If this doesn't get you guys angry, I don't know what will

That racist jackasshole Elkhay actually celebrated the launching of Chinese Laundry by bringing in a real, live, and nude Asian American model.

http://www.bostonherald.com/track/inside_track/view.bg?articleid=1079100&srvc=rss

And to make matters worse, the oxygen thieves over at the Herald have to be racist towards Jenn too.

New Asian eatery’s wanton ad leaves bad taste for some

By Inside Track
Monday, March 10, 2008

Chinese Laundry, a new fusion eatery in Providence has drawn the ire of a blogger called “Angry Asian American Woman” who is steamed about provocative print ads placed by the restaurant to promote tomorrow night’s opening.

The glossy ads, which have run in Providence Monthly, show a nearly naked woman with Oriental symbols tattooed on her torso with copy that reads “Good things come to those who wait” and “The wait is over.”

The ad, according to Jenn, the Angry one, “relies on Orientalist fetishization to sell the store: The message of the ad is that the Asian food of the restaurant - like Asian women - are exotic and different, and will represent a new experience.

“Diners are urged by the ad, then, to come and consume the Eastern food much as they would hope to consume and conquer the Asian woman,” she writes on her blog at www.reappropriate.com.

Whoa. What if you only want a bowl of chow foon?

Jenn’s noodle would have been really fried if she caught the scene on Friday night, when Chinese Laundry threw an opening-night party attended by New England Patriots [team stats] Dan Koppen, Matt Light [stats] and Sam Neal.

Apparently, the star of the night was a live Asian model draped in red silk sheets and sushi - and not much else - posing atop a long table that could be viewed from the glass floor in the main dining room.

John Elkay, the restaurant’s owner, posted on the blog over the weekend that “The only thing I was trying to conquer was a guest’s appetite.

“In today’s overstimulated world is it possible we were just trying to get the attention of the reader and not trying to conquer the east and their woman?” he asked.

Despite the response by the owner, fired-up bloggers are still calling for a boycott and a campaign backed by a national civil rights organization. And one over-zealous poster suggested torching the North Main Street eatery! But the Angry Asian American woman threw cold water on that one.

And speaking of Koppen, we hear the almost-bachelor-no-mo’ offensive line biggie was roasted and toasted by his buds Tedy Bruschi [stats], Light and many more at Abe & Louie’s steakhouse in the Back Bay the other night.

Koppen and fiancee Amber van Eeghen, an ex-New England Patriots [team stats] cheerleader, are tying the knot veddy soon. Rib-eyes all around.

Scanned Chinese Laundry Ad

Flame away.

Welcome to America, Yao Ming

On June 28 2003, after the Houston Rockets used the number one pick of the NBA draft on Yao Ming, Shaquille O’Neal went on the Best Damn Sports Show Period to say, “Tell Yao Ming, ‘ching-chong-yang-wah-ah-soh.’” He followed his taunt with some kung fu chops through the air. Yao, a 7’6” center from China, was heralded as the NBA’s next dominant center, the next Shaq, the man who would take O’Neal’s crown as the best at his position. Shaq, ever a media darling, received almost no negative press for the comment. The Asian American community did complain, to which Shaq responded that his comments were not racist.

Surely to O’Neal’s chagrin, NBA fans voted Yao Ming to start in that year’s All-Star Game, over Shaq. In fact, Yao received more votes than any other player that year, primarily due to the fact that voting was global. Said ABC sportscaster Brent Musburger, “the hordes of China” helped Yao steal the All-Star berth from O’Neal.

Since Yao Ming entered the NBA, he has embodied a number of contradictions. His 7’6” 310-pound body is large and numbering, but his playing style has often been criticized as soft. His popularity in China generates resentment from fans and commentators alike, and yet he has been the face of the NBA’s attempts to break into new markets, especially China. The mixed results of Yao’s foray into the mainstream, masculine world of the NBA is a case study for how Asians have entered pop culture, and how Asian men have dealt with constructions of masculinity.

In basketball vernacular, players and teams can rely on power or finesse. O’Neal is the prototypical power player, using his strength to push, crash, and simply move players on his way to a thunderous dunk. Yao is the opposite: a finesse player who uses skilled shots, clever passes, and deft hooks. In a league obsessed with manly toughness, the finesse player gets no love; Yao has been called soft throughout his career. He lacks aggression, toughness, and the ability to intimidate other players. His YouTube highlights include falling down when attempting to defend against fast players, and getting blocked by a barely–six foot Nate Robinson. Commentators have noted that Yao’s lack of aggression reflects cultural differences.

How does Yao’s performance on the court affect Americans’ perceptions of Asian men? How does Yao, nick-named the Great Wall of China, represent Asia and China to the U.S. public? How does Yao’s integration into basketball (or lack thereof—none of his teammates attended his wedding) speak to Asians’ integration into U.S. culture?