Copyright © 2022 ALM Media Properties, LLC. In a conversation with The American Lawyer's Patrick Smith, Skadden's Ki Hong describes how his practice came to fruition, how things have changed in the political climate over the last 20 years, how Harris' entry into the fray creates some confusing donor situations and what changes might make the whole apparatus a bit easier to understand. By Cedra Mayfield Litigation Reporter Presidential election less than six months away fundraising and campaigning efforts have gone into full swing as both major parties have settled on nominees for the November election The Legal Intelligencer Daily Report Online National Law Journal The Recorder New York Law Journal Browse More Resources Already have an account? Sign In Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information partner and chief economist at GROW Investment Group the government's efforts to support the real estate market  Xi Jinping’s government announced its most forceful attempt yet to rescue the beleaguered Chinese property market relaxing mortgage rules and urging local governments to buy unsold homes as authorities become increasingly concerned about the sector’s drag on economic growth Hong speaks on "Bloomberg: Daybreak Asia." (Source: Bloomberg) This is Thresholds, a series of conversations with writers about experiences that completely turned them upside down, disoriented them in their lives, changed them, and changed how and why they wanted to write. Hosted by Jordan Kisner, author of the new essay collection, Thin Places In this episode, Cathy Park Hong, author of Minor Feelings discusses how motherhood changed her work and her relationship to gender and the large-scale shattering of the single story And I think it was becoming a mother that brought some urgency to the book I always thought of myself as someone who was an outlier or someone who just didn’t follow any kind of demographic I always embrace that misfit role rather than seeing it as a point of crisis or anxiety but because I didn’t really belong in any kind of demographic it’s not like I wasn’t aware of my Asian American identity before I also thought about what my role was as a woman I have not exactly a fraught relationship with gender but I always thought of myself as more androgynous than like a woman I started thinking about my role as a woman And it was the first time I really realized that I had to be some kind of role model and that I was really in a position of authority and a position of power because I was a mother who was influencing another person’s life I was much more interested in play and experimentation I didn’t care if my language was decipherable I always wanted to say something to prove a point when I was a poet but I just felt that I had a tremendous responsibility to to make the world a better place for my daughter but that’s just how I felt at the time Original music by Lora-Faye Åshuvud and art by Kirstin Huber Cathy Park Hong’s book of creative nonfiction was published this spring by One World/Random House (US) and Profile Books (UK) She is also the author of poetry collections Engine Empire chosen by Adrienne Rich for the Barnard Women Poets Prize Hong is the recipient of the Windham-Campbell Prize and a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship She is the poetry editor of the New Republic and is a professor at Rutgers-Newark University Created by Grove Atlantic and Electric Literature Masthead About Sign Up For Our Newsletters How to Pitch Lit Hub Privacy Policy Support Lit Hub - Become A Member Lit Hub has always brought you the best of the book world for free—no paywall you'll keep independent book coverage alive and thriving Courtesy "Women in Motion," Kerring Installation view of YU HONG’s "Another One Bites the Dust," 2024 at Chiesetta della Misericordia for the 60th Venice Biennale acrylic on canvas, 270 × 270 × 5 cm How a traditional medium can be endlessly reinvented Behind-the-scenes of Ge’s social-intervention projects A look at the group’s most influential projects info@aapmag.com at Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) shares emerging trends in AI and automation he’s most excited about and how he sees them affecting the public sector He also talks about overcoming challenges in building trust in AI and automation within CMS Singapore is one of the fastest-ageing nations in the world the nation will become a "super aged" society when the share of the Singapore population aged 65 and older reaches 21 per cent There are several housing options for seniors from community care apartments to assisted-living apartments Dr Phua Kai Hong from the NUS Institute of Policy Studies discusses the kind of age-friendly living that could be beneficial for the elderly He also talks about other types of support that should be prioritised We know it's a hassle to switch browsers but we want your experience with CNA to be fast Upgraded but still having issues? Contact us He has worked with everyone from Clark Gable to Harrison Ford Now the actor is finally getting the attention he deserves tickling Kim Cattrall – and his dreams for the future Mon 6 Mar 2023 07.00 CETLast modified on Tue 7 Mar 2023 14.35 CETShareMost 94-year-olds would be happy to sit back and put their feet up but James Hong didn’t become one of the most prolific actors in Hollywood by taking it easy Even though he has more than 450 acting credits to his name “I’d like to make a couple of other movies because this is my chance,” he says “I’ve waited all these years to do projects and now people are going to back me.” And that’s down to Everything Everywhere All at Once. The sci-fi martial arts fantasy starring Michelle Yeoh as a frazzled Chinese American immigrant named Evelyn who suddenly finds herself swept up in a multiverse-spanning battle was the breakout hit of 2022 and has since become an awards juggernaut Directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert it’s the frontrunner to pick up the best picture statuette at the Academy Awards this month who plays Evelyn’s stern and old-fashioned father “It’s almost a miracle that I would be in a picture after all these years that’s recognised by the industry,” he says over Zoom from his home in Los Angeles “I never dreamed that would happen.” Dressed in a khaki shirt and jacket with a matching baseball cap to help with any questions he struggles to hear Hong was at the Screen Actors Guild awards accepting the award for outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture There was something he wanted to get off his chest “My first [big] movie was with Clark Gable,” he said reminding the audience that he had been in the business for nearly 70 years Hollywood was rife with “yellowface” – white actors playing Asian roles “The producers said the Asians were not good enough and they are not box office.” Then he added triumphantly: “But look at us now!” The cast of Everything Everywhere All at Once at the Screen Actors Guild awards Photograph: Frederic J Brown/AFP/Getty ImagesOver the years many of his Asian actor friends (and even his daughter April) dropped out of the profession “We were given the side parts as ‘coollies’ or distressed Asians being rescued by the white guy We were underlings.” Out of his many TV and film appearances alongside everyone from Gable to Lauren Bacall “I can count on my two hands the roles that I got that were non-cliched I played a doctor in a couple of series and pictures and a scientist in the movie Colossus: The Forbin Project.” He has been heartened to see how the industry has finally increased onscreen representation in recent years. Films such as the romcom Crazy Rich Asians and Marvel blockbuster Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings have shown that audiences want to see Asian actors as romantic leads and superheroes “We were not important people in the United States as far as the film industry was concerned,” Hong says “Until about 10 years ago when we started to win awards So it’s been a journey from ground zero to what it is now As David Lo Pan in Big Trouble in Little China Photograph: TCD/Prod.DB/AlamyHong’s first film role was an uncredited part as a trainee pilot in the 1954 war drama Dragonfly Squadron He also played a cursed sorcerer in the 1986 action fantasy Big Trouble in Little China a Japanese general pushed to the brink in the disaster spoof Airplane and an overprotective father in the wacky comedy Wayne’s World 2 as well as voicing characters in the Kung Fu Panda films Disney’s Mulan and last year’s Pixar animation Turning Red on projects including the 1989 low-budget horror The Vineyard and 1979 sexploitation comedy Police Girls Academy Hong has pushed hard for more diversity in acting a theatre group created for Asian American actors so they would have the chance to perform roles beyond tired Hollywood stereotypes His parents had emigrated from Hong Kong and moved back when he was five His father owned a herb shop in Chinatown and his mother was a housewife taking care of Hong and his brother and five sisters “The kids would pick on me and beat me up.” But Hong refused to be cowed “I would get up each time they shoved me down.” Hong in Everything Everywhere All At Once Photograph: AlamyHe became fascinated with acting after some Peking Opera performers came to rehearse at his father’s shop and he started acting in high school productions But when it came to casting a British play Hong recalls how his teachers chose a fair red-haired boy instead of him “I felt very bad because I was one of the primary members of that acting group and yet the teacher turned me down because I was yellow And none of the girls would want to go out with me as I was a Chinese guy There’s a lot of stories I can’t tell you in just a few minutes The hidden prejudice in white society in Minneapolis is not something that I would want to live again.” Briefly Hong studied civil engineering at the University of Minnesota where he would entertain soldiers after finishing his training for the day a general taken with his performances asked him to stay on and organise the live shows at the camp Hong acknowledges how lucky he was not to be deployed to the battlefront Hong resumed his studies at the University of Southern California He also formed a standup comedy double act with his friend Donald Parker and got his big break in 1954 when he appeared on Groucho Marx’s gameshow You Bet Your Life I was told I got the second biggest fanmail ever on his programme so that was satisfying.” It also helped him land an agent One of his earliest roles was in the TV crime series The New Adventures of Charlie Chan in 1957 like other white actors pretending to be Asian “It sickened me to watch somebody glue their eyes so that they would look Chinese,” says Hong Hong with James Coburn in 1972’s The Carey Treatment Photograph: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty ImagesIt’s Naish he homes in on when I ask about the racism he has encountered during his career The glue from the tape would burn Naish’s eyelids and he had to remain still because of the false eyelids he wore and watching me moving my head and jumping around got to him,” Hong says Free newsletterTake a front seat at the cinema with our weekly email filled with all the latest news and all the movie action that matters He just charged up to me and said: ‘What do you think this is A school for Chinese actors?’ I was shocked; I didn’t know what to do But he didn’t swing – he just went to his dressing room.” Naish told the producers it was either him or Hong That shows you the deep prejudice he had inside “People didn’t shout it like Naish did – but there were very few Asian actors in those first 60 years that played major roles.” When Hong goes to film conventions to do signing sessions his fans usually ask him to autograph photos of David Lo Pan the villain he played in Big Trouble in Little China While some critics have accused Lo Pan of embodying the Fu Manchu stereotype of an evil Asian with a wispy beard and exaggerated accent seemingly forgetting about the scene where he tries to murder Kurt Russell’s antihero And he had some fun making Big Trouble: Hong recalls filming a scene with Kim Cattrall where she tried to bite him With Mike Myers in Wayne’s World 2 Photograph: United Archives GmbH/AlamyFor Ridley Scott’s sci-fi classic Blade Runner Hong pretended that the eyeballs his grizzled character “That’s what I learned in my early lessons in acting whether it’s Stanislavski or the other methods I came up with my own method and use all the experiences I had in Minnesota.” He also imagines his mother and father’s feelings during the struggles they endured “All you have to do is recall those memories and then make them work for you as an actor.” He has just wrapped on the coming-of-age adventure film Patsy Lee & The Keepers of the 5 Kingdoms and is about to reprise his role as Mr Ping He’ll also be joining his Everything Everywhere All at Once co-stars Yeoh Ke Huy Quan and Stephanie Hsu in American Born Chinese a Disney+ comedy series about figures from Chinese mythology Hong married Susan in 1977 and the couple have three daughters and eight grandchildren He’s currently working on a documentary that will look over his career and chart how Asian American actors “have become major contributors to the art of acting” in Hollywood One of the celebrities he would like to appear in it is Jack Nicholson The pair became good friends after appearing together in Roman Polanski’s twisty mystery Chinatown and its sequel The Two Jakes “I hope he will be in good enough health to do that.” Nicholson has not been seen in public for more than a year and is rumoured to be unwell the oldest actor to ever receive that privilege Jamie Lee Curtis introduced him at the ceremony announcing with relish: “It’s about fucking time.” Hong celebrated by dancing with some Chinese lion performers “It meant the world to me and to my family,” he says to get his hand and footprints immortalised outside Grauman’s Chinese Theatre another Hollywood accolade reserved for the greats Hong used to walk over from his apartment down the street and place his feet into the shiny grooves left by the stars “To have my own there – it really would be something Maybe give me an interview when I’m 100 and I’ll tell you what happened.” Everything Everywhere All at Once is streaming on Prime Video and other digital platforms Matty Hong repeated Biographie 5.15a in Céüse and a new director’s cut featuring the send was just published by Louder Than Eleven Hong became the fourth American to climb 5.15b with Fight or Flight in 2018 after Chris Sharma Hong has made the first ascents of several test-piece lines, such as Bad Girls Club 5.14d, Planet Garbage 5.14d and Stocking Stuffer 5.14d. In 2021, we talked to Hong after he made the second ascent of Tommy Caldwell’s Flex Luthor 5.15 in Colorado – read our conversation with him here. In 2001, Sharma made the first free ascent of Biographie, which he called Realization. The reason it has (or had) two names is the difference in ethics between American and French climbers. In France, the person that bolts a route gives it a name while in America, the first ascensionist names it. The route was bolted in 1989 by Jean-Christophe Lafaille and was named Biographie. Upon its first ascent, Sharma named it Realization, in congruence with the American style. It was the first consensus 5.15a ever climbed, but other routes sent previous to 2001 have since been upgraded. Adam Ondra repeated Alex Huber’s Open Air from 1996 and suggested 5.15a, however many holds had broken over the years. And in 2021, Will Bosi made the second ascent of Steve McClure’s Mutation in the U.K. from 1998 and suggested it could be 5.15a or even 5.15b. A post shared by Matty Hong (@honngy) Get the digital edition of Gripped for your chosen platform: KQED Live EventsPRX Podcast Garage EventsEvents Around the Bay AreaMember Benefits with KQED LiveVideos from KQED LiveWatch recordings of recent KQED Live events FeaturedThat's My WordAn ongoing exploration of Bay Area hip-hop history See Senior Director of TV Programming Meredith Speight’s recommendations from this month’s KQED 9 Watch recordings of recent KQED Live events Support KQED by using your donor-advised fund to make a charitable gift Cathy Park Hong (Beowulf Sheehan)In her new book of essays “Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning,” poet Cathy Park Hong weaves memoir with cultural criticism to explore topics of racial identity Hong describes “minor feelings” as “emotions built from the sediments of everyday racial experience and the irritant of having one’s perception of reality constantly questioned or dismissed.” It’s a feeling that’s particularly acute during the pandemic which she says has “unmasked” a vicious anti-Asian racism Asian American identity and anti-Asian racism "Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning"; professor Get the best experience and stay connected to your community with our Spectrum News app. Learn More he saw a movie that shaped the rest of his life The movie was Star Wars: A New Hope, and it was the robots — or "droids" in the film — that caught his eye “The humanoid robot and the R2-D2 that looks like a trash can just captivated me,” he said in Mechanical Engineering and now spends his time inventing robots just like the ones in his beloved Star Wars films Known as the "Leonardo da Vinci of Robots," Dr Hong showed off some of his inventions on the latest episode of LA Stories with Giselle Fernandez As a professor of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering and the founding director of RoMeLa (Robotics & Mechanisms Laboratory) Hong works with a team of students that focuses on robot locomotion and manipulation Hong's most impressive inventions is a car that can be driven by the blind then I want to show you that you said it was impossible Hong’s zest for life is evident in everything that he does He even competed on the cooking show MasterChef with his robotic sous chef "Charli." everything is a learning experience — including failure He discussed failure in a children’s book that he wrote with his son and teaches his students the importance of learning from their mistakes “I don't know anybody who has never failed,” he said Things you buy through our links may earn Vox Media a commission joining the British government and other international bodies on endeavors to stop the San-Ti That includes the mysterious Staircase Project which involves sending a human brain into space; Jin’s other friend Will (Alex Sharp) knowing his stage-four pancreatic cancer will take its toll soon anyway The final token of his love is the secret gift of a star the discovery of which changes everything for Jin “Having read the books and seen the origin of that very it was already making my heart ache just reading about it,” Hong says “I didn’t need to do too much in terms of finding my way there I just needed to meet Jin and feel her heart.” While Jack turns down Tatiana’s invitation to aid the San-Ti because Jack is killed immediately afterward do you think it’s possible Jin would’ve joined the followers of the San-Ti?Yes the technology they have is beyond anything she’s imagined That’s enough to spark her curiosity and hunger for more information and resources The other thing: Tatiana knows about her background and about her parents dying in the flood and even though Jin knows she’s being emotionally manipulated There is a possibility she could have been one of them thinking she just needs to convince everyone to let the other beings come and advance our technology I like that the characters’ decisions about communication with extraterrestrial life are informed by their own experiences Ye Wenjie sided with the San-Ti against humanity after witnessing the Cultural Revolution which briefly allows her to relate to that feeling of displacement There’s a parallel there.Roz Chao and I talked about this with extraordinary circumstances putting a lot of pressure on her but she lives in a world where her capabilities are acknowledged from early on She has been nourished and nurtured in order to evolve those capabilities and become a top scientist in her field Ye Wenjie did not have the same opportunities But they’re both brilliant women with a lot of ambition who want to find answers and gain knowledge Jin thinks if she can solve every single problem If you put them side by side in a similar environment That also makes me think about the tension between Jin and Auggie with Auggie opposed to Jin’s work on the Staircase Project Auggie seems like the moral center of the show focused on helping people in practical ways Where do you think Jin stands by comparison?Jin’s role in the third book is very much empathy She cares deeply for her friends immediately in front of her but she’s thinking about progress and the betterment of humanity in the future wanting to acquire as much knowledge as possible She lets her friend donate his brain — that’s wild You have to be so ambitious to allow that kind of desire to surface “Let’s just do what we can today to help the people in need that I can see right now.” How did you learn about the creators incorporating your New Zealand background?It wasn’t long after a Zoom chat I had with them in 2021 where I started receiving scripts with the addition of “those years I spent in New Zealand.” I was like that wasn’t in the last one!” I was doing an English accent in my last self-tape I also didn’t realize that I say “buddy” a lot I started seeing the word “buddy” in the script why is Jin saying that suddenly?” They were like you say that all the time.” Now I notice it and I can’t stop They just picked up on that from talking to you?And we only talked for They love to get these little nuggets of who you are and weave them into the character — not too much that it takes over just enough to add authentic texture so you don’t have to work too hard What was your favorite scene to film?I got a real variety of treats where I hang from wires with John Bradley in extravagant costumes I’d never worked with so many special effects on blue screens with all these background performers and amazing sets I didn’t really need to work for the scenes between Jin and Will because they drew something out of me It was so easy to fall into that relationship into that friendship with all that subtext I auditioned with the scene with Jin and Will on the beach — I did a chemistry read with Alex Sharp in the early stages I’ve been with that scene since August 2021 Does she have similar romantic feelings for him buried down deep?Alex and I talked about this They probably never had anything in the past but maybe it was always easy for them to talk Maybe they would have a group hang back at Oxford and they’d be the last two chatting in the room at night There might have always been some chemistry there but Jin can get so caught up in her ambitions and career that she’s not super-aware of her own feelings She’s very cold to Raj in their final interactions Where is Jin’s head during those moments?Her head is in that cryogen chamber with Will’s brain She hasn’t even acknowledged the fact that he’s passed away It’ll make her realize some other things she doesn’t want to confront do you have an idea of how Jin’s story will play out and what it will include from the books?I would love to know I know a couple of things they really want to include in there and they’ll be pretty obvious because all the fans will want to see those moments That’s more about the environment and key events her character doesn’t technically appear until the third book so she had to be grafted onto another plot in the first book They might try to do something similar for season two I was really happy to see the locusts scene from the end of the original book here in Florida with the cicadas.They even got the ant from The Dark Forest in there as well This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity Password must be at least 8 characters and contain: you’ll receive occasional updates and offers from New York Poet and essayist Cathy Park Hong began her Thursday reading hosted by the Creative Writing Program and the English Department “It’s going to feel a little bit disparate,” she said before launching into excerpts from three different works: her poetry collection “Engine Empire”; her book of creative nonfiction “Minor Feelings”; and her translation of the South Korean feminist poet Choi Seungja’s “Phone Bells Keep Ringing for Me.” “I hope you can bear with me and deal with the extreme change in tone here,” she added she has an “ability to hold in mind both rage and hope both a searing critique of whiteness and colonialism and capitalism and a vision of the world as something other and better than what it is.” It is this quality — her knack of linking ideas that seem poles apart — that distinguishes Hong’s writing In her essay “The End of White Innocence” from “Minor Feelings,” she draws upon the scholarship of theorists Kathryn Bond Stockton as well as traumatic moments from her own life: chastisement by a cruel first-grade teacher her grandmother’s assault at the hands of white kids in an otherwise peaceful California cul-de-sac These scenes could feel “disparate,” and yet Hong finds the threads of connection among criticism astute observations (“One characteristic of racism is that children are treated like adults and adults are treated like children”) I’m not the kind of writer who outlines everything beforehand and then writes it,” Hong said she writes “patches” of scenes or poetic lines “Then my writing keeps cannibalizing itself until somehow the ideas start to cohere beautifully,” she said and then my painful process starts to make a kind of sense.” But finding coherence isn’t the only hitch in Hong’s writing process While working on “Minor Feelings,” Hong struggled with how to capture the Asian American experience — which “is not a monolith” — from her own limited perspective as a Korean American writer “There was so much anxiety over writing about the Other,” she said the way forward was not to limit what she could write about “I don’t believe that you should only write about yourself I don’t even know what that means,” she said our lives overlap with other people’s lives.” Hong suggested a new way of framing the problem of writing outside one’s experience: Rather than bifurcate the issue into “yes you’re not allowed” to tell a particular story we should consider and question how an author chooses to tell the story “It’s an ethical hornet’s nest even to write about your own life because you’re still writing about other people,” Hong said also noting that one’s life story remains susceptible to “the white imagination.” Any kind of writing humility and — as Hong puts it — “empathic inquiry.” In “Minor Feelings,” Hong chose not to write “about,” but to write “nearby” — an approach coined by Vietnamese filmmaker Trinh T Minh-ha that acknowledges the gulf between the author’s knowledge and that of the community she portrays making generalizations about South Asians,” Hong said But writing about her friend Prageeta Sharma’s poetry presented a way of “creating a bridge between our experiences” and “showing how [they’re] both shared and different.” But she doesn’t consider herself a public intellectual though some have started to label her as one.  “I guess I’ve been speaking up more because it’s very frustrating to see how media gets it wrong about these anti-Asian hate crimes,” she said “And I feel like I have maybe enough of a platform.” Hong is becoming increasingly recognized as a major literary voice taught a course called Asian American Stories last quarter and the first reading he assigned was “Minor Feelings.” “‘Minor Feelings’ is a book I wish I’d been able to read when I was in college,” Tanaka wrote in a statement to The Daily “it really helped lay out many of the issues that Asian American writers today are grappling with.” although Hong expressed her annoyance with certain sectors of the media she was enthusiastic about the progress being made in the literary world particularly the emergence of BIPOC-centered communities “Poets of color that I have taught [at Rutgers-Newark University where Hong is a full professor] … no longer feel this need to translate themselves for white people,” she said “They write for others in their community.” She’s also putting her self-described “woefully undisciplined” research methods to good use for a hybrid poetry-prose book it’s still in that stage where she doesn’t know how to “corral it together into a nice-sounding pitch.” So she finished her reading with two quotes that have been on her mind: from Bhanu Kapil’s “The Vertical Interrogation of Strangers”: “Who is responsible for the suffering of your mother?” from Bong Joon-ho: “We all live in the same country now: that of capitalism.” If anyone can tie together these disparate strands — it’s Hong Jared Klegar ’24 was opinions managing editor in Vol dangling modifiers are among his biggest pet peeves Contact him at jklegar 'at' stanforddaily.com University Academics Campus Life Graduate Students Business & Technology Equity Project Fall Sports Winter Sports Spring Sports Screen Culture Music Reads Columnists Editorials Letters from the Editor Letters to the Editor Op-Eds Video Podcasts Cartoons Graphics Tech © 2025 THE STANFORD DAILY PUBLISHING CORPORATION Privacy Policy         Accessibility         Advertise Donate and support The Daily when you shop on Amazon Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas, Bloomberg quickly and accurately 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POV Forward Thinking Review of the Year Jenny Brewer Olivia Hingley Ellis Tree Elizabeth Goodspeed Liz Gorny Extra Search Grace Hong explores the emotional investment in design whilst championing the separation between work and life The practice of Singapore-based designer and editor Grace Hong is one of progression – featuring trials and successes – having originally studied and served in a different field “I have a background in architecture,” Grace explains “but it was too stressful and I had a really unhealthy relationship with design and work “I decided to take a leap and sort of switch career paths by trying to pursue (somewhat unsuccessfully) an editorial career,” Grace recalls a leap that featured a two-year stint at A+U Magazine before switching lanes again to graphic design “I’ve always had a soft spot for typography,” they explain “so going back to graphic design was really just unavoidable.” With this fluctuating career came a level of uncertainty: “I’ve never really owned my work until recently,” Grace recalls “I’ve only recently started to put myself out there and started to take my work somewhat seriously.” Deliberately steering clear of developing a restricting style Grace is principally contemporary in their approach to design memes and powerlifting” – certainly painting a specific picture their identifying visual style comes down to the outlet and format of the project itself “I often use my platform just to experiment in Illustrator and Photoshop not limited by a brief or a brand guide,” Grace notes taking a sentimental and diary-like approach to her personal practice by using the latter as a means to document the present The culmination of these considerations is an unashamedly imperfect practice that demonstrates more than just Grace’s graphic sensibilities resulting in exciting contemporary work that plays and challenges digital trends and graphic expectations – manifesting in daily-poster creation “The posters I make are not related to each other,” they suggest “I see them as screenshots of myself at that point in time,” only guided by the direction to create one a week “I feel most inspired when I’m working my actual full-time job,” they explain “My notebook is often filled with prompts or weird one-liners I just go back and revisit them and make posters out of them,” Grace adds “perhaps my signature visual language is inconsistency?” Noting the personal as well as practical impact Grace’s drive for poster creation has had I constantly feel inadequate in my skills and creativity so this is just an outlet where I design without consideration.” To this extent Grace is on her way to finding her place in design “I try not to think too much about what I’m doing here,” they add “I try not to chase perfection with my posters as long as it gets a thumbs up from me Further Infogracehong.work Harry Bennett and having originally joined It’s Nice That as an editorial assistant in March 2020 Harry is a freelance writer and designer – running his own independent practice as well as being one-half of the Studio Ground Floor Fancy a bit of It's Nice That in your inbox Sign up to our newsletters and we'll keep you in the loop with everything good going on in the creative world Instagram TikTok LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Pinterest About Careers at It’s Nice That Privacy Policy Insights Residence Creative Lives in Progress If You Could Jobs © It’s Nice That 2024 · Nice Face Logo © It’s Nice That In preparation for his archive show in London we caught up with the artist to uncover some of the stories behind his most renowned letterpress prints and to celebrate the birth of the poster and manifesto that has come to define his career The Japanese graphic artist uses space and shape to conduct scenes that feel spiky Claire’s approach to graphic design questions (and subverts) traditional graphic design methodologies curiosity and an open heart steer Margherita Sabbioneda and Barbara Nassisi’s creative practice Speaking on the power of original thinking discusses his own path through the creative industry For independent graphic designer Phebe Van der Meulen self expression and creative freedom are at the heart of having a practice that feels like “a playground” religious handouts and vintage tea card sets the designer creates unusual compositions that she describes as “absurd or whimsy” The Lisbon-based creative’s two passions – graphic design and electronic music – collide in a fusion of form and fantasy The South Korean designer uses Matisse-inspired techniques in her vibrant brand identities With an everyday ritual of painting the newspaper the artist’s project is a testament to what happens when we treat creativity as something as intrinsic as eating breakfast or brushing our teeth The New-York-based designer found his feet in design after downloading Photoshop to make visuals for his record label With a multidisciplinary mix of approaches the creative’s practice merges disciplines worlds apart making 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POV Forward Thinking Review of the Year Jenny Brewer Olivia Hingley Ellis Tree Elizabeth Goodspeed Liz Gorny Instagram TikTok LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Pinterest Careers at It’s Nice That Privacy Policy Insights Residence Creative Lives in Progress If You Could Jobs Take a look back at the most prolific Hollywood actor you’ve maybe never heard of who lays claim to more than 600 onscreen roles over his 60-plus-year career took a break from his latest—lobbying for a well-deserved star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame—to tell us about some of his most memorable roles Photo by Ian Cawley courtesy of James Hong Don’t bother the current residents; simply roll by to pay your respects to the childhood home of the most prolific Minnesota actor ever we’re talking about the guy with more than 600 onscreen roles dating back to 1954—the only actor to share scenes with Clark Gable We’re talking about 91-year-old James Hong The guy Norman Lear and Mike Myers both praised for perfect timing The guy Jack Nicholson liked acting with in Chinatown so much that he cast him in his Chinatown spinoff The guy who’s averaged 10 roles a year for nearly 70 years still doesn’t have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame “How good do you have to be in roles like [Lo Pan] in Big Trouble in Little China.. before you get a star?” Hong wonders aloud Hawaii Five-0 and Lost star Daniel Dae Kim wondered the same thing and recently started a campaign to finally get Hong his star And while Kim’s campaign is spiking awareness and nabbing headlines on major entertainment websites who’s tried unsuccessfully for a star before “Tell the Chamber of Commerce of Hollywood “Write them a letter!” Stamped and in the mail It changed my life that I got on Groucho Marx’s You Bet Your Life I had the second-biggest fan mail ever on his show “I guess you’ll have to do me,” so I did [an impression of] him Clark Gable had returned to the movie industry being in a movie with Clark Gable.” In essence working actor that has worked with Groucho Marx and Clark Gable in those days there were no non-cliché roles for the Asian American actors A lot of my older colleagues were playing Japanese soldiers I had to take those roles or not do anything a so-called non-cliché role as Jennifer Jones’s nephew But they cut some of my roles out with Bill Holden because they thought it was too pink I saw her at one of the Comic-Con autograph shows I’ve got to look for something for you.” So who is the king of comedy writers and directors the producer stopped me at the cafeteria and said because every time I have difficulties casting a role Welcome.” It was great to work with all those stars He shows that scene every time he goes on an interview They were shooting inside of that icebox down in L.A They are my kids that I’ve raised up all these years I was talking to these eyeballs as if they were my children and that’s what made that scene come alive you should get an award for playing that role as Lo Pan.” And in essence How good do you have to be in roles like in Big Trouble Little China How good do you have to be before you get a star I read the script and it says Elaine puts a tip of $5 on my desk and I ignore her “What am I going to do?” When she puts the $5 down I simply turned the page on the guest list and covered up the $5 and I said Mike Myers loves the kung fu fight I had with him He’ll show that scene when he’s interviewed How can you forget working with all those young people who were so talented You can only do what is said in the script The part where I trained the guy had a lot of heart and a lot of laughs The heart went out; the development of the story went out In the final moments of beginning the movie But there is another role if you want it.” And Mr Ping turned out to be a much better role than the old master because Mr of course—how I loved my son and wanted to sell noodles This article originally appeared in the October 2020 issue Drew Wood is Deputy Editor of Mpls.St.Paul Magazine Key Enterprises LLC is committed to ensuring digital accessibility for mspmag.com for people with disabilities. We are continually improving the user experience for everyone, and applying the relevant accessibility standards Career critics continuing the conversation in a post-print world Contributors: Jim Slotek (former Toronto Sun), Liam Lacey (former Globe & Mail) At 93 years young, veteran actor James Hong is still going strong. His latest role is lending his voice to director Henry Selick’s new stop-animation gem, Wendell & Wild Based on a screenplay by Selick and Jordan Peele — who also serve as producers — the film is an adaptation of Selick and Clay McLeod Chapman's unpublished book of the same name The film reunites comedian-cum-horror master Peele with his onetime Key & Peele costar Keegan-Michael Key as the pair play the titular characters two scheming demon brothers who enlist the aid of 13-year-old Kat Elliot (Lyric Ross) to summon them to the Land of the Living The film marks Selick's first feature film since 2009’s Coraline. Our Bonnie Laufer spoke with Hong about working on the film. Wendell & Wild starts streaming on Netflix on October 28. (Click here to read our review of the film) (Also hear Hong in Kung Fu Panda and in Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai) What was it like to play a priest who gets a second chance at life JAMES HONG: There's nothing better in the world A third chance to get over all this COVID and everything else but at least I'm here after 70 years in this industry Being a part of Wendell & Wild was truly one of the highlights of my life It's crazy when you see me do my thing in this film and I'm trying to desperately keep my school going and I get mixed up with some pretty crazy characters The film is just so much fun and nothing like I’ve ever been a part of before Your character looks so much like you James What was it like to see it for the first time with your voice coming out of this animated mirror The artwork in general is outstanding and not only my character They look so much like their real-life counterparts I think it's a way of animation that has never been done before with the stop-motion and the creation of the characters is just unbelievable I would definitely encourage my fans out there to watch this film because it’s so creative and different I think stop motion creates a different atmosphere you have about 700 credits over the course of your amazing career Is doing voiceover much different than being in front of the camera Do you feel a little bit more relaxed or is it more difficult because you're usually working on your own when you're doing a voiceover I'm usually sitting there alone and I'm trying to imagine the whole scene happening before me described to me by my director This character was so much fun for me because he is so crazy and he was embedded in me and it was so great to see the finished film You started out with Groucho Marx and have worked with Jack Nicholson A huge highlight for me was watching you on that Seinfeld episode The Chinese restaurant episode is one of my all-time favorites It keeps re-running and I keep looking at and laughing at myself because I couldn't make any sense out of it when I was doing it but when I see it That's the type of comedy Seinfeld amounts to Click here to watch Bonnie’s interview with Wendell & Wild director Henry Selick To receive an email when new reviews/interviews are added to Original-Cin, please provide your email address in the form below. Your address will never be shared with any other party. Dayna Smith / The Washington Post / GETTY; RINGO CHIU / AFP / GETTYMarch 17, 2021 ShareSave “The indignity of being Asian in this country has been underreported,” the poet and essayist Cathy Park Hong writes in Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning is the daughter of Korean immigrants and was raised in Los Angeles Although she has written about race in her poetry Minor Feelings is her first nonfiction book Her essays explore the painful and often invisible racial traumas that Asian Americans experience—traumas that have become impossible to ignore over the past year as reports of anti-Asian racism and violence have increased Yesterday, a gunman killed eight people, six of whom were Asian women Hong told me by email that she was grateful to see an outpouring of sympathy from people outside the Asian American community but also expressed the concern that police and commentators would downplay the significance of the event “I’m already seeing media trying to whitewash this incident,” she wrote taking words of the police over the stories of these women.” President Joe Biden condemned “vicious hate crimes against Asian Americans and scapegoated”—marking a contrast with his predecessor who referred to the COVID-19 pandemic as “the Chinese virus” and “kung flu.” Read: What it’s like when racism comes for you Hong’s work captures the peculiar spot that Asian Americans occupy in America’s racial hierarchy The political scientist Claire Jean Kim has described this dynamic as “racial triangulation”: Neither Black nor white Asians are simultaneously stereotyped as model minorities and perpetual foreigners and thus used as a wedge between Black and white people But with overt attacks apparently on the rise across the country Americans of Asian descent are demanding attention to the racism they face We discussed why reports of violence and hate have galvanized so many Asian Americans This interview has been edited for length and clarity Morgan Ome: Racism toward Asian Americans is not new it feels as though more Asian Americans have been speaking up and protesting Cathy Park Hong: A few years ago, David Dao, a Vietnamese doctor, was assaulted and dragged from a United Airlines flight I remember the media did not talk about his identity The story was just about him being a middle-class man who was dragged out of the airplane I bet he wouldn’t have been treated that way if he were white It’s hard to say exactly what the reasons are There has been a real retrenchment of identities and people have been much more up-front in talking about race and structural racial inequities in this country And that has resulted in a lot of Asian Americans speaking up When Black Lives Matter [gained force] in 2014—after Ferguson—I saw an increase in Asian American organizing and allyship people really internalized the Black Lives Matter protests and the conversation about social justice because of the anti-Asian racism that’s been happening Asian Americans have been more moved to vocalize and organize—from writing commentaries in The New York Times to organizing groups to escort the elderly in Oakland’s Chinatown Ome: Has there been a moment like this before? The closest parallel that I could think of was the killing of Vincent Chin in 1982 which led to an outcry among Chinese and Japanese Americans such as Japanese internment during World War II didn’t persuade Asians to protest on a mass scale The damaging of Korean-owned businesses during the L.A riots didn’t result in a lot of non-Koreans speaking up for the Korean community You didn’t see other Asians coming in to support the Korean community after the L.A The difference now is that the people who are being attacked run the gamut a lot of times they are Filipino or Vietnamese or Korean One of the symptoms of racism is that you get all lumped together Another historical parallel was after 9/11 when Muslims were being attacked and persecuted Americans were attacking Muslims or people who vaguely looked Muslim I believe that did galvanize the South Asian community and the Muslim community There is more aggressive activism among East Asians It doesn’t really matter which group is being targeted Ome: Do you see any similarities between what’s happening now and what happened after the L.A Read: Looking back on the L.A. riots through five documentaries What’s very charged and tricky to talk about today are the optics of a Black or brown person assaulting or attacking the Asian elderly, like the Thai grandfather, Vicha Ratanapakdee There’s a huge difference between the way second-generation or younger Asian Americans think about race and the way Asian immigrants think about race Many younger Asian Americans are very sensitive to anti-Blackness in the Asian community these crimes may reaffirm their anti-Blackness and drive them toward the right What I fear is that these crimes are sowing deeper divisions between Black and Asian Americans and that white people will not hold themselves accountable “These attacks are symptomatic of white supremacy,” white people say “How is it white supremacy when it’s not white people committing the crimes?” Claire Jean Kim has this really great racial-triangulation theory that talks about the relationship between Black and I see the same kind of dynamics being played out today I think many Asian Americans have never talked about it and so white people still don’t believe that Asian Americans face racism the racism against us has also been invisible This is why it’s important that people are speaking up to show: “Actually But it gets really tricky when the video [of an assault] becomes viral and we start talking about solutions beyond amplifying it Part of the reason there’s a spike in anti-Asian violence is that people are angry and desperate I’m just trying to think of the reasons why it’s happening to Asians I was having a conversation where an interviewer told me that a police officer—who is Asian—said that he doesn’t believe [that recent attacks] are anti-Asian hate crimes Ome: The officer didn’t believe they’re racially motivated Hong: Yes—that these assaults against Asians are just part of rising crime There have been plenty of incidents where the victims weren’t burglarized—they were attacked for no reason at all—and called racist slurs specifically Asian American women who live alone because they are followed and harassed and called all kinds of racial slurs So this is not just some kind of hallucination Ome: Do you think that the events of the past year have forced this country to take racism against Asian Americans more seriously to not really focus on racism unless it’s sensationalized in some way I wouldn’t be surprised if Americans just forget and think It’s great that white people and other non-Asians are picking up on this but we can’t trust them to continue to train their attention on what’s happening to Asian Americans We need to continue vocalizing who we are and our role in this country you wrote about the difficulty of using the pronoun we because Asian Americans are such a diverse population Do you still think Asian American is a meaningful descriptor The term Asian American was coined in 1968 by radical student organizers who were envisioning a pan-Asian Is their notion of being Asian American just an ideal Or is it a real identity-based coalition that you see forming Asian Americans came together because there was no term for us What created the name Asian American was the Vietnam War and the Black Power movement those Asian American organizers were second generation Quite a few of them had family put in internment camps Part of it was because of the immigration patterns in America there was this huge influx of Asians coming in from all different nations A lot of those immigrants now have children who consider themselves American but realize that they still have secondary status as Americans because of the color of their skin and because their voices don’t have the kind of reach that white people do Part of the new awareness and consciousness is because there are a lot more of us And there are more of us who have been here long enough to demand that we need to be part of this country More so than when I was in my 20s or even 30s and so much prouder of being Asian American The rhetoric has changed from We want more Asians in Hollywood It’s not just about representational politics It’s also about confronting class inequity among Asian Americans and trying to build solidarity with other people of color What I like to say about Asian Americans is that if we think of Asian Americans as less of an identity then maybe Asians will feel more comfortable identifying with it because it allows room for all of our kind of national Read: What stories of racial trauma leave out when Asian American activists protested with the Black Panthers there hasn’t been a mass movement we can call our own.” Why do you think that is Hong: Some people disputed that and said there has been a lot of activism since then But I think it’s really important to build a cross-cultural community among Asian Americans If we want to fix the structural inequities, reform the criminal-justice system and the police, and have health care for all, it’s very important to also talk about our racial identity, because people feel intimately close to that. You can’t just say, like Andrew Yang does, that people are getting too much into identity If white people are misusing identity or race to pit us against each other and being proud of being [in the United States] That means building an Asian American identity that’s beyond loving boba tea and K-pop Ome: What do you think about some of the solutions that have been put forth for combatting anti-Asian violence Andrew Yang encouraged Asian Americans to show their patriotism President Biden issued a memorandum to condemn racism and intolerance toward Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders there are calls for neighborhood patrols and other nonpolice safety measures So I don’t know if I can tell you exactly what needs to be done Maybe we should go back to what happened after the L.A There was a campaign to funnel resources into South Central There were Korean Americans who called for people to pay attention to the fact that most of their businesses burned down and they had no insurance There were attempts at interracial community building That’s usually what happens: Whenever there’s a crisis we need to continue amplifying these hate crimes Asking for more policing is not going to solve anti-Asian hate crimes and bias incidents The reason being that the police right now have all the money and are completely militarized and [violence against Asian Americans] is still happening Hong: If you’re the one who has a store or is an employee in Chinatown, and you’re being harassed, and someone’s telling you, “We need to defund the police as a way to protect you,” that kind of language doesn’t work. We have to find a way to talk to each other and with other people of color in our communities. But we also have to figure out a way to talk to our parents and listen to them, because they’re the ones whose lives are most in danger. I want to listen. That’s really the policy that all of us should have right now: Listen to the stories and the hardships that Asian immigrants are going through, and also listen to the Black and Latinx people who are living in the same neighborhood. Ome: Is there anything else you want to add? Hong: As cynical as I sometimes sound, the fact that anti-Asian violent incidents are being documented, and that people are talking about them, is progress. Because that wasn’t happening before, not when I was growing up. A lot of Asian Americans are more vocal, organized, radicalized, and progressive. And we’re not going to go back. Minor Feelings: An Asian American ReckoningBy Cathy Park HongBuy Book​When you buy a book using a link on this page A year after the Oscar-winning success of 'Everything Everywhere All at Once,' James Hong says Michelle Yeoh Ke Huy Quan and Jamie Lee Curtis are "so busy"  Allyson Riggs / A24 / Courtesy Everett Collection or at least know his voice from the hundreds of movies James Hong might be the most prolific actor many people don't know the name of "It's never been done before that I know of," Hong told me in an interview over Zoom ahead of the release of "Everything Everywhere All At Once." "It certainly is a different film from the other films that I have done." In Daniels' "Everything Everywhere All At Once," Hong plays a character that isn't too far outside his wheelhouse: the cantankerous Chinese-speaking father of Michelle Yeoh's beleaguered laundromat owner But he also plays an alternate universe version of himself who wields dual guns and throws himself into battle against the forces of evil who got his start playing bit roles as supporting (often stereotypical) Asian characters and who helped found a martial arts school in Los Angeles "Through our efforts and through the efforts of the films having to do with martial arts now [kung fu] has become very prominent," Hong said I chatted with Hong about "Everything Everywhere All At Once," fighting out of a wheelchair and his thoughts on being part of a new wave of Asian-led movies You are one of the most prolific working actors today with over 500 credits to your name How does "Everything Everywhere All At Once" compare to the rest of your filmography I think of all the films I have done up to today The premise is very different in expression of the plot It's never been done before that I know of It certainly is a different film from the other films that I have done So this movie is so rapid fire and fast paced was there ever a moment that you felt lost or like you didn't know where your character was I go to work every day and I wonder what's going to be next And then I talk it over with the directors They're very cooperative and easy to work with And then they come up with some suggestion for me as far as the direction that I should move That's the way it's been throughout the movie It is great to be working with directors that wants to cooperate and communicate They don't lord themselves over you as being "I'm the director." Like in the old days when Henry King and these people that directed big movies And even "The World's Greatest Lover," who was in that and they don't really want you to say anything But that's not the way it was with this movie "Everything Everywhere All At Once." You can contribute as much as you want to and whether they'll use it or not is another question which was that Gong Gong not sleep so much What did Gong Gong's original role look like and what made you want to change that aspect I did mostly what the script said Gong Gong would do the [fact that Daniels used] "Gong Gong" is very good or my daughter calls her grandfather Gong Gong And as far as doing what the character is supposed to be doing I'm pretty much in tune what kind of person Gong Gong is because I'm pretty dominant as a person in a sense of expressing myself I like to think of every aspect of the situation or it's a thought but think of the point of view of the other person Gong Gong probably doesn't give that thought to much of his character in the sense that he is pretty much dominating He thinks he is the right person almost all the time You get to perform action and even some battle sequences in this film Did you imagine doing this at this stage in your career "Patsy Lee & The Keepers of the 5 Kingdoms Film," my own production So I'm still capable of moving at this age started that trend in movies in the sense that I helped my master .. formulate the first martial arts school in Los Angeles And we rented a little space next to the Bank of America I believe on Hollywood Boulevard and Western but through our efforts and through the efforts of the films having to do with martial arts now this exercise has become very prominent I would venture to say there's probably 30,000 kung fu schools in the greater Los Angeles I feel like this film deals a lot more with the Asian diaspora experience than I anticipated It's about the rift between family members and also the coming to a certain kind of peace with each other And I think that's something that only Asian immigrant and second generation Asian immigrant filmmakers and creators can really kind of hone in on With the surge of films like "Turning Red," as well and also "After Yang" and "Minari" that really tackled a specific part of this Asian American do you think "Everything Everywhere All At Once" is part of that wave "Everything Everywhere All At Once" is part of a movement of the Asian expression coming forward there were no films expressing our feelings But now it's coming out in this film and this prominent director who won the Academy Award We all should express ourselves the way we feel And if it comes out having a flavor of Asian Americans And I think that's the future of the Asian Americans in this industry the prominent talented people will come forth and do their own thing and make a mark in this industry and that the community and industry pay attention and help this movement of universal expression Speaking of Asian American universal expression one from the dystopian science fiction world but his motivations in both worlds will boil down to his complicated relationship with his daughter Can you speak to these relationships and how these big sci-fi concepts in this movie help break down those relationships he stays within his realms in his role as the grandfather He is the typical old grandfather in a movie when I go into the other part of the multiverse I become a much more powerful human being or spirit that wants to do much more than just being in a tiny little laundry and he is the driving force when he becomes that so-called powerful figure He wants to turn things around and use [Evelyn] to help him in that aspect You kind of turn against the main characters towards the end So what would you say motivated your character's turn like that the powerful Gong Gong at the end doesn't want any part of that benign human being in the other world That's the spirit of that particular Gong Gong at the end He thinks that the Gong Gong in the other world is nothing He wants to be a much more important person And that's why he drives the movie and [Evelyn] to a different level and so many different readings of "Everything Everywhere All At Once." But what would you say your takeaway is from the film in a handful of sentences My takeaway from this film and doing this film is that it was a lot of fun to be in possibly the craziest film I've ever been a part of and it gave me a chance to work with people who want to contribute It's one wholeness in the sense of many pieces That's the great thing about working in this film "Everything Everywhere All At Once" opens in theaters on March 25 The Minor Feelings author talks about stereotypes in the wake of the coronavirus and being inspired by Richard Pryor When the state of New York received its first confirmed coronavirus patient both the New York Times and the New York Post published articles with accompanying pictures of East Asian people even though the diagnosed woman in the news report had recently travelled to Iran “Anti-Asian racism has come roaring back with the coronavirus scare,” says Korean American writer Cathy Park Hong and he has a son in school who has been bullied and made fun of for having the coronavirus There’s this yellow peril stereotype that never goes away.” explores how society’s perception of Asian American identity shapes the experience of being an Asian American Hong was reminded almost daily that how white America viewed her community clashed with her own experiences ‘Asian Americans are so successful,’ while you feel like a failure.” “Minor feelings” are defined in the book as the feelings that arise “for instance I would see my mother clearly being condescended to by white adults they would dumb down their words.” She points out that there has been “no critical vocabulary for this dominant culture that was constantly gaslighting my lived experience Because my experience wasn’t being acknowledged Asian Americans are often stereotyped as successful they are also often excluded from discussions of US culture Hong points to the recent primary elections: “Asians are hyper invisible We’re not even included in racial breakdowns in polls there was so much news about the black southern vote We’re not statistically visible.” Hong sighs “It almost feels like we’re not publicly participating in this country.” The racism takes many forms She writes about how Asian American women are seen as “fetish objects” while Asian American men are often considered “unmasculine Also: “Chinese is synecdoche for Asians the way Kleenex is for tissues.” Minor feelings are not only felt by Asian Americans, of course. Hong cites Claudia Rankine’s Citizen as a book that investigates the phenomenon among African Americans and explains how “Minor Feelings explores the trauma of a racist capitalist system that keeps the individual in place It’s playing tennis ‘while black’ and dining out ‘while black’.” Minor Feelings “started out as poetry, then fiction, and then it became this collection ,” she says, and points to the subtitle of her book: An Asian American Reckoning. “It’s not the Asian American reckoning.” Hong wants to overthrow the monolithic story of one Asian American identity. “Maybe what I’m responding to is how white America has flattened our experience to a single story, how they perceive us as one kind. The book is an attempt to overthrow that.” Hong is careful to emphasise that she is exploring race through her specific life experiences. “There’s this fear of exposure, of presenting the right narrative that will put your family on a pedestal rather than knocking them down. I felt that greatly.” She knew, though, that she needed to embrace vulnerability. “I wanted the book to be as persuasive as possible, and in order to be so, it had to reach the reader’s heart, not just their mind.” Minor Feelings by Cathy Park Hong is published by Profile. (£16.99) Reading"Wang Zhi-Hong on his shifting..." Wang’s designs have always centred on books – and still do – but the past year or so has seen him opening up his practice to include “other collaboration possibilities” he designed visual identities for Hong Kong International Photo Festival and for an exhibition by Lars Müller Publishers in Taiwan One thing has remained the same throughout his shifting practice A flick through Wang’s portfolio is satisfying for anyone with a penchant for graphic design often treating the latter as an illustrative element It’s a style his eponymous studio has become well known (and loved) for over its 19 years of existence Wang is now starting to look at different ways he can approach designing I’ve tried to adjust how much information is included in the design hoping for more focused results,” he tells us This has resulted in more synthesised designs often with a more pared-back colour palette or a more considered use of letterings on a page Wang himself describes this as a “hiding of information” Still using his main interests of “photography etc” as starting points to inspire projects Wang cites his identity for the Hong Kong International Photo Festival as a recent favourite project of his “Because for a very long time I’ve been paying close attention to the photographers and their explorations into redefining the aesthetics of photography this festival signifies,” he adds on why this is “And I’ve helped publish several books about this movement That’s exactly why HKIPF assigned me to design for the project.” the identity sees the words “Provoke & Beyond” set in both English and Chinese and overlapping work from the festival There’s a haphazardness to the design as different elements collide was done to invoke “disorder and carelessness” ideas representative of the Provoke movement in 1960s Japan It’s a solution which shows the awareness Wang approaches his projects with turning research into nuanced design decisions which embody a concept although not always in the most forthright way Further Infowangzhihong.com Ruby Boddington Ruby joined the It’s Nice That team as an editorial assistant in September 2017 after graduating from the Graphic Communication Design course at Central Saint Martins she became a staff writer and in August 2019 wangzhihong.com It’s been over two years since we last wrote about the elegant work of Taiwanese graphic designer Wang Zhi-Hong FAIR is the national progressive media watchdog group [mp3-jplayer tracks=”CounterSpin February 22 2013 @https://eadn-wc04-3257648.nxedge.io/audio/counterspin/CounterSpin022213.mp3″] Download MP3 The recent reelection of Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa signals the further entrenching of a “bad left” government in Latin America What does this mean for US reporting and portrayals of Ecuador and its president We’ll talk with Dan Beeton of the Center for Economic and Policy Research about a familiar old script on the eve of Barack Obama’s State of the Union address reports surfaced about a North Korean nuclear test That kicked off a round of coverage about North Korea’s belligerence and its threat to peace in the region and beyond But is there more to the North Korea story than the media are telling us UC Santa Cruz professor Christine Hong joins us to discuss that missing context -Reporting Ahead of Ecuadorean Elections Fits a Familiar Narrative,” by Dan Beeton (CEPR Blog, 2/17/13) -“Lurching Towards War: A Post-Mortem on Strategic Patience,” by Christine Hong and Hyun Lee (FPIF, 2/15/13) FAIR’s work is sustained by our generous contributors, who allow us to remain independent. Donate today to be a part of this important mission Filed under: , I was really hoping Christine Hong would mention the utterly brutal and unnecessary carpet bombing suffered by North Korea as the U.S unleashed their thousands of B29s and high explosives flattening every town and village in the country according to the excellent Chapter 5 of “The Cold War” series by Ted Turner Productions none of whom ever lifted a finger to attack America News analysis and media criticism delivered to your inbox We work to invigorate the First Amendment by advocating for greater diversity in the press and by scrutinizing media practices that marginalize public interest We expose neglected news stories and defend working journalists when they are muzzled we believe that structural reform is ultimately needed to break up the dominant media conglomerates establish independent public broadcasting and promote strong non-profit sources of information Despite crypto’s inherent democratic qualities they didn’t spare the industry from gender inequalities Women are still a minority in this blossoming sector Though some are creating spaces to change that.  The crypto space is no longer just a fringe space. Everyday it is more of the reality in which each and everyone of us lives. Men, women, young and, increasingly, older communities play a part in the mass adoption of Web3. Though in this mass adoption, there is a clear inequality in the voice dominating the scene.  From Silicon Valley to Singapore, the male perspective and understanding is the loudest in the decentralized space Even a simple Tweet from a prominent male influencer has its influence on the market.  By numbers specifically, men are in fact dominant in the crypto and blockchain space. According to a CNBC poll conducted last summer in August 2021 twice the amount of men invest in cryptocurrencies than women. That’s nearly 16% of American men to only 7% of women However, for some women already in the industry, solutions to this gap are tangible. BeInCrypto spoke with Yuree Hong the founder and advisor at She Blockchainers Asia on her experiences making space for the female voice in crypto.  Yuree said she had a clear and easy bridge into the fintech space with a bachelor’s degree in engineering.  “I have my bachelor’s degree in engineering which is more focused on multimedia engineering I will say it was actually a bit easier for me initially to understand the native the environment of the blockchain and what it actually does.”  the financial side of the space was a whole new world Though, with Yuree’s self education on blockchain and the crypto world she did notice some gaps in her new communities. “I was attending  seminars in Singapore where often I was one of the only female organizers maybe less than 5% of females attending the seminars.” Her idea to solve this noticeable gap started with education and creating a designated space for women Yuree created She Blockchainers Asia to do just that.  “How the group started was for a very simple reason actually,” Hong said.  “I want to speak with more women about crypto and technology I wanted to make friends in the industry and talk more comfortably about the topic that I wanted to speak more ‘comfortably’ speaks to how it is to be a woman in this industry sometimes.” Yuree’s observation of the need of a “comfortable” and defined space for women isn’t singular. Community is a powerful tool across the entire space for women to gather and communicate ideas on their own terms.  It didn’t matter whether she was a  founder it’s important to have some female voice about blockchain but I didn’t want to close the door to other people.” She Blockchainers Asia focused initially on Hong’s local community in Singapore, which is a global tech hub “We had a community of nearly 200 people by the second or third year Around the time that I was moving out of Singapore the Korean community I helped facilitate merged into the main one from the Singaporean community.” Because empowering and educating women is at the benefit and interest of everyone.  “Initially we did monthly physical meetups in Singapore We collaborated with organizations like SG innovate which has support from the government’s technology initiatives I worked with many  organizations in this space who support women’s participation.” “We also had a lot of support from the male participants.  Some even wanted to be male ambassadors for the community.” Yuree’s efforts of creating a distinct place for women in the space was successful for the women involved in the group.  “Some female participants who came personally told me that they sometimes feel that this industry is not really their thing Blockchain is difficult to understand and too technical for them they felt more comfortable to come and join our community.” According to her own experience working alongside women in the space was key to finding her strength and place as a woman in blockchain When asked about the upcoming generations who will take entrance to the crypto space in stride They’re not hesitating with these new developments If you’re not already interested in technology – take a look The combination of technology and economics is the future of the world You don’t have to be a student of economics in university but there are always things to be up-to-date on and aware of It’s a matter of perspective in my opinion If you approach diversity and inclusion as a social ‘issue’ that needs to be resolved she reflected on diversity and inclusion in crypto space as a journey rather than a stagnant subject From realizing that it’s actually a broader social phenomenon than I expected to actually understanding the importance of healthy  Got something to say about women in crypto or anything else? Write to us or join the discussion in our Telegram channel. Join Our Telegram getting through each day requires a good night’s sleep and a very sharp blade The Merivale executive chef – behind restaurants including Mr Wong Queen Chow – hopped on the phone to tell us about the most helpful things in his life right now A lot of people think they’re eating healthy but they’re not You can still eat carbs and oils and stuff If I was going overseas or interstate I’d be eating a lot because I knew I wasn’t going to go anywhere ‘It’s so perfect for what I need to do from julienning and simple chopping and dicing.’ Photograph: PhotoTalk/Getty Images/iStockphotoThe Kiwi brand knife is one of the cheapest knives on the market They’re available at any Asian grocer and they come in different sizes for no more than $10 They’ve got wooden handles and they’re super sharp and light When I was a second-year apprentice we had this French-Canadian chef who’d just come back from a stage [an internship] at El Bulli – he told me about them I’d been spending hundreds of dollars on knives – so this was a revelation from julienning and simple chopping and dicing if you use them every day they stay sharp for a month I would always have a box of them in the drawer in the office It feels good to have something so cheap that works so well you just can’t do your job with a Kiwi knife especially with the amount of training I’ve been doing and magnesium really helps to relax them so I can have proper sleep and a clear mind rather than trying to take melatonin or something that makes you drowsy because this way you wake up feeling really refreshed Taking them is an old personal trainer thing – they always recommend them when you first start working out but I do notice I have a deeper sleep and I’m not waking up in the night as much The 3 Body Problem star takes us through her life in TV from Spongebob to the prowess of Korean reality shows and why she can’t watch Succession Achieve she did – keep her cool she did not. “Some people might take the news elegantly, and not spend several hours screaming and running around the house,” says Hong. Her biggest television gig prior had been in Inked and it was the first time she’d ever seen anything I’d been in It’s safe to say that many millions more – 3 Body Problem is currently Netflix’s most-watched show – also know what she does now Hong recalls walking onto the 3 Body Problem set on her first day and being startled that everyone knew her she was even recognised by fellow passengers In the series, which the New York Times described as a ”galaxy-brained spectacle” Hong plays the role of theoretical physicist Jin Cheng After particle accelerators around the world go on the fritz and scientists keep dying Cheng joins a supergroup of geniuses who assemble around whiteboards to figure out what tf is going on all bets are off as the audience is thrown into multiple timelines and realities Hong says she could not be further from the brilliant scientist Jin Cheng “When I was little I really wanted to be an astronomer and then I realised how much mathematics was involved,” she says “So I dropped off that whole vibe and went into the arts and writing angsty poetry.” To immerse herself in the role she listened to a podcast called The Infinite Monkey Cage and read “a book” on physics that she has forgotten the name of “Obviously nothing has been retained,” she laughs “But I did try to get a foundational level of the terms that Jin talks about in the show so I’m not just rattling off bullshit.” Thankfully for us her memory of television is slightly sharper and Hong was more than happy to reflect on her TV memories from the trippy Spongebob days to why she can’t stand to watch Succession My earliest TV memory is… The cartoon Aaahh!! I feel like the creators of that show knew some things about life and they tried to instil that into this really quite scary kids show The TV show I used to rush home from school to watch was… Spongebob Squarepants I just loved the fact that there were these wacky characters that were all underdogs in their own way I loved how they could live out all these alternate realities but then keep coming back and starting over again The TV moment that haunts me is… I recently tried to watch Talk to Me on the plane and I made a mistake with that I should have watched it with people there that could have held me while I cried I didn’t make it to the end because I was so rattled by it it’s not TV but probably Daniel Radcliffe and Harry Potter We were the same age when they were all growing up Specifically Daniel Radcliffe in Prisoner of Azkaban The New Zealand TV ad that haunts me is… I can still remember this cat food ad with this chick outside the door going “Heeeeeenrryyyyyy… My TV guilty pleasure is… I just binged through all of Physical 100 season two Korean reality shows just do it differently Physical 100 or Singles Inferno are such a good time My favourite TV moment of all time is… I read all the Harry Potter books before I watched the film so I was waiting for the moment where Ginny’s mum yells out “hands off my daughter you bitch” really excited when they finally brought that moment to life in the last movie My favourite TV character of all time is… Helga from Hey Arnold I think about her every now again when I meet people and they are hiding their true selves I liked that there was this cartoon for kids with a myriad of different characters But then there was this character that just had such a duality between her inner self and her outer self The most stylish person on television is… Any contestant on Singles Inferno She’s not afraid to be a bit loud in a world that’s all classy and elegant My favourite TV project I’ve ever been involved in is… Inked was really special because it was such a familial environment The fact that my mum could watch it as well was awesome But 3 Body Problem was such a large part of my life – we shot for nine months and then did two months of reshoots later and the more you give yourself to something the more it’s just part of your soul afterwards My most controversial TV opinion is… I can’t watch Succession And it’s not because I don’t think that the writing is amazing The last thing I watched on TV was… A really beautiful anime series called Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End I think that’s the best anime series that I’ve ever watched in my life Watch Jess Hong in 3 Body Problem on Netflix. Sign up to Rec Room, The Spinoff’s weekly guide to the very best in entertainment, delivered to your inbox every Friday. A complaint must be first directed in writing the complaint may be referred to the online complaint form at www.presscouncil.org.nz along with a link to the relevant story and all correspondence with the publication Dr Soyon Hong remembers when she first came across microglia cells as an undergraduate student It is a love affair that has never subsided. Today Soyon’s lab is at the forefront of dementia research with a primary focus on the microglia cell “Microglia are the immune cells of the brain and the ‘first responders’ can actually engulf It is a process that is evident in Alzheimer’s The disease affects one in 14 people over the age of 65 and one in six people over the age of 80 “My team are finding ways to target malfunctioning microglia which may help slow down the progression of Alzheimer’s,” Soyon says “What are some of the regulators and what are some of the triggers that mediate this process?”  She points out however that in order to understand this breakdown we must also investigate healthy microglia functioning as well “Their function is crucial not only in times of damage but now we’re beginning to understand that microglia are also critical in normal brain development as well.”  “If we want to understand how brains degenerate Soyon was announced as the recipient of the Alzheimer’s Research UK (ARUK) David Hague award for Early Career Investigator of the Year “Receiving this award is an honour and is so encouraging for me and my team who are just starting their careers in dementia research,” she says Working to find a cure for Alzheimer’s is also important on a profoundly personal level the person who inspired her to pursue a career in science passed away due to Alzheimer’s disease-related complications just one week before she moved to the UK to start her lab Her mother also endured severe chronic illness for much of her life often experiencing pain without explanation or prescribed treatment pathways “I realised there’s so much unknown about our bodies the way to help someone like my mum was through science.”  YouTube Widget Placeholderhttps://www.youtube.com/shorts/yFsUJapgkqY Soyon also credits two books that profoundly shaped her career choice One is The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by neurologist Oliver Sacks describing some of the case histories of his patients “It made me really fall in love with neuroscience.”   profiling his mentor who is dying from ALS While Soyon admits it made her bawl her eyes out it also inspired her to persist through years of study and training as well as lab technicians and research staff And while the length of time they’re at the lab may vary “One of the things we always do when we recruit new people to the lab and the candidate meets everybody,” Soyon says the way that biomedical research is being done And that collaboration can be between labs but most of the time it’s a concerted team effort within a lab.”  Just as different cell types work together to enable healthy brain function the different members of Soyon’s lab co-exist and support each other to thrive “Everybody in my lab has their own project their own specific question that they’re addressing It’s important because it empowers them to have ownership However what is also important is everyone helping each other out.”  “I want our efforts to be used to change people’s lives.”  “We hope the discoveries we make in the lab will make a fundamental difference in our understanding of how the brain works we want to find new drug targets that could be new life-changing treatments for people with dementia.”  Dr Soyon Hong received her PhD in Neuroscience in 2012 from Harvard University and completed her post-doctoral fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in 2018 she conducted a study that was among the first to propose microglia as critical players in synaptic pathology in disease She now brings these expertise and knowledge to establish a new UK DRI lab group at UCL Resonate In an interview with Deadline Mulan voice actor James Hong discussed how young people need to fight for Asian representation on screen The 89-year-old Asian American actor has 500 credits to his name including Mulan and the Kung Fu Panda franchise Hong describes his role in Kung Fu Panda as a “wonderful peak in [his] career,” as he was “sort of a leading character I did the voice as a cross between a Jewish mother and a Chinese waiter.” the acting veteran still holds many qualms about Hollywood’s reluctance to cast Asians in mainstream roles Hong said it was difficult to find convincing work as an Asian actor.“When I first came here in 1953 there were no Asian roles that were not cliche,” he said “All stereotypes … no real drama classes or clubs only one Asian casting director and East/West players was non existent.” Hong said he had to fight the corner for Asian Americans whilst being an actor “There was no advocacy for Asians actors but then I had to fight for a very long time for Asian Americans.” Hong struggled with finding roles that reflected” true Asian Americans “I was an artist and wanted something more because it’s a lifetime of work You just don’t want to get a paycheck to become a cliché person.” always the bad guy or always the persecuted Chinaman There were no roles as a principle person in American society.” Hong had to take matters into his own hands With the help of fellow Asian actor Mako Al Huang Hong formed a group which would perform a play – Rashomon and the play got good reviews,” Hong said “I was the producer and played the gatekeeper Asian actors began to see some traction and momentum in the industry and think is that what I started?” said Hong teachers and actors flowing through those doors Hong is pleased with the progress in representation “Now things are just starting to change,” said Hong he still believes the Asian acting community in America has a long way to go “The young people have to fight and gain more ground,” hong said “They have to continue to fight for better images and more roles but they are still not casting Asians in leading roles like businessmen.” “And I’m sure it will get better because China has all the money,” he added with a laugh You must be logged in to post a comment Subscribe and save up to 29% on a magazine subscription The camera flashes and reporters calling her name startled the Kiwi actress who had never been to glitzy premiere events quite like these “It was very awkward,” she laughs Hailed as the breakout star of Netflix’s top-streaming new show 3 Body Problem a sci-fi alien-invasion series with a very human heart She’s stunned by how far she’s come from the painfully shy anxious little girl who grew up in Palmerston North She couldn’t look anyone in the eye or start a conversation I got Jessica to talk!’ Signing up to drama class in high school was my self-help challenge – a way to put myself in an uncomfortable situation in order to grow – and it really worked I got lucky that I loved it almost immediately.” Knowing that she could overcome the challenge is a tool that Jess – who graduated from Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School – has used ever since It’s a strategy that helped her leave family and friends to live in London for a year while filming 3 Body Problem “I’d never lived by myself and never lived in another country They were two things I really wanted to experience,” says the star of Kiwi shows Inked and Creamerie she lives with a flatmate “who I love” “Being home feels like I can breathe properly now – inhale fully.” She’s adjusting to the fame that’s come with playing Jin Cheng Jin is a brilliant particle physicist who reunites with her scientist friends to destroy an alien invasion “It’s another reason I love Aotearoa – people don’t really care if you’re famous,” Jess says when the woman working next to me looked over and asked ‘Are you that actress from 3 Body Problem My partner and I are really enjoying it’ Then we turned back to our laptops and started working again Collaborating on the show with Game Of Thrones creators David Benioff and DB Weiss “I’ve never worked on huge soundstages before and we’d spend a lot of time in front of the blue screens because of all the game-world scenes in the show,” she explains “The scale was beyond anything I’d done or even imagined I’d do I felt very small and battled with imposter syndrome “But with the amazing support from my castmates and the showrunners – who were shockingly laid-back for such big names – I felt held through the whole experience and eventually realised visiting primary schools with a “very nourishing” Duffy Books in Homes theatre show Jess received a request to send in a self-taped audition for an unnamed but significant project She even did a virtual read with British actor Alex Sharp who plays her smitten fellow scientist Will Downing “It was great because it distracted me from having any kind of expectation or attachment Despite the fact I kept getting called back,” says Jess She read all of Liu Cixin’s Remembrance Of Earth’s Past trilogy and listened to a science podcast to prepare for the role But she soon realised she didn’t need to think like a scientist: “This is a story about people.” The show’s creators later made Jess’ character a Kiwi adding words from the actress’ slang to the script And I think Jin and I both share the same idealism We can’t see necessarily how a better future comes about We keep putting one foot in front of the other and driving forward with hope.” Ahead of Jess is a well-earned holiday in South Korea She’ll also spend time helping a friend with an appeal to send Reemi period underwear to Palestinian women in Gaza she’s also the lead in upcoming Kiwi horror movie Grafted and would love her next acting project to be “a little off the cuff” she hopes there will be more seasons of 3 Body Problem 3 Body Problem is now streaming on Netflix. Jess is also speaking about the book it was based on at the Auckland Writers Festival on 18 May. For tickets, visit writersfestival.co.nz this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read But after a self-recorded audition sent in the Covid days of 2021 impressed GoT makers DB Weiss and David Benioff Hong eventually found herself in Britain and elsewhere for nine months She’s a composite character from the book the show is based on the first novel in Chinese sci-fi writer’s Liu Cixin’s hit Remembrance of Earth’s Past trilogy which tell the story of the planet’s preparations for an alien invasion we know is coming centuries ahead of the advanced extraterrestrials turning up this has meant scenes involving some big ideas – quantum physics saying goodbye to a mate whose brain is being sent on a nuclear-powered space probe – ones that she possibly didn’t encounter on her guest roles in The Brokenwood Mysteries or Creamerie or during her Palmerston North Girls’ High or Toi Whakaari/NZ Drama School productions She’s also part of the show’s unrequited love story involving “the Oxford Five” – a group of bright young things who have a role to play in saving life on the planet and her character is a Chinese-New Zealander with a Kiwi accent When the Listener finally gets 15 minutes with Hong after a month of requests the show is already out and winning decent reviews though many express caution whether the show – and possibly complicated future seasons – might appeal beyond science-minded Wired subscribers And she is as amused as the Listener is that the Netflix publicity machine has arranged an internationally hosted zoom call for people sitting about 3km apart Hong is part of an Auckland Writers’ festival panel on “The Science Behind Science Fiction” with speculative fiction writer Octavia Cade So that’s a panel with some notable people I think they made a mistake and maybe I should just pull out now for my own dignity I think they just wanted a different angle been on the far end of the adaptation side I’ll have some knowledge that I can offer to the group what was your relationship with quantum physics So that’s about the closest relationship I had with it I did try to get acquainted with some theories I didn’t have that much time to get through everything But I definitely skimmed the first book for plot and the third book for character your character is a brilliant Chinese physicist who grew up in New Zealand I think my British accent must have been shit I think what happened is with this adaptation they’re trying to make it as relatable and global as possible We don’t normally see antipodean accents on screen and when we do they were just curious and fascinated by that but they [Weiss and Benioff] also have a great way of weaving in your little idiosyncrasies these little things started popping up in the scripts I was being sent ‘Those years that Jin spent in New Zealand’ … I went they put all these small things that they would notice about you into the script They made a sandwich between you and the person Was it weird they had turned the character more into you I was just impressed that they’re willing to do that And that’s what I kept discovering through the whole process of filming I was just so impressed that they were open the entire way through the process to change and to modify and to add texture to the story into the characters and the relationships It strikes me that the show is a good advertisement for science and arrives at a time when many think they know better than scientists There are scientists that are like the heroes of the story but they don’t have to be action heroes as well and super buff and fighting baddies but they’re just people at the end of the day There’s a lot of scepticism in the world right now very hard to try to reveal the truth of the world and I hope people appreciate that a little more Double-headed question: why did you get into acting and how does playing a character who is clearly a driven overachiever dovetail with you I think I’m quite tunnel-visioned in that if I find something that I love to do then I will put all of my eggs into that basket How I got into it was interesting because I actually grew up with a lot of social anxiety I was too shy to even hold a conversation and in high school and joining drama class was one of my ways to help myself build confidence and through putting on other characters that I could be more vulnerable than I am in my real life that felt like a safe way to be vulnerable it depends on how well the first season does whether you go back to the character 3 Body Problem is streaming on Netflix. The Science Behind Science Fiction panel at the Auckland Writers Festival is on Saturday, May 18, Aotea Centre. To book tickets to the Auckland Writers Festival, go here. People who commit fraud have more than just motive and opportunity in common Sign in to listen to groundbreaking journalism Bookmark this page to watch the interview on Thursday Singapore is one of the leading countries when it comes to responding to the coronavirus pandemic and its widespread impact Aside from being one of the first Asian countries to start a vaccination program, Singapore’s economy is already on track to recovery the government announced that it approved an $8.3-billion COVID-19 support package for 2021 Rappler editor-at-large Marites Vitug talks to Ambassador Gerard Ho Wei Hong to talk about how Singapore positioned itself as one of the leaders when it comes to pandemic response in Southeast Asia What role will Singapore play in the rollout of vaccines in the region .prefix__st0{fill:#333}AccessAccount The award-winning Merivale executive chef travelled to Hong Kong to film a new season of The Streets He shares a beef and egg sandwich that really hit the spot Words by · 30 May 2024 Broadsheet caught up with Hong to talk about the cafe sandwich that is one of the best things he’s ever eaten and where he goes to get real-deal Hong Kong noodles Had you already been to the eateries you visited on the show I go to Hong Kong every year for inspiration for my own cooking but I usually go to the Hong Kong [Island] side It was awesome to discover all these new places and see all these old-school spots that dedicate their lives to perfecting one thing We started with a list of iconic Hong Kong dishes and then we worked with the Hong Kong Tourism Board and a fixer who came along with me everywhere I went What’s the most surprising dish you ate on the show but I went to a cafe in Sham Shui Po called Sun Heung Yuen (Kin Kee) to have their beef and egg sandwich but it turned out to be one of the most delicious things I’ve ever eaten This place is a really well-known Hong Kong cafe and I could understand why it was so popular – the beef was tender and tasty You went to a stall where you ate offal on skewers and you said the offcuts of meat from restaurants go to these stalls Do you think we could do something similar in Australia All those offcuts get eaten by the Chinese and Asian communities in Australia But if you’re talking about me putting organ meat on a menu Tell me about a street food dish that chefs have elevated. Sweet and sour pork is a really classic Cantonese dish, and every restaurant has its version – from street food to casual dining to three-Michelin-star restaurants. There’s a restaurant called The Demon Celebrity and the chef has his own version that he makes from the pig neck It’s the attention to every detail that makes the dish really special Do you think Australia could have a street food culture like Hong Kong’s you might have an issue with seeing raw chickens hung up at room temperature The bird is freshly slaughtered that morning but we have in our heads that it’s not hygienic That worry is what influences the character of street food in this country I just don’t think Australian culture has the right mentality to really accept street food because we don’t have the history of it That’s why we love going to Asia and having street food That’s what they’ve been doing for generations and that rich culture is so unique to all the different countries Where would you go in Australia to get a Hong Kong experience? Royal Palace in Haymarket has some of the best trolley-style dim sum in Sydney My favourite is a (cheung fan) spring roll wrapped in rice noodle as well as their braised dishes like chicken feet Golden Century BBQ in Darling Square has really good roast meats like char siu pork Eastwood in Sydney has amazing Cantonese-style places like grocery stores The closest high-end Chinese that is the same standard as the Michelin-starred restaurants in Hong Kong would be Flower Drum in Melbourne It has the best service in Australia with fine Cantonese cuisine using the best ingredients I love the stir-fried pearl meat and steamed seafood dumpling soup After years of being behind the scenes in kitchens It’s quite awkward talking to a camera rather than talking to a person It does get quite exhausting being on camera but being on camera is mentally exhausting because you have to be “on” all the time But I loved getting to go to Hong Kong for the show The first season was filmed during lockdown and it was all filmed in a studio I was really excited to get out there and do the second season in Hong Kong What’s your favourite part about travelling overseas I’m always looking for inspiration for my restaurants wherever I go in the world I always try to see what elements I can bring back with me The Streets Hong Kong premieres on June 3 on SBS Food Pilar Mitchell is a freelance writer and long-time Broadsheet contributor She is currently co-authoring Sydney’s Local Knowledge series Sydney Theatre Company’s The Picture of Dorian Gray Has Broken Records With Six Tony Nominations Corrupt Cops and Uncomfortable True Crime Top Picks From This Year’s German Film Festival