Friday Fuckery: James Leland Dolan

You Guys!! Did you know that James Dolan, the Exec Chairman of Madison Square Garden, Inc., owner of the NY Knicks, and gifted music man, has a long and storied history — especially when it comes to profiting off of working with talented Chinese Americans — that stretches all the way back to his great-great grandfather James Leland Dolan? And you guessed it — it involves the The Transcontinental Railroad!

Yessiree, read all about ye olden times, when “Knickerbockers” was part of common lexicon and harpsichord was the instrument of favor. Plus, being illiterate with pyro tendencies didn’t necessarily prevent one from becoming filthy rich. Confused? Yo, son — get your history lesson!

Thank Groban that esteemed scholar and historian Terry K. Park was able to delve into the dusty annals of US history and recover this little known, yet influential tycoon.

Thanks TKP!

Race and Jeremy Lin: A Compilation of the Best Articles This Month

There are a lot of Jeremy Lin articles out there. And by a lot, I mean A LOT. I was going to write about how we’ve followed his game from the Harvard v Santa Clara U match up with his parents all wearing We Believe shirts sitting in front row and the whole arena (which seats 2 people) chanting “Over-rated” to the time we saw his first play in a Warriors uniform (2 steals!). But instead, I decided to take all the articles I found the most relevant and interesting and wrap them up Christmas Eve-style for your viewing pleasure. I especially liked the ones sent to me by my friends who do not follow sports. So a few of these go deep into racial theory, which is still very new to me. So read these, and skip all the superfluousness ones about “Chink in the Armor” and enjoy. And if you need a quick primer to the Jeremy Lin Show (or basketball in general), check out this Linfographic and I promise you that will be the one and only Lin Pun I use:

Linfographic: Jeremy Lin’s journey, illustrated

Linsanity: There Goes the Neighborhood by Rembert Browne of Grantland

Asian Men Can Jump by Gish Jen of The New York Times

Will Lin-sanity tame Tiger Moms? by Jeff Yang of The New York Daily News

‘We Don’t Have Anything to Call Our Own Yet’: Jeremy Lin and Narratives of Achievement Among People of Color by Ryan Davis, Negro Sunshine (People of Color Organize)

Why Jeremy Lin Matters: Asian Male Image in the Media by Ky Phong Paul Tran of New America Media

But easily my favorite is the SNL opening last week that pointed out the double standard that the media has enjoyed when it comes to being political correct for African American athletes while totally disregarding Asian American ones. GO SNL: Saturday Night Live.

ThrilLIN’: My First Knicks Game

It’s hard to believe that during the 5 years I lived in NY, I never saw the Knicks (not really, I’m the worst person to take to a sports performance. Er, sports show? Game, I mean sports game). But I finally had a big reason to go yesterday, and I’ll tell you what…all this hullaballoo about Jeremy Lin is called LINSANITY for a reason. And it wasn’t just Asians or my shameless butt going Linsane at Madison Square Garden last night.

Spot the CREED sign.

For real y’all, MSG was packed. The crowd was waving giant Jeremy heads, chanting “We Want Jeremy!”, rocking the 17 Jersey, and screaming “MVP!” in the streets. The knockoff Lin shirts being sold out of a duffel bag on 7th Ave were fought over like Tickle Me Elmos on Christmas Eve. A guy on the 6 train gushed that he had touched Jeremy…and I slooowlllly reached my fingertips out to his, E.T. style, as his girlfriend cut her eyes at me.

One of my favorite side effects of LINSANITY is the bumper crop of clever puns, written on countless homemade signs and displayed on the JumboTron. Some of my favorites:

“Every Day I’m HustleLin”

“Lin Yo Face”

“Lin be IlLin”

“Lin ‘Sync”

“Lincredible”

“To Linfinity and Beyond!”

“Lin-ternational Sensei-tion” (RACIST)

Although I was in section Pluto, row No Hopes of Ever Catching a Freebie From the T-shirt Cannon —  with the wizardry of an iPhone camera coupled with a pair of binoculars, I was able to capture the following JLin action shots:

YOU’RE WELCOME! I know it’s just basketball, but for me and many others, it feels like so much more. I can’t think of another time folks were so kray and ecstatic over an Asian American, and to see Lin’s face on display and hear his name shouted by thousands felt extraordinary (if overdue) on a visceral level. It felt like history was being made.

Thanks Vu for the last sign!

Hasan Minhaj on Jeremy Lin: Saying What We’re All Thinking

Best line: ‎”You cannot have a neck tattoo and get dunked on by a guy who took Calculus BC.”