Secret Asian Man

eDating, X-Men and God

2012-02-01T09:12:00.008-05:00

Not that I'm in the dating market but I can't help but think that the eDating world is kinda weird. Like in this strip, I met my wife the old fashioned way. In a bar! We talked X-Men and it was love from issue #1 on. I don't have anything against the idea of online dating (except for the fact that it seems like ordering a Whopper) but it's the niche sites that are most interesting.

CougarLife for you Ashton's hunting for a Demi (we all know how that one turned out). JDate for chosen ones to find a chosen one. Zoosk, the Axe Body Spray of dating sites. AshleyMadison for the married, Gingrich crowd. GayDating for, well, gay dating. And of course, ChristanMingle where you can "Find God's Match for You". Now I'm no bible expert but doen't using "God" in your tagline for your website count as taking the lord's name in vain?

Anyone ever used online dating? How was the experience?

Great abs in only 10-15 years!

2012-01-29T10:40:00.004-05:00

How come prisoners always look buff and ripped? Because they have to. Imagine if you had the same motivation to work out? Trade in Sven the gym trainer for shower time Pete and you'll be in shape in no time.

Sex Ed

2012-01-28T08:36:00.007-05:00

Kids should learn about sex at an early age. And when I say learn about sex I don't mean we should hand out copies of Hustler at preschool circle time. Playboy is better for that age.

There's a whole lot of talk about how kids should learn about sex, when and from whom. Some would argue the topic is strictly a family matter. Others feel school provides a great opportunity for learning about sex since that's where a lot of their first sexual experiences will stem from. And yet others would prefer not to breach the subject directly and let their kids figure it out for themselves.

Sex should be introduced gradually with its core in the idea of relationships. Kids don't jump right into having sex. They start to play together. They give each other gifts. They sit next to each other at lunch. They hold hands. There's a wide range of activities that are explored before that disgusting act everyone is afraid of. Just like kids have to learn symbols represent ideas, letters make sounds and form words, kids need to slowly learn that girls are gross.

Curious to see how you learned about sex. Quick poll to the right.

2008 Election Nostalgia

2012-01-27T09:04:00.004-05:00

I happen to flick by the GOP debate last night, and like other car wrecks, I took a peek. No revelations. Santorum shot some steroids and Gingrich forgot his coffee. There was some other old guy on the far right there too but not sure who he was. Romney continued to remind me that I'd like to see Jim Carey play him.

But mostly it made me nostalgic for one very ridiculous moment during the 2008 elections when Hilary Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain were all featured on WWE. Months later I thought it was a dream and I couldn't find it online, as if it were taken down because the candidates thought it was too weird. Enjoy.

Millenium Falcon Found at Bottom of Baltic Sea

2012-01-26T10:04:00.004-05:00

There were no signs of life but tiny drag marks leading away from the crash site indicate possible droid evacuation. At press time George Lucas has refused to return my phone calls.

Racism is Blind

2012-01-25T22:05:00.004-05:00

All You Need is Kill: Here we go again

2012-01-23T13:51:00.003-05:00

Yay, more white people as Asians! This time it's Hiroshi Sakurazaka's All You Need is Kill.

Racebending.com picked up on this a little while back. Check out their sweet feature on it and other movies that have followed a similar path including the much dreaded/anticipated live-action Akira movie. I think Kaneda is being played by Mitt Romney. Might want to fact check that first.

Fun Gay Hot Toy

2012-01-23T09:48:00.002-05:00

Maybe Ru Paul wasn't running in the New Hampshire primary but that doesn't mean it still can't be a big year for the LGBT community. I'm thinking legalized gay marriage in Obama's second term. FCKH8!

Cigarettes Create Jobs

2012-01-22T01:06:00.002-05:00

My continuing beratement of smokers. I've actually heard arguments like this. If that were the case then we should legalize weed, tax it and create about a million jobs overnight. Which we should.

I love creative marketing

2012-01-20T16:40:00.004-05:00

How did I not see this until today? My brain is always thinking about creative marketing. I just love how simple this idea is. The best ones often are.

I Am Bruce Lee

2012-01-19T09:35:00.001-05:00

I'm there. Who's with me?

Painting for upcoming show

2012-01-19T00:43:00.003-05:00

I finally got painting again after a couple of years hiatus. Feels good. I have a show coming up in March that I'm calling "Asian Americana". I'll be doing my renditions of classic American icons with a SAM twist. Here's the first one in progress. Bonus points if you can name the movie this is from.

Why it's hard for Asian Americans to get any sympathy

2012-01-17T23:54:00.002-05:00

This comic is definitely not intended to belittle the hardships of the interned Japanese during WWII. But more to put into perspective how it's significance might be measured alongside the trials and tribulations of many other races. There's enough racial tension to go around in this country but some of us find it harder to find broad support. Please feel free to proceed telling me that I am a self-hating Asian American.

Beat down follow up

2012-01-17T10:20:00.004-05:00

So now there's some background info coming out about the beat down video that I (and many others) posted yesterday. Evidently this girl knows the guys in the video and is giving her side of the story explaining (very...slowly...and...deliberately...) why those kids jumped that one guy.

My thanks to her for coming forward to list the names of the attackers and I applaud her attempt at clarifying the situation. Unfortunately she completely misses the point of everyone's outrage.

But I think this can be made into a teachable moment about the use of violence and how we can find ourselves justifying deplorable behavior. Much like the recent video of U.S. Marines pissing on fallen Taliban soldier's bodies. Many people have no problem justifying the act because "they deserved it." The same feeling apply here. That one kid deserved to get the crap beat out of him because he was supposedly involved in an earlier attack on the attackers.

Lesson here: violence begets violence.

Please help with any info you may have

2012-01-16T23:42:00.004-05:00

After a day of thinking positive thoughts on MLK Day I end the day seeing one of the most deplorable acts of school yard violence I've seen in a long time. Warning: violent video.

This was taken in Chicago's Bridgeport area. If you have any information at all please do what you can to put these fuckers away.

Update: evidently the names of the assailants have been released to the public. Let's hope justice is served.

Celebrate a real holiday

2012-01-16T08:09:00.006-05:00

On the drive in today I heard the name "Martin Luther King Jr." on about 4 different radio stations. There's no shortage of awareness of this holiday. Yet as one station played cuts from MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech I found myself sitting in the car after it was parked for a good 5 minutes listening to it again.

MLK Day is one of my favorite holidays because it represents people, not a religion or some contestable historic event. As corny as it is do yourself a favor and listen to his speech with your headphones on as you check your e-mail and sip your coffee. Oh, and happy birthday, papa.

Attention Smokers

2012-01-15T09:21:00.004-05:00

I used to smoke. For years I packed away thousands of cancer sticks without a thought. When my wisdom teeth started to come in (impacted) I had to have all four removed at the same time. No smoking for a week, doctors orders. But at least they gave me percocets ...

I made it through the week and decided I'd try to see how long I could go without smoking. That was 15 years ago and I've stayed away from them ever since.

Smoking is a stupid thing to do. If you smoke you're doing a stupid thing. Yes, I'm fully judging you. Stop smoking you idiot.

There's going to be a follow up to this strip next week.

Chevy Silverado ad: sexist or not?

2012-01-13T00:19:00.005-05:00

I've seen some talk online about this ad. Basically a boy is playing at home with his toy Silverado. His blue collar man toy packs it up for the day, saying "good job" to his black skier, asian ninja and robot co-workers. Before heading home he helps a damsel in distress before driving over his dog. Then finally he gets home to his wholesome wife who only happens to dress like a cheap slut.

I'm on the fence on this one. When I first saw it it didn't strike me as unusual. Then again the TV version I saw didn't have the "good job" to co-workers scene and ended with the dad coming out of the car to give his son a hug with a "normal" (RE: boring) dressed wife/mom in the driveway. But when I put my jaded glasses on I can see all the faults. It would have been amazing if the toy wife the dad came home to were another man and the commercial just kept going like nothing was unusual.

Verdict? Sexist? Racist? Accurately portrays a lifestyle that we should aspire to?

New lighter touchscreen glass

2012-01-12T09:45:00.003-05:00

That's pretty impressive looking. Corning Gorilla Glass (which makes the glass for a lot of our touchscreen gadgets) just created a glass that's 20% thinner but just as strong so future portables should be that much lighter and make the interface more responsive. Sweet. But the downside is it isn't any more durable or scratch resistant. Sigh.

This is the kind of tech story I love, though, because it shows people are hard at work and thinking of the future. Go American innovation!

Japan to open robot farm in tsunami disaster zone. Wow.

2012-01-11T21:54:00.011-05:00

It's true. The Japanese government's Ministry of Agriculture has begun an ambitious project called the "Dream Project" which involves unmanned robotic tractors farming on land that was devastated by the earthquake and tsunami of 2011. Read the full story here.
What strikes me about this story is it is another reminder of the difference between how we (Americans) see robots and how the Japanese see them. For the most part, Japanese society sees robots as a beneficial helpers. Even in their popular culture they've had characters like Astro Boy, Doraemon, Robocon and Arale. Not to mention the slew giant robot heroes like Gaiking, Raideen and Mazinger.

While we do have friendly characters like Wall-E, Number Five (Short Circuit) and C3PO + R2D2 we also have that Skynet Terminator thing in the back of our minds giving way to a certain amount of distrust (or like HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey and Joshua from War Games). But looking at the real world applications of robots in the US there seems to be a lot less experimentation in using them for more humanitarian purposes. We've got some pretty bad ass robotic military machines though! Meanwhile the Japanese are developing therapeutic robotic pets for senior citizens. What gives?

I'm uniter, not a divider

2012-01-11T09:14:00.003-05:00

OK, well, maybe I divide a little.

Kids Reacting to K-Pop

2012-01-09T09:39:00.004-05:00

Love the honesty of kids. Especially when they actually give meaningful analysis mixed with "I'd kick them in the nuts".

Know your left and right

2012-01-08T00:11:00.005-05:00

Anyone do this? Make an "el" with both their hands and figure out the left hand is the one that makes to correct "el". I used to think it was funny but it's actually pretty damn clever. For a little while after I dislocated my right shoulder in high school I used to gauge left from right by remembering which shoulder I busted.

Old School Wednesdays: Election 2004

2012-01-04T11:53:00.003-05:00

From March 15, 2004. Bush 2 vs. Kerry ... Nader. Good times.

The Seven Deadly GOP Sins

2012-01-04T00:18:00.002-05:00

I thought I should throw in Obama to be fair and balanced. Actually, I just really wanted to type the word "vainglory". It was a toss up between Gingrich and Santorum for gluttony and lust (with Gingrich's past infidelities and Santorum's apparent love of fatty foods) but anyone who can inspire the definition of the byproduct of an anal sex act wins the lust title. Thanks Dan Savage.

Attention dudes with beards

2012-01-02T00:06:00.004-05:00

Let's make 2012 the year the beards come off. Not totally off, of course. Save the best parts with the Goatee Saver. Just in time for Batman.

The Great New Year Monkey

2011-12-28T09:47:00.004-05:00

Aww, look at SAM being all pessimistically optimistic back in 2003. 2004 was decent. Yunjin Kim and Daniel Dae Kim started their killer run on Lost and Far East Movement was working their asses off. Meanwhile guys like Yao Ming and Ichiro Suzuki were soaring into super stardom. All in all not too shabby. Although there was the nightmare of a tsunami in the Indian Ocean.

Happy Secret Asian Holidays

2011-12-24T13:07:00.003-05:00

Thought I'd post a little early since tomorrow everyone will either be in a sugar frenzy or a food coma or both. This one is for people who feel bad that they don't have money to spend on gifts. It ain't about the gifts. Get creative and people will appreciate it far more than a dancing Santa that drops his pants. Well, most people will. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

Old School Wednesday: Racial Justice Lego Style

2011-12-21T20:17:00.001-05:00

Poll results: Women rule

2011-12-20T21:46:00.004-05:00

So women came out the clear winner (68%) of the SAM poll asking what Presidential first we can expect next. I'm inclined to agree. There's a great interactive map at Rutger's Center for American Women and Politics that shows where women are/have been/or never have been members of state legislature, Congress, or a governor. If you click on the states it'll show you the detailed stats for that state.

Notably, out of the 129 total votes, not a single person chose Muslim as the next likely first. Wonder how that makes Muslims politicians feel. There have been a couple of Muslim Congressmen and a Mayor.

Pride or Pay?

2011-12-18T09:31:00.003-05:00

Cloaked Alien Ship Near Mercury? WHAT?!

2011-12-17T22:21:00.004-05:00

I love conspiracy type stuff like sasquatch, living megalodons and UFOs. How the hell did I not hear about this?! What are the chances of this being an actual space craft? Maybe there are sasquatches in it!

Applying for College? Don't Check Asian!

2011-12-15T11:35:00.002-05:00

Normally these guys do a lot of world news/celebrity stuff so it was refreshing to see something close to home (having mixed race kids and all).

Old School Wednesdays: Asian Holiday

2011-12-14T09:27:00.005-05:00

That reminds me, I've got to get to Target for their Meeting of 9 Evils Day sale. They have these really cute cupcake holders.

Captain Feathersword = Flava Flav

2011-12-13T09:38:00.003-05:00

We've been listening to a Wiggles LIVE CD in the car with our 2 year old. It's like audio crack. As I'm listening to the psychopathic antics of Captain Feathersword it hits me that he's the hype man for the Wiggles. He is Flava Flav. I think they should switch jobs just for a year and see how many people will tell the difference.

Presidential firsts

2011-12-12T22:41:00.002-05:00

I've long thought that I'd never live to see the first Asian American president. But then again I never thought I'd see an African American either. We've had some notable first already like Buchanan was the first unmarried president, Kennedy was the first Catholic and George Washington was our first white president. I'm pretty sure we're going to see another broken barrier at some point in the near future. What do you think it'll be? Let me know in the little poll on the right.

Jedi George Takei

2011-12-12T00:55:00.004-05:00

For whatever reason George Takei is really hitting his stride, becoming a pop culture icon far beyond the boundaries of playing Sulu. More power to him. He's doing some amazing social commentary is his own wonderful way. His latest calls for Star Trek and Star Wars fans to unite against a common threat. Awesome.

I'll Take a Large Simon with Pepperoni

2011-12-11T08:52:00.003-05:00

A Weird Visual Journey

2011-12-10T23:26:00.001-05:00

This started as an observation about Newt Gingrich's wife Callista. She really reminded me of John McCain's wife Cindy McCain. Then Cindy McCain made me think of Arizona governor Jan Brewer who made Iggy Pop jump into mind and finally ended up at Ron Paul. I stopped short of finding a photo of Magneto next and the snow owl came to mind at the end there. So what's the point of this? Not sure. I guess that Ron Paul is a descendant of snow owls?

FreeScore.com dudes

2011-12-10T10:16:00.000-05:00

It bothers me how all three FreeScore.com guys are totally generic looking white dudes. Was there a decision made to cast them like this? I'll give them the benefit of the doubt but then again... I suppose at least the bad credit score guy being white too is some consolation.

Unfortunate Name

2011-12-09T23:12:00.000-05:00

So I was watching the footage that Fox News used of riots in Greece saying they were in Moscow when I got completely distracted by this guy's name. Soooo many names to choose form. Why "Tiny"? Poor little guy.

Spy on the Shelf

2011-12-09T09:51:00.000-05:00

The Elf on the Shelf. I never heard of this tradition until this year. I think it started the same year the Patriot Act was signed.

Basically you get a little elf guy who and put him somewhere in your house and tell the kids that if they're bad the elf will tell Santa and he'll send the gifts to China or something. The idea is to move it around so the kids never know where it could be. To be honest it kind of creeps me out. I half expect it to show up taped to the bottom of the toilet lid or suddenly see it in my rear view.

Tomo Anthology

2011-12-08T10:14:00.000-05:00

I have a 12 page SAM story in an anthology called Tomo ("friend") from Stone Bridge Press to be released March 2012. It features stories relating to the earthquake and tsunami all from young adult's POV.

The story is titled "Kazoku" which means family. In this alternate universe, a 16-year old SAM comes to terms with his American upbringing and his ties to Japan.

Sale proceeds to benefit relief efforts in Japan. Here is an interview about it. Check out a 16-year-old me in a kimono.

Old School Wednesday: Pearl Harbor vs. Atomic Bomb

2011-12-07T09:50:00.000-05:00

Here's one that got a lot of undies in a bunch when it came out.

On the one hand, we have the tragic deaths of 2400+ US soldiers at a military base who were (as we now discover) allowed to be raided in order to give president Roosevelt a reason to enter the war against Germany and Italy. One the other hand we have 200,000+ civilian deaths (men/women/children) over several months resulting from the atomic bombs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Two very different events occuring at the beginning and end of the US's involvement in WWII.

Both are horrible tragedies in their own right but as a Japanese American I have very personal and conflicted feelings about them. Is there a difference in "value" between servicemen and civilians? How is it that a military mission that was well broadcast against a military target a sneak attack and the mass bombing of hundreds of thousands of civilians was justified and necessary? We send drones out to take down terrorists all day long and I doubt we send an invite before we do so.

Despite my apparent lack of patriotism please give a thought today to those who lost their lives in Pearl Harbor.

Too Proud to Work?

2011-12-04T00:09:00.000-05:00

If you got laid off/downsized out of a decent job and was having trouble finding something of equal pay/stature would you be too proud to take a job bagging groceries or delivering food until you did?

ComicaziCon - Badass Bazaar

2011-12-03T23:57:00.000-05:00

I'll be at the Comicazi Con Badass Bazaar all day Sunday with plenty of DigBoston gear, SAM books and good times. It all goes down at the Dilboy VFW Hall in Davis Square, Somerville from 10am-4pm. Lots of local artists selling their wares. Come out and support!

Akira Final Cast Announced!

2011-12-02T23:40:00.001-05:00

Looks awesome! Neo Beverly Hills is about to explode!

My X-Mas List

2011-12-01T10:58:00.001-05:00

I know there are at least a few of you billionaires out there waiting to blow some cash so here's my short wish list for Santa. Bonus points if you can somehow combine all three in one sweet suit.

Old School SAM: A Racist is a racist is a racist

2011-11-30T09:50:00.000-05:00

Yeah, I've been called a racist (among other things). And depending on whose definition of "racist" you go by they may have a point. But I do differentiate people who do things for their race by harming others versus doing things for their race by supporting their own. If that makes me a racist sign me up.

Extreme Moderate

2011-11-27T09:03:00.000-05:00

All my life I've had this unshakable instinct to explore multiple sides of things. Almost to a flaw. To some it comes across as a lack of conviction. But when it comes time to make a decision I tend to not have a problem taking sides.

Old School Secret Asian Man: Wise Old Chinese Lady

2011-11-23T21:35:00.001-05:00

Seven Billion People

2011-11-20T01:06:00.001-05:00

Presidential Social Networks

2011-11-18T11:36:00.000-05:00

So I did a little legwork and came up with this graph to illustrate something. It started as pure curiosity of how many Facebook likes and Twitter followers each of the candidates had. Clearly Obama blows everyone out of the water. Left wing spin is "It's because he's that good!" Right wing spin is "He's cheating a la Acorn!" But after compiling this info I started thinking about another trend.

I realize social network popularity is NOT an accurate depiction of the country at large. It merely shows who likes/follows a specific candidate among those who use the internet, who bother using social networks, who bother liking/following candidates. So instead of focusing on who had the highest numbers, I started thinking about what this data reveals about social network users. Looking at the numbers it seems social network users fall heavily into the left side of the spectrum. Even all the GOP candidates added up don't equal 10% of just Obama's numbers.

If this is true, then left-leaning people may also be more open to having their personal information available to the public. I definitely know some folks firmly on the right who stay away from social networking like the plague for specifically this reason. This mirrors the stereotype of lefties being more trusting of government to be capable of solving larger issues and righties distrust of leaving things to other people.

But I guess all this makes sense since Al Gore birthed the internet...gross. I have to go wash my eyes of that image now.

Old School Wednesdays: Social Food Chain

2011-11-16T21:55:00.001-05:00

Sorry for the late post. Strip dated November 13, 2000. Think things are still the same?

The Hobbit Video Blog

2011-11-15T23:12:00.000-05:00

I've been nerding out to behind the scenes footage of The Hobbit. This video blog with Peter Jackson is pretty sweet and the technical aspects of this boggles my mind. I like when Peter Jackson starts talking about the 3D, 48 frames per second filming and says it's like someone cut a hole in the front of the theater and you're watching reality on the other side.

Meme Killing: Occupy Cop Edition

2011-11-15T18:55:00.000-05:00

I bet the music in his head was righteous.

Diversity Training

2011-11-14T10:43:00.000-05:00

This morning while I was in line at Dunkin' Donuts I heard a couple of guys behind me lamenting the diversity training they had to go through. Having never taken anything like that it made me curious what it must be like. Anyone out there go through it?

I can see how some of it could be cringe-worthy. And the thought of diversity training conjured the image of a superhero group. There's the Amazing Wheelchair Man, Ms. Latina, the Mysterious Ambiguously Ethnic Lady and The Black Guy.

As I started to think about what the diversity training Danger Room would look like, I watched the two men get their coffees from Chinese Lady and their food from a Middle Eastern Man and wondered if they even realized the awkwardness of that situation.

Suburban Asian Man

2011-11-13T10:19:00.000-05:00

Raking, mowing, clearing gutters. It all comes with the package. But I just keep telling myself "These are MY dead leaves on MY lawn. MY clogged gutters." Sigh.

Old School Wednesdays: US vs. China

2011-11-09T10:53:00.000-05:00

From December 6, 2006. This was one of those strips where people were confused why SAM said "we'd" be outnumbered 4 to 1 thinking he represented China and was not speaking as an American.

Occupy Unemployment

2011-11-06T07:59:00.000-05:00

Affirmative Action Poll Results

2011-11-04T22:54:00.000-04:00

Looks like it's pretty definitive that most of you guys don't think affirmative action works or at the least, it shows unfair favoritism. There's a very basic logic that using race as a basis for any sort of benefit can be construed as racist. I think most people acknowledge that. But it's like while most people agree killing is wrong, many can justify war. Now that I've equated supporters of affirmative action with people who like war, I'll just shut up and sit in the corner.

Old School Wednesdays - Secret Asian Man on Anime

2011-11-02T12:43:00.000-04:00

This one is from waaaaay back in December 3, 2001.

Herman Cain Sexual Harassment Charges

2011-11-01T23:37:00.000-04:00

Anyone think this is purely a left wing attack machine in action? Did an anti-Cain right winger leak the story to Politico? Is Cain trying to derail his own campaign himself realizing he might actually and up the GOP candidate?

More meme slaying

2011-10-31T23:13:00.000-04:00

Another take on things I see on Facebook.

Occupy Halloween!

2011-10-30T00:09:00.000-04:00

My heart goes out to all the dedicated people showing the world what they think of our screwed up financial and political system. Happy Halloween.

Affirmative action

2011-10-27T22:38:00.001-04:00

Over the years I've struggled with the concept of affirmative action. I fully understand the need to give a helping hand to those who are in a situation that they would otherwise find it VERY difficult to rise above. On the other hand there's something fundamentally unfair feeling about it.

Here's an interesting opinion at HuffPo.

This week's poll poses the question: Does affirmative action work? Please answer in the poll to the right.

Old School Wednesdays: SAM strips from way back

2011-10-26T09:55:00.000-04:00

I've been playing around with the idea of publishing my old strips (from, like, 10 years ago) into a book and include some new material as well. So I thought it might be a good idea to start posting these strips for people who have most likely never read them. So I'm instituting "Old School Wednesdays". Enjoy!

Halloween costumes

2011-10-23T22:46:00.000-04:00

I was doing a little research on costumes for next week's strip and noticed something kind of messed up when I did image searches for boys and girls. I suppose I should be relieved to have two boys?

Welcome home

2011-10-22T23:49:00.001-04:00

I drew this

2011-10-19T17:56:00.001-04:00

A good friend of mine has been going to and organizing scooter rallies for years. I've done several illustrations that were used for patches (every rally has an official name and associated patch that people slap on their jackets).

Here are some others I did:
Resurrection Rally
Wicked Pissah Rally
Midnight Ride
Scooter Addict National Convention
Cocoa Beach Rally

Go check out some other sweet scooter patches here.

Tommy or Tammy

2011-10-17T12:43:00.000-04:00

This is a pretty loaded story. I have to admit, this is a tough one for me to figure out. Basically an 11 year old biological boy is being given medication to delay puberty so he will have more time to decide his gender. My immediate reaction was giving hormone delaying drugs to an 11 year old kid sounds pretty messed up. But I had to take it with a grain of salt since I know nothing about this drug in terms of how damaging or beneficial it could be. I definitely don't agree with the analogy that it's like "performing liposuction on an anorexic child." That doesn't even make sense. Also interesting that the boy having lesbian parents is introduced immediately.

It sounds like the kid has several issues going on at the same time (threatening self mutilation of genitals, speech impediment, gender identity disorder…). Just not sure adding medication to the mix is a hot idea.

Thoughts? Would love to hear from people who have similar personal experiences.

McDonald's Never Tasted so Good

2011-10-16T09:38:00.000-04:00

And your pundit president is...

2011-10-15T21:43:00.000-04:00

Jon Stewart by a landslide. From the get go Stewart lead the pack and just kept pulling away. Coming in second was a bullet to the head. I was most surprised with Limbaugh's numbers compared to Hannity and O'Reilly. And right towards the end Maddow really pulled in votes. Not sure how to explain that one. There were definitely people I didn't include like Beck, Coulter and Olbermann but I get the feeling the final results would have been the same with Stewart on top. Thanks to everyone for voting!

More Meme Killing

2011-10-13T14:27:00.000-04:00

Thanks for Sharing

2011-10-12T00:15:00.000-04:00

I little while ago I posted on Facebook about all the recent posts that have featured text within images to make them more visually appealing. So I thought I'd take a stab at some of the more popular ones I've noticed and...uh...tweak them a bit.

Simon's Release Day

2011-10-09T00:59:00.000-04:00

Pundits are just unelected politicians without any balls

2011-10-05T21:29:00.000-04:00

I listen to a lot of political pundits go on about whoever they're hating on that day. Namely I listen to Limbaugh, Maddow, O'Reilly, Stewart, Hannity, Matthews, Colbert, Maher,...pretty much everyone (except Glenn Beck. I tried. Can't do it.). Sure I agree with some more than others but over and over again I'm reminded of one common trait they share: they have ALL the answers but NONE of them have the courage to run for office.

This may sound like some weird endorsement of politicians but at least politicians have the balls to put their name on a ballot and let the public make up their minds. This would explain the recent trend of politicians choosing to become pundits instead of pursuing political office (Palin, Spitzer, Huckabee...). Think of the perks! You can't get voted out of your job, you're encouraged to make outlandish statements, you are put in a king-maker position and you can make a ton more money.

So this all leaves me with a burning question: Would your favorite pundit make a good president?

The Results are In!

2011-10-05T11:46:00.001-04:00

Here are the results from last week's "Which GOP Candidate Would You Vote For Today?" poll. Your winner with 27% of the votes is RON PAUL. It was interesting to watch your votes come in. Romney hit a very early lead with Huntsman coming in a close and consistent second. Ron Paul third. Then towards the end Paul just blasted past Romney and Huntsman. Cain started to receive votes towards the end as well. And seeing hardly any action were Santorum, Bachmann and Gingrich.

Worthy of note, while Gary Johnson did better than the bottom three he's become an outsider, not being included in upcoming GOP debates. He's also going to be biking about 450 miles campaigning around New Hampshire. Gotta give it up for that.

Simon's New Ink

2011-10-02T02:03:00.001-04:00

My Super Scientific GOP Candidate Poll

2011-09-26T21:32:00.000-04:00

To all my Republican friends (and non-Republican for that matter). If you could do me a solid and take my super scientific, one click poll over there on the right. I'd greatly appreciate it. I would simply ask on a Facebook post but I realize some people would rather keep their answers private.

The reason I'm doing this is to gauge who the most popular candidates are at this early stage in the race among fans of SAM. I'm curious to see if there are any clear front runners or trends. If you could please take two seconds and click who your choice is I'd deeply appreciate it. Voting ends 10/3. Thanks!

Meet the new Simon

2011-09-25T12:17:00.000-04:00

MICE 9/24 At University Hall in Porter Square

2011-09-21T09:17:00.000-04:00

This Saturday there's a really cool event called MICE (Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo) happening in Porter Square, steps from the Red Line station. There will be scores of hard working, independent comic artists there selling their work so please come by and support them.

There will also be workshops and panels throughout the day. I'm going to be on one at 1:30 called Comics and Social Justice: Cartoons with a Cause. The moderator will be Che Shalazar and the panelists will include Rebecca Midgal (World War Three Illustrated), Colin Tedford (Trees & Hills Comics Group) and Anna Mudd (Harvard Center for Middle Eastern Studies).

I'll be at the DigBoston table spreading the word about our Sunday Comics Project and giving out some goodies as well. See you there!

Guess Who's Back?

2011-09-17T23:21:00.000-04:00

@NYU THIS TUESDAY 9/20

2011-09-16T11:00:00.000-04:00

A little last minute but totally psyched to be there. I'll be going down to NYC for a series of fun events at NYU. Details below:

Tuesday, September 20, 2011
A/P/A Institute at NYU
7th Floor Gallery
41-51 E. 11th Street
6:00-9:00PM

RSVP: online at www. apa.nyu.edu | apa.rsvp@nyu.edu | 212.992.9653
Free and open to the public.

Larry Hama: Artist-in-Residence
Join us as we welcome Larry Hama as our 2011-2012 Artist-in-Residence!

Hama will speak about his project plans for an online comic anthology and participate in the panel Beyond The Funny Pages: Comics, Culture and Communication curated and moderated by Marvels & Monsters exhibition curator and cultural critic Jeff Yang.

Beyond The Funny Pages: Comics, Culture and Communication Panel
7PM-8PM
The panel focuses on applications of comic art in venues beyond entertainment — from politics to preservation of history to a new language for instruction. The panel features those who are subverting or pushing the boundaries of the form such as Larry Hama, Christine Norrie, Greg Pak, Tak Toyoshima and GB Tran. Moderated by Jeff Yang.

More information about Larry Hama and the panelists.

Exhibition Opening for “Marvels & Monsters: Unmasking Asian Images in U.S. Comics, 1942-1986
Over four decades that included some of the most turbulent times in our nation's history, science fiction author and cultural studies scholar William F. Wu painstakingly gathered an archive of comics distinguished not only by its size and reach, but by its scope: It is perhaps the world's only, and certainly the largest, collection of comic books featuring images of Asians and Asian Americans. The exhibition Marvels and Monsters: Unmasking Asian Images in U.S. Comics, 1942-1986

The pulp phantasmagoria of Wu's archive isn't just a treasure trove for fans of graphic fiction, it's also a unique and fascinating look at America's evolving racial and cultural sensibility — showing how images that began as racist and xenophobic propaganda during times of war and nativist unrest have coalesced into archetypes that in many ways still define America's perception of Asians today.

The Twin Towers

2011-09-10T20:45:00.000-04:00

As the 10th anniversary of 9/11 arrives, I find a lot of people are reflecting on where they were, what they were doing and how they felt on that day. I'm no different but having been born and raised in the shadow of the Twin Towers I find myself also thinking of the good times I spent in that neighborhood. This week's "strip" is just a snapshot of a time when NYC was my world. It's strange to think that not only are the towers gone, but the West Side Highway that I'm riding on. That bike is probably in a junkyard somewhere too.

But alas 9/11 isn't about buildings and lost things. It's about people. Give a thought to those we lost.

It's time for an Admiral Ackbar comeback

2011-09-04T16:13:00.000-04:00

The good admiral knows how to get down.

Final Hurricane Thought

2011-08-28T19:58:00.000-04:00

She came and went and we got off relatively easy here just south of Boston. I always find it interesting how large scale climate events like this force us to show our hands of the type of person we are. Here are some "types" I've identified:

The super-prepared - these people have stocked up on water, batteries and gasoline generators if they did already own one. These are also the people who tend to shutter themselves into their houses and leave the news on TV to follow every inch of the hurricane's progress. These people are also likely to have CB or ham radios constantly dialed into the police band or neighborhood crime reports even when there isn't a natural disaster. These people own guns. Under non-emergency situations they may seem a bit crazy but they will survive the zombie apocalypse.

The casually cautious - these people will go out and feel compelled to at least do something to prepare. Maybe buy an extra pack of batteries. Maybe buy an extra box on donuts. I totally fall into this category. We care about what's going on but aren't so wrapped up in it to let it alarm us, for better or for worse. We'll even go so far as make light-hearted comments online while privately hoping a tree doesn't fall through the roof.

The non-chalant observer - these people are aware that something is happening but barely. They don't care about the news reports. These are the people who show up at the train station only to find a sign saying the trains aren't running despite numerous on-air and online warnings. The storm is more of a nuisance than anything else. These people might not own a flashlight at all.

The moron - these people are fully aware of what's coming but decide to take advantage of it and somehow make it work for them. These are the people who wander down to the beach to watch the tides and storm pull in. These people like to water ski behind pick-up trucks and flash TV news crews (NSFW).

Accept Your Gender Role

2011-08-28T07:57:00.000-04:00

Hands off my comics!

2011-08-26T21:51:00.001-04:00

It seems I forgot to post my strip last Sunday. Funny that it's kind of appropriate that the strip is about comics since I'm headed down to ComiCONN in Stamford, CT tomorrow morning. I'll be there all day unless of course hurricane Irene decides to show up a little early. If you're in the neighborhood come by and say hi!

2012 Election

2011-08-12T14:55:00.000-04:00

Normally I would wait until Sunday to post this but in light of last night's Republican Presidential Debate...

The Apple generation

2011-08-07T11:47:00.000-04:00

It's no secret I'm a big fan of Apple products. I'm amazed at the array of Apple products at our house. I know there are plenty of PC based fans out there but for my money, Apple is the way to go. Even after hearing about how Apple Powerbook batteries can be hacked to potentially explode.

Things I witnessed at Dunkin' Donuts

2011-08-04T10:09:00.000-04:00

Pretty much every morning I grab an iced coffee from Dunkies and there's almost always an unusual experience.

This morning I held the door for a lady with a baby carriage and let her in front of me on line. She looked like she wasn't focusing on this plane of existence. She went up to the counter and ordered a large, iced caramel coffee with ten Splendas. TEN SPLENDAS!!! Now, I'm no doctor but that doesn't seem to be a good idea. Especially if she's breastfeeding. With all that sweetener I wonder if it comes out as ice cream.

My country is better than your country

2011-07-31T16:23:00.000-04:00

No doubt there are a lot of things going wrong right now but I'm always amazed at how people snap at the notion of adopting the policies of another country or comparisons to them. Even more amazed when people say it with such disgust on TV, especially about some of our closer allies. "You don't want to be like Canada, do you?"

C-SPAN, the original reality TV network

2011-07-27T20:19:00.001-04:00

I had to work from home today but one of the advantages to that is I can have the TV on in the background and listen to the news without clogging my bandwidth. I used to watch a lot of CNN and it still tends to be one of the first sites I go to when something goes down but more and more it's becoming unwatchable.

Occasionally I head over to Fox News to see how the world looks from a broken, backwards mirror smeared with grease (I listen to conservative radio on my drive in to work too). But even with my have-an-open-mind-and swap-perspectives cap on I find myself turning away. Then it happened. Like when you suddenly notice the quite geeky girl in the corner is actually kind of cute. I watched C-SPAN.

For those who don't know, C-SPAN is basically a security camera mounted on the wall at all sorts of different meetings, hearings, legislative sessions an...d...zzzzzzzzzzzzzz. But to be honest, it's really refreshing to hear words come straight out of a politician's mouth without it being a sound bite or having some lunatic gaffawing at it. Plus it's completely in context. I even enjoy the odd/uncomfortably long pauses between speakers and how they all call each other "friends". They almost seem human. I especially liked when an expert on terrorism was talking about how to identify and deal with extremist groups in the states and in the background there was some guy who was clearly sent a link to a video of someone barfing on a poodle or something and was giggling.

In this light, government definitely isn't sexy or even divisive. It's just really, really deliberate and process driven and it's full of moments at work that a lot of us probably experience. Like that 2 o'clock felling. No wonder we see so many politicians nodding off during these sessions. And they have great caller feedback.

So, C-SPAN, welcome to my news feed. I look forward to many hours of unbiased inform...a..zzzzzzzzzzz.

Summer's Eve commercials

2011-07-25T23:50:00.000-04:00

By now you've seen at least one of Summer's Eve's talking hand puppet vagina ads (a sentence I thought I'd never write...). If you haven't, there are three that represent a white woman, a black woman and a Latina woman. There's some controversy over some of the eye-rolling dialog and accents of the minority vaginas. But, of course, who gets left out again? Asians. And who knew? Do a Google image search for "Asian" and it's clear there are Asian vaginas all over the place! WTF Summer's Eve! I demand a ching-chongy, gong-ridden talking vagina to represent our Asian women! Well...on second thought, thanks for leaving us out of this one.

Victims of Canine Stereotype

2011-07-24T18:21:00.000-04:00

People aren't the only ones subject to stereotype. What must it be like being a penguin with everyone wanting you to either dance or serve them food on a platter. How about the poor vegetarian mosquito? Please keep an open mind and remember that the next cute, fuzzy bunny rabbit you see may want to bite your face off.

HA HA ROAD Gallery Show

2011-07-21T11:37:00.000-04:00

Secret Asian Man will be chilling out in the UK from August 12 through October 23 at the QUAD Gallery for the Ha Ha Road exhibition. There's going to be live performances, photography and comics all themed with humor in mind. Opening party August 11 from 6-9pm. rsvp to theoffice@derbyquad.co.uk. Snag a cheap Virgin flight over and see yourself a jolly good show!

ORIGINAL ART SALE!

2011-07-15T23:25:00.000-04:00

Until the end of July, I will be selling original Secret Asian Man comic art at a special reduced price. With each purchase you will receive:

• a published, original brush/pen piece of artwork that will be signed
• a color print of the strip as it appeared in print (with dialog)
• Free shipping within the United States. International orders please select "international shipping" option

Mouse over strips to see BW and color versions. Click strips to zoom.

After this I will begin to make the original art for the strips available for purchase like I used to (the art sale at secretasianman.com is wicked outdated!). I'll be updating throughout the sale with new artwork too.

Arizona SB1070 - published 8/1/2010
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The Lifecycle of an Artist

2011-07-10T09:33:00.000-04:00

An oldie but a goodie. The other group I'd include in the artist-as-colonizers category is gay people. We seem to be some of the few and the proud who will venture into a seemingly crap-hole of a neighborhood and set up shop. Usually because prices are cheap but also these areas tend to have interesting dwelling options like shelled out factories or abandoned churches.

Moving On

2011-07-03T23:14:00.000-04:00

At some point the shock of a loved one going to prison fades and reality resumes its course. Sort of. Happy 4th everyone.