Last week of October makes me think about Halloween. I don’t know about you guys, but I think Halloween is the most magical time of the year, even moreso than Xmas. You see, Halloween is when it’s ok to take candy from strangers. It’s ok to dress up like anime characters walking down the street or speak Klingon in public. Colleges around the country throw theme parties where everyone dresses from the 70s, or their favorite Harry Potter character, or cross-dress like the opposite sex. People can wear scream masks or goalie masks without everyone around them freaking out. Of course, the Jabbawockeez can go into a bank without others thinking they’re gonna rob the place. Call me crazy, but isn’t that a better world than the one we live in 364 days out of the year? Because Halloween is so special, Jinra and the Ningin Bloggers, have put together a NINE part special dedicated to Halloween. It’s the least we can do. While we’re on the subject of All Hallows’ Eve, Justin Chon from the Twilight vampire movies was kind enough to give us an interview. For those that want to throw a historic China theme party, you might want to check out this free showing of John Woo’s Red Cliff. More »

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BoA has signed with Hollywood’s Creative Artists Agency (CAA) to give her U.S. career a much needed push. CAA also represents other Ningin favorites like dance crew Jabbawockeez (ABDC, Ningin’s REBUILDING THE BRIDGE fundraiser event) and director Michael Kang (THE MOTEL, W32nd). CAA will be taking over all aspects of BoA’s American presence including music, film and merchandising. CAA said they’re also thinking about a BoA U.S. tour in late 2009. More »

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It really seems like it was only yesterday when the Beat Freaks’ Seven Super Heroes swooped into America’s Best Dance Crew. Week after week, these steel tempered bgirls not only set the standard for their fellow competitors, but also challenged and defied mainstream portrayals of women. Beyond season three, the Beat Freaks have secured a meaty chapter in ABDC history as the first all-female crew to contend for the championship. More than that, they could very well be the first all-female crew to take home the spoils of a hot ABDC battle. More »

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Again, the Jabbawockeez have taken modern hip-hop dancing and made it more than just a street sport. These first-season America’s Best Dance Crew winners are now being featured in the Gatorade TV ad series “Quest for G”.

The ads features all-star athletes NY Yankee Derek Jeter, NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson, Boston Celtic Kevin Garnett, Olympic gymnast Alicia Sacramone, Olympic sprinter Usain Bold and Olympic Volleyball team Misty May-Treanor and Keri Walsh parodying Monty Python and the Holy Grail. While on their quest to find the “Holy G,” they run into several other athletes like Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul Jabbar and the Jabbawockeez. Break dancing is a sport! More »

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For the most part, I enjoyed a lot of the commercials this year (I think my favorite has to be Alec Baldwin in Huluwood, “huhuhu”). When it came to Asian actors, there were a few throwbacks to stereotypes, some token-ness, as well as some stuff that featured none of the aforementioned. On the whole, there weren’t that many commercials with Asians, though. However, there were two film trailers, which feature Asians as either actors or directors (Star Trek, Fast and Furious). There might actually be one more (Up), but you can scroll down to that one and see why I’m hesitating to dub it so. More »

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We are three episodes into Randy Jackson’s ABDC, and thus far, it has failed to deliver its promise on being the most challenging season. Seven crews are left competing to be the best of the nation, and tonight’s test had the groups dancing to Britney Spears inspired choreography. Assisted by Britney choreographer Andre Fuentes, the first two teams were announced to place for next week’s top five. More »

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So as it turns out, Asians are pretty good dancers. Thank you Jabbawockeez and Super Cr3w and all the other Asian crews from the first two seasons of America’s Best Dance Crew on MTV. You’ve completely dispelled a long, long time standing negative stereotype of Asians and you did it in basically one year. That’s the amazing thing to me. Not that other Asians on other tv shows didn’t have an impact. The combination of Jabba’s greatness and the shear reach of MTV provided a perfect opportunity. Funny, what happens when you categorically dismissed 3.5 billion people’s ability to do something.

Since ABDC has a special significance for Asian media, it has a special significance for Ningin. As you’ve noticed, we’ve expanded our coverage of ABDC with two bloggers writing recaps and commentaries. Ningin blogger, Tiffinie Lee will be covering the show live. They’ll be contests, at least two of them, cuz everyone loves free stuff. Of course, we’ll also have stills and videos of the Asian crews in the show. There’s other stuff we’re still trying to confirm, so just expect more than what I just listed. All of this is neatly presented in our special ABDC microsite which you should bookmark for the next 8 weeks!

Make sure to follow the progress of Beat Freaks, Boxcuttuhz, Quest, and Team Millennia with us! More »

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Randy Jackson really knows how to milk ABDC for all it’s worth. Apparently ABDC didn’t just end with the 2nd season but now they’ve brought the first and second season crew together to battle for a performance spot at the Video Music Awards in addition to $25,000 donated to their favorite charity. Surprisingly enough, this episode was actually worth watching in contrast to the 2nd season finale. More »

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Lan and Alvin have already did a great job of talking about the acts and personal anecdotes for the Rebuilding the Bridge event last Saturday. I’ve been meaning to write my own summary for the past week, but I’ve had very little downtime. Plus, I’m thoroughly, every-inch-of-my-body exhausted. I don’t think I ever felt exhaustion before, but it really sucks. This isn’t a complaint, merely an explanation why I’m so slow to respond to emails, txt msgs, Facebook, and just about everything else right now. Everything was worth it and I’ll get to why after you watch this montage.

Rebuilding the Bridge was a huge success in so many ways. There were a lot of things to take away from that night. It was personally one of the best nights of my life in terms of the people I’ve met and the connections I’ve made. First, some perspective: the reception part of the event officially started at 7:30pm. People started coming in at 6:30pm. The house was full at 7pm. The line for the performance part was all the way to the end of the street about half a mile long by 7pm.

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I can’t really say just yet. There were many parties involved which made things chaotic. No need to vilify Jabbawockeez. I personally wish them the best.

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