Celebrity Fighter: Boxing aficionados had been anxiously awaiting the rematch of Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao against Juan Manual Marquez of Mexico. For the first five rounds, the match was close as in the past, however Marquez hit a perfect punch in Round 6 to knock out the Pacman last weekend in Las Vegas. An emotional Pacquiao went on national TV and apologized for letting down his country however he said he intended to fight again. I’m sure pundits are blaming his loss on his “distractions.” Pacquiao was elected to the House of Representatives in the 15th Congress of the Philippines in May 2010, representing the province of Sarangani, his wife’s home town. And earlier this year, the couple opened their first hotel in General Santos City, Manny’s hometown. However his $23M “show” purse will go a long way until his next fight….fans hope it will be against Floyd “Pretty Boy Money” Mayweather. Both are eight time world champs, about the same age, height, reach with impressive fight records and charismatic sportsmen. Floyd doing the dance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNWqDgI2Vl0
Red Hot: There’s hardly an “Us Weekly” that doesn’t feature the leggy Olivia Munn in the latest outfit-of-the-week and she made Gerard Butler blush on last week’s Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Lisa Olivia Munn was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to a Chinese mother and a German/Irish father. As an Air Force child, she moved frequently but lived predominantly in Tokyo, Japan where she learned to speak Japanese. It now makes sense…she was so impressive as her character “Sloan” on “The Newsroom” directly interrogated a Japanese nuclear power plant executive in English and fluent Japanese. She later moved back to the US, launched her TV career as a teen surfer (uses a 7 foot 4 board today) in “Beyond the Break” (2006) and has worked steadily ever since. Her ranking with Maxim readers has also steadily improved: she was ranked #99/100 in 2008’s Hottest Women, #8 in 2010 and #2 in 2011 beating out Katy Perry, Cameron Diaz and Mila Kunis. Fun Fact: She competed in the Rock, Paper, Scissors World Championship in Toronto in 2009 where the US handily defeated Canada.
A Pioneer: I’m not into fancy cars or driving fast but I’m slowly warming up to professional racing. “Days of Thunder” and Ricky Bobby gave amateurs a glimpse into NASCAR (second only to Football amongst US television ratings.) On the international Formula 1 front China may start getting some traction with its first F1 driver after building a brand new state of the art race track outside of Shanghai in 2004. This summer, the 24 year old Ma Qing Hua became the first Chinese-born driver to test in Formula One, completing 82 laps at the British Grand Prix. Ma has previously competed in Formula Renault, A1 Grand Prix, Formula Three, and Superleague. Lets’ see if attendance improves at the annual Formula 1 China Grand Prix in April 2013.
James Kyson Lee, Sherri Bryant, Jennifer Sanderson and Adrian Zaw
Poker Faces: Last month’s star studded CAPE (Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment) poker tournament event raised $100,000 for the “I AM…ALL IN” public service announcements highlighting positive Asian American Pacific Islander role models in the community. The night was full of bright stars that brought together a diverse, cross section of celebrity players: Brian Tee will surely be using his Japanese language skills in next year’s “The Wolverine” starring Hugh Jackman; If you can’t get to Hawaii, feel the vibe on “Hawaii Five O” with Ian Anthony Dale; Who can forget Carrie Ann Inaba’s comeback cameo in the 2002 hit “Austin Powers” spy comedy as Fook You, twin sister of Fook Mi; Veteran Amy Hill started her career with the famed Asian American Theater Company in San Francisco; Another comedian, artist, and a fashion designer, Hana Mae Lee plays one of the divas in “Pitch Perfect” (released in October); and Avid outdoorsman and TV Guide’s “Hollywood’s 25 Hottest” James Kyson didn’t disappoint.
PS: If you have pesky neighbors this holiday season and are as Psy-ched and obsessed as I am, try this for amusement: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jWN5Myxtwg&feature=related)