Mike Lee

San Francisco, CA

• 189 comments
• 90 likes received

An idealistic realist, humanistic technologist & constant student.

• me.mikelee.org/

Mikeleeorg is a moderator of:

• blog.moodthingy.com/

 @BlasianBytch I'd like to vote SAD on that last paragraph with MoodThingy.

3 years, 1 month ago on An Asian American's Thoughts On The Killing Of Trayvon Martin

Ah, just answered my own question. Team iLuminate came first, and created the suits that Wrecking Crew Orchestra uses, according to this source:

www.fastcocreate.com/1680186/wrecking-crew-orchestra-defies-dance-physics-with-tron-suits

3 years, 1 month ago on Viral Like SARS: Tron-Inspired Dance Routine by Wrecking Crew Orchestra

That looked awfully familiar. Where have I seen that before? Oh, I know:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=SD91pgHd-Dk

I wonder which dance troupe came first...

3 years, 1 month ago on Viral Like SARS: Tron-Inspired Dance Routine by Wrecking Crew Orchestra

I'm pretty critical of the sushi restaurants in San Francisco (and have yet to find one I really love), but whoever wins this can make it a sushiriffic day by grabbing an early dinner at Akiko's or Yo Yo's first, which both seemto have decent reviews on Yelp.

www.yelp.com/biz/akikos-restaurant-san-francisco

www.yelp.com/biz/yo-yos-san-francisco

Although... you might then watch the documentary and feel shamed for having eaten such sub-par sushi...

3 years, 1 month ago on Bay Area Giveaway: Advanced Screening Tickets for 'Jiro Dreams Of Sushi'

Ernesto es divertido. Ernesto es muy divertido. ¡Me da risa muy duro!

3 years, 2 months ago on How to Be A Bad Asian: I Moved Away From Other Asians

If this takes off, I'd love to see ghosts on a train. And a boat. And a dinghy. And a group bicycle. The possibilities are endless.

3 years, 3 months ago on 7500 Teaser Trailer Reveals My Worst Nightmare

I just wanna squeeze his cheeks and go, "Dawww! Dawww! Who's my lil dictator? Who's my lil dictator? Dawww!"

3 years, 3 months ago on The 8Asians Talk About: Lil Kim Jong Il

@ErikaHarada Oh, oh. Gotcha. Carry on then, carry on.

3 years, 3 months ago on DUDE WTF ASIA: SNL Korea Does Blackface

@ErikaHarada Different writers. Dino-Ray wrote the post about the Australian guy, Edward wrote this one. There's a wide range of opinions amongst the 8A authors, and many times, they conflict. All part of the fun of a group blog :)

3 years, 3 months ago on DUDE WTF ASIA: SNL Korea Does Blackface

I grew up in a high school where I was one out of three Asian Americans. Years later, I ran into a former classmate who admitted to me that, despite my being a shy, quiet kid, everyone thought I knew kung-fu. Apparently, that's why some of the bullies would pick on me - they wanted to prove that they could beat up this supposed kung-fu master :-|

3 years, 4 months ago on How To Be A Bad Asian: I Love Kung Fu

@TinaTsai Maybe she'll grow up to play drums and perform Master of Puppets on her wedding day ;)

www.8asians.com/2011/05/20/viral-like-sars-bride-rocks-metallica-on-drums-for-wedding/

3 years, 4 months ago on Asian American Commercial Watch: Target's Little Drummer Girl

That is SO AWESOME.

Also, I'm trying to picture you headbanging to Pantera with your cats. Were the cats doing this?

i163.photobucket.com/albums/t301/jimmiedean_2007/MetalCat.gif

;)

3 years, 4 months ago on Metallica Jams with Asian American Metalhead Couple

Does this mean all us Asian Americans who've experienced corporal punishment are more likely to engage in masochistic sex such as being aroused by getting spanked when having sex? o_O

3 years, 4 months ago on A New Form of Corporal Punishment: Parents Finding Others to Beat Their Children

"And interestingly enough, during my research, I discovered that there is fetish out there of guys who get off on seeing half-naked girls in Santa outfits."

I have a feeling that applies to half-naked girls in any outfit :-P

3 years, 4 months ago on Is Santa Asian?

I took taekwondo several years ago. Both those kids would have totally kicked my ass.

3 years, 4 months ago on VIRAL LIKE SARS: Adorable Taekwondo Fight

The Florida Family Association makes me a sad panda.

3 years, 4 months ago on Lowes Pulls Ads From TLC's All-American Muslim

Haha Zombie Ipsum is braaaains! I mean, hilarious!

In case you're as cynical as I am over all the nonsensical Web 2.0 startup names out there, I made a lorem ipsum generator using them: web20ipsum.com/ ;-)

3 years, 5 months ago on Yet Another List of Lorem Ipsum Generators

You and your cruel, cruel tiny heart of stone. At least there's still Mr. Hankey.

3 years, 5 months ago on Asians Behaving Badly: Teacher Ruins Christmas For Second Grade Students

@akrypti@Elliott True, and I wasn't approaching it from the artist's angle. I do truly empathize with artists. As do some friends of mine who work at a startup called Attributor.com. They can't help you & your handbags (yet?), but if anyone has any digital content, they - and services like theirs - can try to offer some relief. I don't know how cheap they are though...

3 years, 5 months ago on China Will Never Become a World Power Until It Learns to Respect Intellectual Property

@mwei Whoa, that just blew my mind! o_O

3 years, 5 months ago on China Will Never Become a World Power Until It Learns to Respect Intellectual Property

@akrypti@Elliott "I do just think that you can't fix one (supply-side knock offs) without fixing the other (consumer culture of rampant piracy)."

If you can solve that, then man, you'd be a hero to a lot of people!

There are people who love knowing they have a genuine item, and others who don't care for any number of reasons. So I'm not too confident that a consumer culture of "rampant piracy" is "fixable," if it indeed is something that is broken.

I'm not saying I support piracy or anything, but I'm not terribly against it either. I think it's more a trait of the market for certain products, and business owners (myself included) need to find a way around it if it erodes our profit margins significantly, or accept it, just like other less desirable aspects of doing business (e.g. negative customer feedback, sneaky competitors, negative economic trends, etc).

3 years, 5 months ago on China Will Never Become a World Power Until It Learns to Respect Intellectual Property

@Elliott I was waiting to see if anyone would be anal enough to point that out ;) And I see you've read Steve Jobs' bio too.

For a better example, how about Microsoft's emulation of the Mac operating system UI? You've probably seen that Malcolm Gladwell article about tweakers & inventors by now. My point here was that imitations happen in business, and sometimes for the better (a la tweakers).

And sometimes, for the worse (a la cheap rip-offs).

3 years, 5 months ago on China Will Never Become a World Power Until It Learns to Respect Intellectual Property

@mwei Here's another great organization for bone marrow donors that's based on the East Coast: the Cammy Lee Leukemia Foundation (www.cllf.org/)

3 years, 5 months ago on Asian Egg Donors In High Demand

The concept of intellectual property is such a tough one. There are similarities here to what has happened in the music, movie, software, and even book industries. As the cost to duplicate another's creation drops, profit-minded individuals will inevitably do so. Patents, copyrights & trademarks can put up some defense, though a few unscrupulous entities have been exploiting such protections for their own benefit.

I'm always torn about this issue. I consider myself a content creator to a certain extent, so I like the general protections of intellectual property policies. On a global & philosophical level, I can also see how such policies can be taken too far and stifle creativity. I'm typing this on a Macbook right now, which wouldn't be possible if Steve Jobs never copied Xerox Parc's original idea, then improved upon it. Ah, life and it's complicated hypocritical paradoxes, eh?

I can't find the link anymore, but I once read this article about how bands in China are so used to MP3 piracy that they consider it a new marketing channel now. They've grown dependent on different kinds of revenue streams out of necessity, such as concerts and merchandise, because CD sales are practically meaningless for them.

Physical products such as handbags are a little different, but what if this can pose as an opportunity? What if, instead of trying to fight the rip-offs, another revenue stream can be found? What if you only used factories in the US? What if you researched meticulously factories in China that offer some kind of guarantee that they don't infringe on copyrights (not sure if that even exists) and promoted that fact as part of your brand? I dunno. I admit, this is a tough one. But I really like the previous anecdote about Chinese bands turning this problem into a challenge to overcome. That may be a healthier option than holding your breath ;-)

3 years, 5 months ago on China Will Never Become a World Power Until It Learns to Respect Intellectual Property

BTW, China is now officially a world power:

articles.cnn.com/2011-07-10/world/china.mullen_1_military-exercises-world-power-south-china-sea?_s=PM:WORLD

3 years, 5 months ago on China Will Never Become a World Power Until It Learns to Respect Intellectual Property

Like, +1, Amused, and whatever points & badges I can throw at you - just for that awesome photo alone. Wow.

3 years, 5 months ago on The 8Asians Talk About: Cat Cafes

Y U NO LINK TO POST ABOUT UR BUTT??

3 years, 5 months ago on The First 8Asians Vlog Where We Wish Were Disgrasian

+1 for the upcoming "Make A Baby With Ernie" app!

3 years, 6 months ago on J-Pop Group AKB48's Newest Promotion: "Make a Baby With Me" for $19 a Month

I totally want a teapot like that now. I like these brief "mythology/history lesson attached to a personal story" articles too. I hope there will be more!

3 years, 6 months ago on The Chinese Mythology Of Dragons and Tigers

@akrypti A good rule of thumb is: always assume that anything you publish online will be read by everyone in your life. That's happened to me, fortunately for benign stuff. You may want to prepare for what may happen if your mother-in-law, husband, or some other relative reads this and spills the beans. You'd be amazed at what people can find out online. If not through your alias, then perhaps through your photo or something. Just sayin'.

3 years, 6 months ago on My Chinese Monster-in-Law

@moye I wish I knew more about the history of prior political events, though I often find myself drawn to the distillation of legislature as behavior economic fundamentals, since political theory is rooted in psychological studies.

And other times, I think, "Huh? Whatchu talkin 'bout Willis?"

3 years, 7 months ago on The 8Asians Open Thread: Goodbye September!

@Ernie H. Maybe we need to create video moods, cuz I could SO use this video as a reaction to so many things...

3 years, 7 months ago on The 8Asians Open Thread: Goodbye September!

Voting "Amused" just for the photo alone.

3 years, 7 months ago on Anti-Alcoholism Drug Works Better on (East) Asian Americans

@xaynie For what it's worth, I'm really digging your contributions to this discussion. I even Googled the term "Asian Libertarian" after you mentioned it, cuz it was the first time I've heard of it and wanted to find out more.

I hope you don't feel too discouraged from contributing in the future. This is a hot topic, one that akrypti feels strongly about (as you can see :-) ) Maybe some of the other commenters are pushing her buttons a bit, but I'm sure she didn't mean to stifle anyone's opinions. No one else from 8A will stop you from sharing your thoughts either. And you're always welcome to submit a guest post with a counter-point! :-)

3 years, 7 months ago on 8Questions with Eugene Liu: Where Are The Asian Conservatives?

@JohnErickPabalan Thanks for sharing your experiences. A few other commenters have mentioned there being a thriving FilAm entrepreneurial community. Perhaps someone from that community will one day get the mainstream media spotlight and inspire others to get past the hurdles you've seen.

3 years, 7 months ago on Why Are There So Few Filipino American Entrepreneurs?

Wait, what, Chipotle has a secret menu??

3 years, 7 months ago on Is Chipotle Trying to Become the Next Panda Express?

@franko76 Haha I did that once too. I unfortunately can't, for the life of me, fake a good Chinese accent. Strange, I know. But the solicitors couldn't tell how bad I was. I think I said something like, "Me no speakee eenglee." They believed it and walked away. Faking stereotypes FTW!

3 years, 7 months ago on "Can You Speak English?"

My Dad has such a thick New York accent, and nary a trace of a Chinese one, that when friends used to call my house when I was a kid, they would think they had the wrong number.

3 years, 7 months ago on "Can You Speak English?"

Raise your hand if you watched Hachiko and cried. *raises hand*

3 years, 7 months ago on My Top 10 Asian Dog Breeds

@TienVNguyen What kind of "work" did you want those images to do for you? O_o

3 years, 8 months ago on Olivia Munn Golf Pictures Have LPGA Golfers' Panties In A Bunch

@BlasianBytch I've been waiting for someone to make this joke, but since no one has:

Cannot extend as much as it would have... but... I NEED EVERY INCH I CAN GET

Okay, I feel better now. sort of.

3 years, 8 months ago on Male Circumcision & Culture Clash: To Cut Or Not To Cut

@timat8asians@moye O. M. G.

I don't think that baby's hot dog was very happy either...

3 years, 8 months ago on Male Circumcision & Culture Clash: To Cut Or Not To Cut

To enlighten me, my wife once showed me a YouTube video of a circumcision surgery. Immediately afterwards was a commercial on... roast beef. o_O

3 years, 8 months ago on Male Circumcision & Culture Clash: To Cut Or Not To Cut

@rustymusty Also, do you happen to know of any fellow members of FWN who would be wiling to share their thoughts on this topic? And be able to point me to some good & hard data on Fil-Am entrepreneurs? I wasn't able to find any useful data with the US Census Bureau, US Small Business Administration, NaFFAA, or FWN. There are some great stats on NaFFAA, but I didn't see any that pertain to entrepreneurs specifically. Thanks!

3 years, 8 months ago on Why Are There So Few Filipino American Entrepreneurs?

@rustymusty@pistahan@filipinawomen@radiantview@qtsoozy@kalokohan

Thanks for the great feedback!

I did these simple searches:

www.google.com/search?q=filipino+american+entrepreneurs

www.google.com/search?q=filipino+american+business+owners

And I'll admit, I had no idea the whole Chinese-Filipino American thing was an issue. It was brought up to me by the few people who gave me feedback on this question. My lack of knowledge and connections on getting good answers to this topic is exactly why I wrote this article, so I'm glad you chimed in. I've been looking for people like you!

If there are indeed thousands of Filipino American entrepreneurs, perhaps it's a problem of lack of media visibility. You're the first that's told me this news, so I'm unfortunately not alone in this perception. Why do you think there's so little media coverage? Do you have any ideas for the other Filipino American entrepreneurs reading this on how they can change that?

Thanks again!

3 years, 8 months ago on Why Are There So Few Filipino American Entrepreneurs?

@jamescerenio This is great info! Thanks!

3 years, 8 months ago on Why Are There So Few Filipino American Entrepreneurs?

@aspeenat You are correct!

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yo-yo

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedro_Flores_(Yo-yo_manufacture)

Wow, I had no idea. Thanks for sharing that info!

3 years, 8 months ago on Why Are There So Few Filipino American Entrepreneurs?

From a Facebook thread about this article: "Got your Entrepreneur right there ... Filipino at that ... ;)"

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pApuzdUo-I

Just some humor to lighten up the mood :-)

3 years, 8 months ago on