K-8 educatorsWHERE: University of Washington, SeattleCOST: $150INFO: jsis.washington.edu/earc


■ NATIONAL NEWS

By Noah HaglundTHE DAILY HERALD

EVERETT, Wash. (AP) — Some food crit-ics go for haute cuisine.

Hans Lienesch goes for the instant kind — and a very particular one at that.

The unemployed Edmonds transplant has carved out an online niche as a prolific sam-pler of packaged Asian noodles, the kind you cook by adding boiling water and little else.

Online, Lienesch is known as the Ramen Rater. By this week, he will have reviewed 407 varieties of packaged noodles from nearly every country in east Asia.

His culinary pedigree? “I like to eat,” the 36-year-old said this week, patting his belly.

Many people know about ramen noodles from the Top Ramen brand, made by Ja-pan’s Nissin Foods.

The same goes for Lienesch. As a kid grow-ing up in Anacortes in the 1980s, he discovered another kind of ramen made by Nissin called Roasted Ramen, which he liked better than Top Ramen. Then it disappeared from store shelves.

That sent his family on a quest to the Uwajimaya supermarket in Seattle. There, he found an exact equivalent of his beloved Roasted Ramen — and a whole spectrum of instant noodles he never knew existed.

“I started a website in 2002 to keep track of what I tried, see if I liked it or not,” Lien-esch said. A diet forced him to take a break from the high-sodium, high-fat noodles. He turned to reviewing hot sauces. After reaching about 250 hot sauce reviews, he

grew bored and stopped. Eventually, he kicked the diet and, about

a year ago, started reviewing ramen again. Helping feed the habit was his recent

move to a stretch of Highway 99 in Ed-monds dotted with restaurants, groceries, and other businesses from around the globe. You might call it the Highway of Babel.

Cheap rents, not the neighborhood’s promise for exotic ramen variations, how-ever, were what drew Lienesch there. “It ended up being a super lucky spot,” he said.

These days, most people in the Puget Sound area need not venture far to find a full-fledged supermarket catering to Asian palates with entire aisles dedicated to instant noodles.

Uwajimaya, headquartered in Seattle,

has four retail stores in the Northwest and traces its roots to a business that Yawa-tahama, Japan, native Fujimatsu Moriguchi began in Tacoma in 1928. H Mart, an Asian supermarket chain that started in Queens, N.Y., in 1982, has a Lynnwood branch near the Alderwood mall. A short walk from Lienesch’s apartment is 99 Ranch Market, another Asian supermarket chain, which began in Southern California in 1984.

On Tuesday, the Ramen Rater stalked an aisle at 99 Ranch that rivaled a fireworks stand for its explosion of color. Rows of bright packages advertised noodle flavors as diverse as kimchi, Chinese soy bean, and tom yum soup. Most cost a buck or less.

“I’ve shopped this place pretty well,”

Lienesch said. “I don’t just review the stuff that looks like it’s going to be good.”

Even with so many offerings, Lienesch said it’s getting tricky to find untested packages. This turned out to be a lucky day, though, when Lienesch stumbled on something new: prawn-flavored noodles from Malaysia. He excitedly called it an “uber score.”

Back at the apartment that Lienesch shares with his fiancee Christine and pugs Daisy and Otis, he broke into true Ramen Rater form. It’s something Lienesch goes about with complete lack of pretension. He’s never been to Asia. Neither he nor his fiancee have any ties to the region. He sheepishly admits that he doesn’t use chopsticks.

“It’s really embarrassing, too,” he said. His review technique started by taking

photos of the unopened, unrated package on his computer desk. Then he tore open the wrapping to snap more shots of the spice and sauce packets inside.

“I like to take pictures before, after, and during,” he said. He next shuffled over to the stovetop for a few minutes of heavy boiling during which he pulled out the tan-gled mass with a fork to inspect it through his dark-framed glasses.

When the noodles looked ready, he poured them back into the spice bowl and did an-other photo shoot of the steamy, chili-flecked soup. Within the hour, these and other pictures would appear online on the Ramen Rater blog.

Finally, the time had come to dig in —

{see RAMEN cont’d on page 13}

Edmonds man famed for being instant ramen connoisseur

A screen capture of www.ramenrater.com


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■ WORLD NEWS

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced Monday that he will seek a second term as head of the United Nations, pledging to keep leading the world body as a “bridge-builder” at a time of unprec-edented global change. His re-election is virtually assured.

The former South Korean foreign minister finally made public what has been the U.N.’s worst kept secret — that he wants a second term — at a news conference to discuss his recent trips to Europe and Africa. In his virtually non-stop travels around the globe, he has been quietly lobbying world leaders for support.

Ban said he had sent letters to the 15-member Security Council and 192-member General Assembly “humbly” offering himself for consideration for a second five-year term. His current term ends Dec. 31.

Though he insisted that he takes nothing for granted, Ban has no opponents and diplomats say he has the backing of the five veto-wielding members of the Security Council — the United States, China, Russia, France, and Britain — who must recommend him. He likely has support from the entire General Assembly, which will probably elect him by acclamation later this month.

The Security Council met privately late Monday after-noon to discuss how to proceed. In the past, the council has adopted a resolution recommendation for candidates for the U.N.’s top job.

Ban won immediate endorsement for his candidacy at a breakfast Monday with the 53-member Asian Group. He said he plans to meet with the U.N.’s other regional groups, from Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Eastern Europe, and mainly Western nations, in the next two days to discuss his candidacy.

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe quickly welcomed Ban’s announcement.

“He has shown courage and determination during a time of crisis,” Juppe said in a statement. “We have no doubt that he will show those same qualities during a second term at the head of the U.N.”

China’s U.N. Ambassador Li Baodong said the Asian Group supports Ban because he has led the U.N. though “stormy weather and troubled water” and enabled the orga-nization to play a “more important role” in peace, develop-ment, and international affairs.

The secretary-general “has demonstrated strong leader-ship, is a person of action, and is a person with vision for a better world and better U.N.,” Li told reporters.

Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said Moscow supported Ban for a second term.

U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner welcomed

Ban’s announcement, but wouldn’t say whether the Obama administration backed him for a second term. He added that the United States will have more to say in the coming days.

Ban, who will turn 67 on June 13, has been criticized for his low-key style, his lack of charisma, and his failure to criticize human rights abuses in powerful countries, espe-cially China and Russia.

But he has won praise for putting climate change at the top of his agenda, for his commitment to women and nu-clear disarmament, and for his recent strong support for pro-democracy demonstrators in North Africa and the Middle East, and for military intervention in Ivory Coast and Libya.

Ban Ki-moon

UN SG Ban Ki-moon announces he is seeking a second term

By Eileen NgTHE ASSOCIATED PRESS

RAWANG, Malaysia (AP) — As a new bride, 22-year-old Ummu Atirah believes she knows the secret to a blissful marriage: obey her husband and ensure he is sexually satisfied.

Ummu and some 800 oth-er Muslim women in Ma-laysia are members of the “Obedient Wives Club” that is generating controversy in one of the most modern and progressive Muslim-majority nations, where many Muslim Malaysian women hold high posts in the government and corpo-rate world.

The new club, launched last Saturday, says it can cure social ills such as prostitution and divorce by teaching women to be sub-missive and keep their men happy in the bedroom.

“Islam compels us to be obedient to our husband.

Whatever he says, I must follow. It is a sin if I don’t obey and make him happy,” said Ummu, who wore a yellow headscarf.

The club, founded by a fringe Islamic group known as Global Ikhwan, has been dismissed by politicians and activists as a throwback to Medieval times and an insult to modern women of Malaysia. But the group’s activities, which previously

included the setting up of a Polygamy Club, show that pockets of conservative Is-lamic ideas still thrive in Malaysia.

Groups such as Global Ikhwan are unlikely to gain much popularity beyond generating shock value. Still, there is concern that radical groups could garner

{see CLUB cont’d on page 11}

Malaysia ‘obedient wives’ club says good sex is a duty

“He has shown courage and determination during a time of crisis. We have no doubt that he will show those same qualities during a second term at the head of the U.N.”

— Alain Juppe


College Bound Signup Deadline for 8th Graders is June 30

Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board917 Lakeridge Way | P.O. Box 43430 | Olympia, WA 98504-3430 | 360.753.7800

Today’s jobs require more than a high school diploma, but the rising cost of a college education is a problem for many families.

Mayor Mike McGinn wants to help. Students in the 7th or 8th grade who meet low-income requirements or are foster youth can sign up for the College Bound Scholarship.

The scholarship can be used at many public or private colleges in Washington. Students only need to sign up once, but the June 30 signup deadline for 8th graders is approaching quickly, so act soon.

For more information or to apply, visit www.hecb.wa.gov/collegebound, or call 1-888-535-0747. Applications in 10 languages are available at www.hecb.wa.gov/paying/waaidprgm/CBSLanguageApps.asp.

■ ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

By Vivian Nguyen NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY

Korean American comedian dominates throughout May

May was a big month for Korean Ameri-can comedian Ken Jeong.

Jeong, who currently plays the egotisti-cal Ben Chang on the ABC sitcom “Com-munity,” recently hosted the 2011 Billboard Music Awards (BMAs) in Las Vegas, an awards show honoring musicians across all genres who have racked in the most in sales, downloads, and airplay, according to data compiled from Billboard magazine and Nielsen ratings.

In addition to drawing laughs from the BMAs audience, Jeong also made waves at the movies this month, reprising his role as the flamboyant international gangster Les-lie Chow in the “The Hangover Part II.”

The movie is the second installment in the raunchy comedy franchise that follows three men as they uncover the mystery behind their drunk shenanigans from the previous night. If you want to see all of Jeong — and I mean literally all of him — be sure to catch him in theaters. Korean American actress Jamie Chung, who starred in the fantasy ac-tion flick “Sucker Punch” earlier this year, plays a supporting role in the film.

Movie premieres and film shootings for Asian actors

The computer animated action comedy film “Kung Fu Panda 2” recently opened in theaters, featuring numerous Asian actors reprising their characters from the 2008 film “Kung Fu Panda.” The feature follows a kung fu savvy panda, who teams up with a group of kung fu masters to take down an old adversary.

Hong Kong martial artist Jackie Chan, Chinese American actors Lucy Liu and James Hong, and Hong Kong-based Malay-sian actress Michelle Yeoh are in the film … or their voices are, anyway.

Actor John Cho recently started shooting “Total Recall” — a Sony Pictures remake of the 1990 science fiction action film that originally starred former California gover-nor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Cho, who is Korean American, is best known to audienc-es for his role in the comedy “Harold & Ku-mar” and the most recent installment of the science fiction action franchise “Star Trek.”

Wins and losses for Asians on television

In the world of TV, there were highs and lows for Asians all around.

On the ABC reality show “Dancing with the Stars,” Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiv-

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our public bid construction opportunities.

Contact Kelly Iverson, Facilities [email protected] or 425.369.3308

er Hines Ward won the competition during the show’s 12th season. The popular show pairs celebrity contestants with profes-sional dancers. The pairs perform choreo-graphed dances in front of a panel of judges and a live audience.

Half Korean Hines beat out fellow celeb-rities, such as actress Kirstie Alley and real-

ity television star Kendra Wilkinson, for the winner’s spot. It just goes to show that foot-ball players can be light on their feet, too!

Meanwhile, the NBC sitcom “Out-sourced,” about an American running an In-dian call center in Mumbai, got the ax after

{see A-POP cont’d on page 15}

Tragic end for Korean anchorA monthly column about all things Asian in popular culture

Hines Ward

Jackie Chan Song Ji Sun Ken Jeong Michelle Yeoh James Hong Lucy Liu Jamie Chung

The cast of NBC’s “Outsourced”


OPINION

■ PUBLISHER’S BLOG

■ EDITORIAL

Want to get the inside scoop on the latest happenings of Seattle’s Asian American community? Follow Publisher Assunta Ng’s blog at nwasianweekly.com under the Opinion section.

Last week, broadcast journalist Yang Lan, who was dubbed by CNN as China’s Oprah, visited the University of Washington to talk about the challenges of philanthropy in Chi-na.

Yang, who has 200 to 300 million view-ers for her news program, packed the room with more than 600 people. Several people had to be turned away.

Yang, with her husband, started the Sun Culture Foundation in Hong Kong, not in China. She said Hong Kong is more effi-cient in running philanthropic organiza-tions. In China, there are many restrictions. It’s too early for China to develop philan-thropy businesses, she explained.

Bill Gates and Warren Buffett were guests on her show last year, trying to per-suade millionaires to donate their fortunes to charity.

That is a revolutionary concept for Chi-na. Still, there were 50 multimillionaires who showed up at one of Gates’ meetings, said Yang.

China has more than 1,400 billionaires. The majority of Chinese billionaires have gotten their wealth through real estate.

Dining with Yang LanUW President Phyllis Wise hosted a din-

ner for Chinese broadcast journalist Yang Lan at the president’s residence. The con-versation among the seven guests at the dinner table was lively and open. Yang did not hold back.

On censorship, she said, “We just have to take it. But there is still a lot of room for free speech.”

A strong advocate for equal rights, Yang said she is one of the advocates attempting to push women’s retirement age from 55 to 60, the same as that of men.

For a glimpse of how Chinese society is changing, Yang gave an example. “Last Oct. 1, there were 9,000 marriage licenses issued in China,” Yang said, “but there were also 5,000 divorces and the majority were initiated by women.”

Despite censorship, Yang said the Inter-net is making a difference. If people “don’t

touch on China’s bottom line” namely, is-sues on Taiwan, Falun Gong, and Tibet, much of the information will pass through.

She has witnessed many policy changes due to outcry from the Internet. Microblog-gers can be so fast that, by the time China moves to block the blog, it’s too late.

Yang shared her story of how she got to where she is today. After getting a bach-elor’s degree in English, she earned her master’s degree in journalism from Colum-bia University. She believed that there was opportunity for change, so she returned to China after graduation.

Out of 1,000 women who applied for her job two decades ago, Yang was picked after seven rounds of interviews. No such show connecting Beijing to the rest of the world was ever produced before. When the first program aired, “there was no script,” she said.

Though bureaucracy and censorship are in-grained into China’s system, China is also toy-ing with many new ideas and projects to ad-vance the country. Younger leaders like Yang can push through diverse perspectives and in-fluence the public.

What does a rich man do to create dreams for the world? Build a palace or own an island?

Bill Gates created a spectacular foundation headquar-ters with a price tag of $500 million (just for the first phase, too!). Some of it was spent on advanced — and costly — ideas. On June 2, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation celebrated the opening of its magnificent 12-acre campus, which at present houses two main U-shaped buildings.

Because money is no issue, Melinda can design the proj-ect however she wants. Bill admitted that he didn’t have much to do with the design. He just OK’ed changes to the budget changes, which was quite a bit more than expected, he said. Everything within the campus is state-of-the-art and includes green technology, vibrant work spaces, and outdoor areas.

The artworks are high-end. A painting from Korean artist Choi Young Wook, whose work hangs on the semi-private third floor of one building, costs $40,000.

Even the garage adjacent to the campus looks grand. In partnership with the City of Seattle, the garage is insulated, with a bird-friendly living roof, limiting rainwater runoff.

Bill did not even dress up for the occasion before an audience of 1,000 community leaders. It’s not his style. The other guy in the room who dressed like Bill was Scott Oki, who worked at Microsoft during its early years.

“These guys don’t need to impress anybody or ask for any favors,” my son said. “So why bother to dress nicely?”

Bill doesn’t open his mouth much with strangers. He plays the role of a listener. He doesn’t shake many hands nor does he show much public affection toward Melinda either. When he finished his speech and hand-ed over his microphone to her, there was no hug or kiss. She was the one to put her hand on his back.

Bill Gates, the man behind the brand

Yang Lan receives gifts from UW Interim President Phyllis Wise (right) and Colleen Willoughby (left)

R.J. Ravenholt (left), president of Population Health Imperatives, who sponsored the lecture, with Phyllis Wise (center), and Yang Lan (right) at a dinner for Yang

Bill Gates and Korean artist Choi Young Wook (center)

Melinda and Bill Gates show little intimacy toward one another

Sen. Maria Cantwell with Bill Gates

Diane Narasaki’s portrait is displayed at the entrance

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Taiwanese American Good-win Liu, 40, withdrew from consideration for a judicial seat on the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Fran-cisco on May 25. It came after a filibuster of his nomination in the Senate on May 19.

Nearly all Senate Republi-cans and one Democrat band-ed together and rejected clo-ture (ending debate) on Liu’s nomination in a 52–43 vote. Liu needed 60 votes.

Liu, a law professor at the University of California, Berkeley, was President Barack Obama’s controversial choice for the Ninth Circuit and was first named to the court by Obama more than a year ago, in February 2010.

Liu was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate from Stanford Univer-sity, a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, editor of the law

journal at Yale Law School, and a law clerk at the U.S. Su-preme Court for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. He was strong-ly endorsed by the American Bar Association and conserva-tives like Kenneth Starr and former Associate White House Counsel to President George W. Bush Richard Painter.

Liu would have been the second active Asian Ameri-can judge on the Ninth Circuit, which serves a large Asian American population. The Ninth Circuit has no active Asian American judges, although one, A. Wallace Tashi-ma, has taken senior status, a form of semi-retirement.

“With no possibility of an up-or-down vote on the hori-zon, my family and I have decided that it is time for us to regain the ability to make plans for the future,” Liu wrote in a letter to Obama.

Republicans had many reasons to fear Liu. Publicly, they cited his lack of experience and pointed to his previ-ous harsh criticism of George W. Bush’s Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito, Jr., a conservative judge whose re-cord, Liu said, was, “not the America we know. Nor it is the America we aspire to be.” Liu said he regretted his word choice in his criticisms of Alito.

GOP senators, however, could not look past it and ob-jected to what they called an “activist” judicial philosophy, qualifying Liu as someone who was hotheaded and who would bend and mold the Constitution however he wished.

Perhaps, as many have speculated, the biggest reason why Liu was blocked by Republicans is not his social liber-alism, but rather his age. At only 40 years of age, Liu would have been poised for a spot on the U.S. Supreme Court.

If this is true, it’s an example of how partisanship has gotten in the way of progress. Currently, there are 110 vacancies on the federal bench, which currently skews to the conservative side. Only 133 of Obama’s nominees have been confirmed, which is far fewer than under either Bush or Clinton. Of the 110 vacancies, about 50 are considered judicial emergencies.

The unfortunate casualties in this stalemate are Liu, and really, the American people. About one in eight judi-cial seats on the federal bench is vacant, which means that many times, people cannot get seen by a judge if his or her docket is too packed. This essentially means that justice is being delivered too late, if at all.

Goodwin’s withdrawal is a loss for Americans

Goodwin Liu

China’s Oprah talks about philanthropy


Project: White Center Heights Bridge Repair, C00659C11

Sealed Bid Time/Date: 1:00 p.m., June 21, 2011

Location Due: King County Pro-curement & Contract Services Section, Contracts Counter, 3rd Floor, 401 Fifth Avenue, Seattle, WA 98104

Engineer’s Estimate: $230,000 to $280,000

Scope of Work: This project pro-vides for the improvement and retrofit of a steel tied-arch pedestrian bridge which spans over a wet-land area near the southeast corner of White Center Heights Park. The improvement and retrofit of the bridge is to be accom-plished by clearing and grubbing, ero-sion control, limited excavation of soft sediments in the pond, construction of crushed gravel leveling pads and concrete pylon foundation elements in the pond, installation of small diam-eter pipe piles (pin piles) in the pond, removal of obstructions to pile driving where required, fabrication and instal-lation of new structural steel members to strengthen the bridge, pre-tensioning of a new tension tie beam, temporary jacking of the arches to adjust the pro-file elevations, adjustment of the deck elevations, installation of dampers be-tween the pylon foundation elements and the bridge structure to control vi-brations, and other work, all in accor-dance with the attached Plans, these Special Provisions, the Amendments to the Standard Specifications, the Stan-dard Specifications, the KCRDCS, and the APWA/WSDOT Standard Plans for Road, Bridge, and Municipal Construc-tion. Work site: SW 102nd St and 7th Ave SW Seattle WA 98146.

Contact Information: Darren R. Chernick, Contract Specialist, 206-263-9321, TTY Relay: 711, Fax: 206-296-7675, or [email protected]. A bidder may be asked to put a question in writing. No verbal an-swers by any County personnel or its

agents and consultants will be binding on the County.

Pre-Bid Conference: June 15th, 2011, 1:30 p.m., KC Parks Rec. Office, 1205 SW 102nd (located next to the children’s play-land).Seattle WA 98146. A site tour will be conducted immedi-ately following the conference.

Subcontracting Opportunities: Clearing, Grubbing and Erosion Con-trol, Fencing, Structure Piling

SCS Utilization Requirements. 3% minimum requirement for King County Certified Small Contractors and Suppli-ers (SCS).

Bid Bond: Not less than five percent (5%) of the Total Bid Price

Plans/Specs: Electronic copies of the plans, specifications, reference documents, and any addenda for this solicitation can be accessed through an external link from our website shown below. This site includes options and instructions for printing. Printed docu-ments may also be ordered by contact-ing Reprographics Northwest at 206-624-2040. Copies of documents are not available for purchase from King County, but are available for review M – F 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. at the Contracts Counter: Chinook Bldg, 3rd Floor 401 Fifth Avenue Seattle, WA 98104.

To receive email notifications of ad-denda or other important information concerning this solicitation, you must register to be a planholder under the “Solicitations” tab at the following inter-net link: www.kingcounty.gov/procure-ment

This information is available in alter-nate formats for individuals with disabil-ities upon advance request by calling 206-263-9400, TTY Relay: 711.

Notes: Bids received after Sealed Bid Time will not be considered. Bid-ders accept all risks of late delivery, regardless of fault. King County is not responsible for any costs incurred in re-sponse to this Invitation to Bid.

King County Invitation to Bid

{MCDERMOTT cont’d from page 1}

Congo), providing psychiatric services to Foreign Service, Agency for International Development, and Peace Corps personnel in sub-Saharan Africa. He was elected in 1988 to the 101st Congress and is currently serving his 12th term as representative of the 7th Congressional District of Wash-ington state.

As a physician, McDermott has been consistently in-volved in health care reform issues, especially those sur-rounding HIV/AIDS. He is also leading the fight in the U.S. House of Representatives to guarantee all Americans com-prehensive and affordable health care coverage.

At first glance, McDermott may not seem like the most likely candidate for the job. However, he has shown con-sistent interest in India, visiting more than 22 times over the last 30 years. He also accompanied President Bill Clin-ton and Speaker Nancy Pelosi on their first visits to India. McDermott is the founder and co-chair of the Congres-sional Caucus on India and Indian Americans that, with 154 members, constitutes the largest country caucus in the House of Representatives. By leading the caucus, he pro-motes understanding of the issues facing India, the world’s

largest democracy, and works to foster dialogue between India and the United States on issues of mutual impor-tance. This caucus is the major forum in the House of Rep-resentatives for those wishing to learn about or work on efforts related to India.

As honorary chair of WASITRAC, McDermott visited Orissa for the first time last year, leading the WASITRAC trade delegation to promote Orissa as a trade partner and sister-state to the state of Washington. WASITRAC hopes to build a bilateral relationship with Orissa because it believes that “the next wave of economic growth in India will come from the so-called second tier cities.” As people climb out of an almost worldwide recession, India’s economy contin-ues to grow, and the government has begun to realize that. “Beyond the ‘big cities’ lies a far bigger opportunity,” said WASITRAC co-chair Debadutta Dash. Smaller cities like Bhubaneswar, the capital of Orissa, provide an opportunity to “divert the concentration of growth,” said Dash.

“Indo-U.S. relations are undergoing tremendous chang-es, not just within the two countries, but also with the sur-rounding neighbors of India,” added Dash. “This is a time that requires a statesman that understands the dynamics and intricate ethnic diversity to foster an amicable relation-

ship before any tangible business agreement.” Dash continued, explaining why McDermott is the best

candidate, “His love and respect for India and acquain-tance with Indian culture are incomparable. His knowledge of the intricate ethnic diversity and his commitment to [un-derstanding] the Indian democracy, its social attributes, and secularism has made him the most recognizable U.S. leader in the Indian sub-continent. He has been a strong advocate of trade with India, long before the country was perceived to be an emerging market by anyone. We strong-ly believe that he would be the best U.S. leader to be cho-sen for this position, and it will create a win-win situation for both sides, in addition to building stability, peace, and stronger bilateral relations between the U.S. and the Indian sub-continent.”

McDermott declined to comment.

For more information, visit www.wasitrac.org and mcdermott.house.gov.

Jean Wong can be reached at [email protected].

{CLUB cont’d from page 8}

support among other Muslims, who make up 60 percent of the 28 million population, and upset decades of carefully nurtured racial and religious harmony.

“Unfortunately, even today, there are still many Muslim women who are ignorant of their rights or culturally inhib-ited to exercise their rights in full,” said Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, a female Muslim minister in charge of family policy.

Despite the group’s conservative Islamic background, Rohayah Mohamad, one of the founders of the club, openly talks about the virtues of marital sex even though most of her colleagues are shy about the topic.

“Sex is a taboo in Asian society. We have ignored it in our marriages, but it’s all down to sex. A good wife is a good sex worker to her husband. What is wrong with being a whore ... to your husband?” she said.

“This way, the family institution is protected and we can

curb social ills,” said Rohayah, the club’s vice president who is also a trained physician.

She said wives must go beyond the traditional roles as good cooks or good mothers and learn to “obey, serve, and entertain” their husbands to prevent them from straying or misbehaving.

Indirectly, “disobedient wives are the cause for upheaval in this world” because men are not happy at home and their minds and souls are disturbed, she said.

Authorities recently said Malaysia’s divorce rate has doubled from 2002 to 2009, with higher rates among Ma-lay Muslims.

“When husbands come home, wives do not welcome their husbands with warm alluring smiles and sexy dress-ing ... That is the reality today,” she said.

The Global Ikhwan group is an offshoot of former mem-bers of the Al-Arqam sect outlawed in 1994 after its teach-ings were found to have deviated from Islam. It is funded

by the group’s restaurants, grocery stores, and other busi-nesses abroad.

Most of the 800 women who are members of the new club, including Ummu, the new bride, also belong to Al-Arqam.

Expectedly, the club has faced intense criticism. Some Malaysians started a Facebook page called “We do

not want sexist nonsense from Global Ikhwan.” One Muslim man, Amirul Aftar, wrote, “I do not want

a wife to submit to my every beck and call. I want a wife who understands me ... we are not your masters, we are your equal.”

Women’s group, Sisters in Islam, said Islam advocates marriages based on mutual cooperation and respect. It said domestic violence happens regardless of women’s behav-ior.

“Communication, not submission, is vital to sustain any healthy relationship,” it said.

Have a story idea that you think would fit perfectly in Northwest Asian Weekly? We want to know about it.

Send it to us at [email protected].


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{CRICKET cont’d from page 1}

3 KINDS of Cricket

1) Twenty20: (20 overs [or 120 legal pitches] per team). The maximum a player can bowl is 4 overs (1 over is 6 le-gal pitches x 4 overs = 24 legal pitches). The batsman can bat until he gets out.

2) One day game: (50 overs [or 300 legal pitches] per side). The maximum a player can bowl is 10 overs (60 legal pitches). The batsman can bat until he gets out.

3) Test Match: (unlimited) Played for 5 days or until a result is obtained. Two in-nings maximum per team. Gaddama-nugu explains, “The best pitcher can bowl as many overs as he possibly can. The batsman gets unlimited opportuni-ties to bat.” He added, “It requires a lot of skill, determination, and tactful play in order to beat your opponent.”

Cricket 101Bail — Two wooden pieces placed

on top of the wicket that determine whether the wicket has been broken. These are also known as stones.

Batsman — The batsman uses an ob-long bat and batting gloves. The bat-ter attempts to protect his wickets by hitting the ball.

Bowler — A bowler is similar to a pitcher in baseball. The bowler throws the ball overhand to the batter with the intent of dislodging the wickets be-hind the batter.

Over — An over is a set of six consecu-tive balls bowled in succession. Usually, it is bowled by one bowler.

Run — A run is scored when a batsman hits the ball and runs to the other end of the pitch without the ball being caught.

The pitch — Similar to the baseball diamond, it is the center portion of the field, where the game of cricket is played. It is 22 yards long, or 1 chain as it was traditionally called.

Wicket — A wicket consists of three wooden stumps placed in a straight line with two wooden pieces, called bails (or stones), that are set atop the wicket.

minds. It’s the game of cricket. Cricket is an international sport with a rabid fan base. While the sport is very popular among South Asian players in the Northwest, it is trying to gain traction with the rest of Americans.

The laws of cricketCricket is one of the few sports where the rules and

regulations are referred to as laws. Cricket is a bat and ball game played between two teams of 11 players each. One team bats while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batter by knocking down sets of wickets (three tall stakes with two sticks lying on top) at either end of a 22-yard pitch.

The batter attempts to defend the wickets by batting the ball and scoring runs in the process. The object of the game is to score as many runs as possible, while dismissing members from the other team.

In limited play cricket, the team that scores the most runs and dismisses the most players wins.

The sport originated from British aristocracy and grew with expansion of the British Empire. South Asian countries such as India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh have huge cricket followings.

Local followingJack Surendranath, a chemistry professor at Bellevue

College, is a member of the Seattle Cricket Club (SCC). SCC is the oldest and largest club of its kind in the Pacific Northwest. The 74-year-old has been a member of the Seattle Cricket Club (SCC) since 1964. SCC has 50 to 60 active members, although not every member plays in the local league. Surendranath, a three-time former member of the U.S. National Cricket Team, continues to play every weekend in the Northwest Cricket League (NWCL).

Vishwa Gaddamanugu is a 36-year-old software engineer. He is a member of the Northwest Cricket League (NWCL). The NWCL has 120 members and 70 to 80 active members participating in league play. There are 22 teams that make up three divisions, each comprised of either seven or eight teams. The divisions are split based on skill level.

The NWCL leagues include four teams from Microsoft and two from Boeing. It also has a club in Pullman, Wash., and Oregon. The games are played every weekend from early May until the playoffs at the end of September.

Overall, there are 300 members involved in cricket in the Washington, Idaho, and Oregon region, according to Gaddamanugu. In comparison, the Bay Area has 1,200 members.

Local fieldsMost of the games are played at Marymoor Park in

Redmond or Magnuson Park in Seattle. Surendranath stated that SCC has had a good working relationship with the park department. Although it’s considered a niche sport, the fields for cricket have been kept up for play.

Gaddamanugu stated that in 2001, a cricket specialist was flown in from the United Kingdom to create a new pitch for Marymoor Park.

The costSurendranath stated that teams must pay $300 per game

to the parks department. As a result, SCC members pay club fees to help with costs. “Club fees are probably $400 to $500 a year,” Surendranath estimated.

A cricket bat, which is an oblong bat with a short handle, costs around $400. Wicket balls are $15. “Because we are an organization, the league buys the balls,” said Surendranath.

In addition, there are gloves, shin pads, helmets, and uniforms.

The popularityCricket is the number one sport in India and Pakistan,

with soccer being a distant second.

According to the Sports Business Journal, ESPN’s website, Cricinfo.com (a cricket website for enthusiasts), numbers of unique visitors surged to 8.8 million this past January during a popular international series of matches. In April, the website traffic in the United States increased to 700,000 unique visitors. This is up 65 percent from last year.

Surendranath indicated that the Internet and the opportunity to watch cricket via pay-per-view through cable have put the sport in front of more people. The shorter twenty20 matches, which last only three hours, are gaining popularity among young viewers.

But it’s still not clear whether the following online and on television equate to players on the pitch. “You hardly see any domestic cricketers,” Surendranath stated. Many of the members of the SCC discovered the game in their native countries. According to Surendranath, most cricketers come from India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Australia, England, the West Indies, Syria, Bangladesh, and South Africa.

Surendranath believes that cricket is more popular across the border. Cities such as Vancouver, Toronto, and Calgary have big cricket communities. This is mainly due to the South Asian communities in those areas that follow the sport.

Gaddamanugu agrees that the following is not growing among the American population. But he organizes cricket camps for children to pass along the game to a future generation. He notices that some of the children that come to the cricket camps have their American friends “tag-a-long.” Gaddamanugu remarked that there has been a surge in involvement from Asian and South Asian players.

Gaddamanugu has been in charge of cricket camps for a couple of years. His last camp had 20 kids, ranging in age from 9 to 13. Gaddamanugu is taking the program into schools. He recently taught cricket at Evergreen Junior High School in Redmond and has approached the Kirkland Park Department about teaching a cricket class. Gaddamanugu stated that many kids are interested in the sport.

“Most of them like learning a new game and the curiosity of a new sport,” he said.

Surendranath believes that instructions from professional cricketers from abroad can boost the sport’s popularity among locals. “Once they have these professional cricketers come in and play on American ground, popularity will increase. The standard will increase and the competition gets better.”

Love of the gameAlthough cricket does not have a huge Northwest

following, the people that play are very passionate about the game. Gaddamanugu almost gave up playing the game when he moved to Seattle in 2002. “I was told it rained all year round, so I gave up on cricket.”

But, a chance meeting with a friend put him in contact with the NWCL. He has been a part of it since.

“Cricket is an enormous sport you latch on to because you only need a bat and ball,” said Gaddamanugu. As kids, they would make makeshift wickets for their informal games. “We played in the streets,” Gaddamanugu recalled. He estimates that almost 90 percent of Indians have played some form of cricket.

“Cricket is not only a game or just a mere sport. Cricket, with its code of laws, has always been regarded as a strong moral educator.”

Gaddamanugu added, “It is an essential educational opportunity for youngsters to learn many essential ingredients of social behavior, including personal achievement, team cooperation, ambition, leadership, respect for leadership, respect for rules, respect for one other alongside of the recreational pleasure it brings into our lives.”For more information on the Northwest Cricket League,

USA National team player Saurabh Verma (from Microsoft Cricket Club) bowling in the nets session at Marymoor Park Cricket fields

Bhargava Kondapalli (from Microsoft Cricket Club) about to bowl in the nets in the mandatory practice session for weekend cricket games in the North West Cricket

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visit www.nwcl.org. For more information on the Seattle Cricket Club, visit wseattlecricket.com

Jason Cruz can be reached at [email protected].


{LI NA cont’d from page 1}

11 p.m. in Beijing, on a holiday weekend, but Chinese state television rebroadcast the match Sunday and it was on the front pages of most newspapers.

People’s Daily, the flagship paper of the ruling Commu-nist Party, put a large color photo of Li kissing her trophy at the top of its front page under the headline, “Li Na Reached the Summit of the Grand Slam.”

Li’s career had blossomed since she pulled out of China’s government-run sports training system in 2008. That will likely raise questions about the costly system, which has produced Olympic champions in gymnastics and track and field — along with other racket sports, such as badminton and table tennis — but has a poor record in more commer-cial sports such as tennis and golf.

Chinese sports officials publicly congratulated each other in an apparent effort to link the government to the victory, even though Li trains independently. The Chinese Olympic Com-mittee and other agencies expressed “heartfelt congratulations” in a joint letter to the government’s Tennis Sports Management Center, according to the state Xinhua News Agency.

“There is no doubt this will encourage and inspire Chinese athletes in other fields to undergo hard training, strengthen their confidence, and make excellent achieve-ments in the London 2012 Olympics,” said the letter.

Elsewhere in Asia, the victory was front-page news in Japan and Hong Kong, though tennis has only a small

regional following and celebratory sentiment might be dampened by unease at China’s rising military might and a series of political strains with its neighbors.

In Japan, which Beijing sees as a rival for regional lead-ership, news media celebrated Li’s victory as an Asian first. The giant Yomiuri newspaper ran a front-page photo of her with her trophy. “First from Asia,” said a headline in the Asahi newspaper.

In Hong Kong, the match was overshadowed in news coverage by commemorations Saturday of the anniversary of China’s June 4, 1989, crackdown on pro-democracy pro-tests in Tiananmen Square. Tens of thousands of people held candles aloft in a public park and laid a wreath at a makeshift memorial.

People involved in Asian tennis expressed hope the vic-tory would boost the popularity of tennis. “This is very, very huge for all Asians,” said Ajay Pathak, vice president of the Philippine Tennis Association. “Before, parents tell their kids to go to other sports because Asians are small and there are few opportunities to go to the highest level.”

Thailand’s Paradorn, who became the highest-ranked Asian men’s player when he reached No. 9 in 2003, also expressed hope for more government support.

“I’m sure that a lot of Chinese kids will play tennis more because of her,” he said.

“She is undoubtedly the product of the Chinese govern-ment, which put a lot of budget and effort into sending her to international events,” he said. “If our government does

the same, we will have a lot of good players as well.” In Taiwan, the self-ruled island that Beijing claims as its

own territory, Li’s victory was the top story in the newspa-per United Daily News, under the headline, “In the French Women’s singles Li Na is Crowned Empress.”

In Singapore, the tabloid New Paper declared, “At Last! A grand slam champion from Asia.”

China is experiencing the second wave of Li fever this year, following her runner-up finish at the Australian Open that saw her dubbed “the pride of China” by the mainstream media.

The head of the Chinese tennis federation was quoted at the time as comparing Li to Houston Rockets center Yao Ming and Olympic champion hurdler Liu Xiang, until now China’s best known international athletes.

In a microblog comment posted Sunday, Liu Xiang de-clared Li’s victory “amazing and marvelous.”

In China, tennis remains an elite sport, running far be-hind basketball, soccer, and others in popularity.

At the Green Bank Tennis Club on Beijing’s northern edge, fans gathered late Saturday to watch the match on a big-screen TV set up on a tennis court. “Throughout China’s history, people knew nothing of tennis. Now, we’re standing on the summit of the world game,” said Zhang Yueming, the club’s general manager.

Chen Jiaojiao, who said she is from Li’s home province of Hubei, called the win a huge boost of confidence for Chinese tennis. “She’s brought the country so much glory. She’s really incredible,” Chen said.

■ ASTROLOGY

RATWould you rather give orders than take them? Luckily, you will be in a position to follow your preference.

OXDid you expect praise but receive something else instead? Don’t let it diminish the true extent of your accomplishment.

TIGERThere are more than enough people ready to dispense criticism. Be a positive and encouraging voice for someone close to you.

RABBITYour own perceptions could be holding you back from moving forward. Stop and try to get another view of the situation.

DRAGONDoes it feel as though you have been standing in line for a while? Your turn is coming up soon, so take steps to be prepared.

SNAKEA little trepidation is to be expected when faced with an unfamiliar scenario. Rely on your strengths to carry you through.

HORSEAvoid scheduling too many things on an upcoming free day. Leave room to actually enjoy some downtime.

GOATYou don’t have to share all the same interests to be good friends. In fact, the differences might actually enhance your relationship.

MONKEYEngaging in gossip could lead to potential problems down the road. Stay above the fray whenever possible.

ROOSTERToo much matching gear could have the opposite effect that you intended. Mix in a little personality here and there.

DOGSticking around for all the wrong reasons? It is worth the initial discomfort to try something that works better.

PIGThe best opportunities arise in the most unusual places. All it takes is an open mind and the willingness to try new things.

For the week of June 11 — June 17, 2011

What’s your animal sign?Rat 1912, 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008 Ox 1913, 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009 Tiger 1914, 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010 Rabbit 1915, 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011 Dragon 1916, 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000 Snake 1917, 1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001Horse 1918, 1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002 Goat 1919, 1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003 Monkey 1920, 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004 Rooster 1921, 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005 Dog 1922, 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006 Pig 1923, 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007

*The year ends on the first new moon of the following year. For those born in January and February, please take care when determining your sign.

{RAMEN cont’d from page 7}

with a fork — and with a chaser of Mello Yello soft drink from a 2-liter bottle. “It’s not bad,” he said. “It’s got a little bit of spiciness to it, a little bit of shrimp-pastiness, a little bit of lemon.”

The average review — no surprise — falls in the middle of his 1-to-5 scale.

Tuesday’s noodles rated a 3.25. To his online review No. 405, Lienesch attached a Malaysian-language commercial he found on YouTube from the company that made the noodles. Also, to keep things interesting, he appended an unrelated You-Tube video about a UFO sighting in Canada.

The site, www.ramenrater.com, has re-ceived as many as 6,700 visitors in a day, he said. It carries no advertising. Lienesch said he wouldn’t mind having a sponsor, though he also likes the independence.

Sometimes, people get offended by his re-views. He doesn’t see why. “I’m, like, sometimes it’s just my mood,” he said. “It’s just my opinion. It’s not something set in holy stone or anything.”

He keeps a Top 10 list, headed up by a package of Indonesian curly noodles that he awarded five stars. He’s given out zero stars before, to a brand that to him tasted like “rat-dropping stew.”

It turns out that the Chinese lettering on the ornate, colorful packaging advertised “fat in-testine” flavor.


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{LIFE cont’d from page 1}

for girls, qualities likely to scare off potential suitors. “My father kind of raised me like a son. He never set limits,

never told me that I had to cook to be a good wife,” said Tan.“Singapore is very modern, but also very traditional. The

men tend to be the ones to go off and have careers, and the women stay home and cook for the family. I chose to avoid the kitchen as a result. Whenever someone would want to teach me how to cook or make something, I always thought, ‘Well, maybe some other time.’ ”

Tiger meets journalism Tan’s love of reading and writing led her to journalism

and an internship after high school at the metro desk of The Straits Times in Singapore, where she wrote an expose on a dog farm that kept dogs in abhorrent conditions.

“After the story ran with photos, the government swooped in and sanctioned the farm. Right away, as a 17 year-old, that was powerful to realize, the power of the press, the power of the word. So I was pretty much hooked on journalism from that point,” said Tan.

She moved to the United States the following year to study journalism at Northwestern University. Determined to see as much of the country as possible, Tan took on various intern-ships, from the Chicago Tribune to a post in Topeka, Kan., to the Portland Oregonian. She reported on varied topics such as Harley Davidson rallies and gypsy burial rights.

“I just love the fact that journalism gives you a path into all these different worlds,” said Tan.

Unexpected outsider A veteran journalist by her 30s, there wasn’t a world out

there Tan wasn’t able to tap into. After years of working on the Sunday cop shift beat at the Baltimore Sun, Tan was asked to cover New York Fashion Week.

“I didn’t know anything about fashion at the time, so I went out and bought every fashion magazine I could find and learned everything I could about the subject. I went and I covered Fashion Week and I ended up loving it,” said Tan.

“Covering cops can seem like a war zone sometimes, es-pecially in Baltimore, and covering fashion week can be the same way, too. I joke that the people just dress differently.”

But after 15 years engrossed in almost every aspect of Ameri-can life, from gypsies to fashion, Tan was suddenly an outsider to the world she was born into, one she once took for granted.

“I realized that I had become really Americanized. I was making mostly American or Italian dishes and not the dishes that I had grown up eating. I began to think about my identity. Am I American? Am I Asian? And if I am Asian, then why don’t I know how to make these dishes. I started to feel that there was a cultural aspect of my life I had really ignored. It was time to go back and discover that heritage through the kitchen, and that’s what I ended up doing.”

Tiger(s) in the kitchen Her grandmother’s pineapple tarts beckoned, with the

memory of buttery cookies and a subtly sweet pineapple jam, and each Chinese New Year was tainted with regret for not learning the recipe before her grandmother passed. Tan asked her aunt if she could make the trip to Singapore before New Year’s to learn the recipe, and she shared her experience in a Wall Street Journal article.

“I found that there was a wide range of people, not just Asians, commenting on their experience with the same sense of yearning, like this one lady who said that the article re-minds her of her grandmother’s sugar cookies, and this guy who said his dad made the best Sloppy Joes and he never got to learn it before he died,” said Tan.

So she didn’t stop at tarts. She returned to Singapore for other lunar holidays like the Dumpling and Moon Cake Fes-tivals, and the Festival of the Hungry Ghosts to learn more traditional dishes, and the time spent in the kitchen — two days of making cookies, hours of chopping ingredients, or idle time waiting for food to steam — gave rise to family stories that unearthed long buried secrets.

“When you’re living far from your family — most people do these days — you kind of parachute in for regular visits, and on those visits, you tend to not have much time to sit down and let those stories really come out, and that was what I experienced with my family while learning how to cook,” said Tan.

This was when Tan learned about “gambling rice,” as the fam-ily took to calling it, invented when her grandmother started a gambling den in her house to make money. To prevent the hun-gry gamblers from leaving, Tan’s grandmother served a rice dish of shrimp, shredded cabbage, pork belly, and mushrooms fried together and cooked in a rice cooker to be eaten from a bowl with one hand, freeing the other for uninterrupted gambling.

“That one bowl of rice, I feel, says so much about her,” said Tan, who compiled these stories and recipes into her new book, “A Tiger in the Kitchen.”

“I realized I had underestimated them all along and they really had a lot of lessons to teach me and a lot of love to give. That was very inspiring to hear about their resilience and how much they loved their family and see how it showed in the food,” said Tan.

“Watching them be so confident in the kitchen, where they would take giant bags of sugar, hold it over the wok, and shake without measuring, it was purely by instinct and confi-dence. That really inspired me to trust myself a bit more, trust my own instincts both in the kitchen and outside of it.”

Back in New York City, Tan adapts one of her favorite

Phot

o by

Joh

n Se

arle

s

Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan

Tan’s family’s pineapple tarts, buttery cookies topped with a sweet pineapple jam

Tan’s family’s curried chicken

Phot

os p

rovi

ded

by C

hery

l Lu-

Lien

Tan

{A-POP cont’d from page 9}

airing for only one season. Although the show fueled criti-cism for its low-brow, seemingly racist jokes, it was the first of its kind in recent memory, featuring many Indian actors with top billing on a mainstream network. I hope the actors find new work soon — there’s a lot of comedic talent going to waste with the end of the show.

Saying goodbye to a Korean anchorKorea mourned the loss of MBC Plus Sports anchor

Song Ji-sun after she recently committed suicide by jump-ing from her 19th floor apartment in Seoul. According to an article from Yahoo! News–Malaysia, many speculate

that her recent love scandal with South Korean baseball player, Im Tae-hoon, sparked Song’s death. Song had re-cently announced that she had been dating the athlete for the past year and six months, but Im denied being with her.

Before her death, Song took to her blog and social media to express her growing depression over Im’s refusal to ac-knowledge their relationship. Her last blog post on May 21 read, “I am steering clear of the Internet lately. My words... I am so sorry. I’m not that good with computers, so I don’t know how to delete my account. I’d first like to tweet my apology. I’m so sorry, but really, my Cyworld (a popular Korean blog website) isn’t the truth. I’ll reveal the truth soon.”

Sadly, a suicide like this among media personalities and

celebrities is not uncommon in Korean society. Many are driven to take their lives due to the severe judgment society passes on them, as well as the demanding pressure of being in the spotlight constantly.

“Our society has once again pushed another person off of a cliff,” said one Korean netizen about Song’s passing, according to the Korean pop culture website, allkpop.com. Perhaps Song’s death will serve as a powerful reminder for all to be cautious of what they say about others, whether it is done verbally or through cyberspace.

May Song rest in peace.

Vivian Nguyen can be reached at [email protected].

recipes from her auntie Alice, a savory braised duck breast, and uses the same ingredients to braise beef brisket, digressing from the authentic dish and cele-brating the spirit in which these dishes are made, with some ingenuity and bravery, the way tigers would do in a kitchen.

Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan will hold book signings at the El-liott Bay Book Company on June 10 at 8 p.m. and at Eagle Harbor Book Company on Bainbridge Island on June 12 at 3 p.m.

Tiffany Ran can be reached at [email protected].

Tan’s grandmother’s ‘gambling rice,’ with shrimp, shredded cabbage, pork belly, and mushrooms

VOL 30 NO 24 | 2011

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Transcript of VOL 30 NO 24 | 2011