Smart, outgoing, independent 12 year old Vicky Tran was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) in November 2011. Her ethnicity makeup is Vietnamese and Chinese, which made her search for a bone marrow donor a little more challenging. After months of searching near and far for her life-saving match, Vicky found a donor and received her transplant in early 2012. With the help of the Asian American Donor Program Vicky was one of the lucky ones and found a donor in less than a year. What she didn’t know was where and who the donor was. Her donor hero, Vincent Pan, was also in the San Francisco Bay Area. With the help of Vincent, she is currently doing well and recovering nicely post-transplant and treatments.
Bone Marrow Donor Story : Vicky Tran x Vincent Pan
Once it’s created, plastic (almost) never dies. While in 12th grade Miranda Wang and Jeanny Yao went in search of a new bacteria to biodegrade plastic — specifically by breaking down phthalates, a harmful plasticizer common to flexible plastics and linked to health problems. They found an answer surprisingly close to home. And they’re still teenagers. Their work earned a regional first place in British Columbia for the 2012 Sanofi BioGENEius Challenge Canada, as well as a special award for the most commercial potential at the contest’s finals.
12th grade scientists break down plastics with bacteria at TED
If you missed the short film documentary “Top Spin” on the film festival circuit, you have a chance to see it online. Imagine the smell of fresh rubber paddles, hollow plastic balls whirling by at 80 mph, and exclamations of victory interrupted by bitter cries of defeat. Welcome to the world of competitive table tennis. With hard work and family sacrifice, a young table tennis champion works towards becoming one of the top players in the world — Ariel Hsing exudes a quiet confidence and intensity that rivals any young professional athlete working hard to become a promising Olympic champion. However, Ariel’s story goes beyond her personal dedication and also reveals the family sacrifices that foster her talent. With the pressures of rigorous training, international tournaments, schoolwork and SAT’s — is it all worth it in the end?
Saturday morning cartoons aren’t the same anymore with Sanjay and Craig. Two best friends, one of whom happens to be a talking snake, seek maximum awesomeness in the brand-new animated series Sanjay and Craig on Nickelodeon. This 20-episode series, produced by Nickelodeon Animation Studios, follows the misadventures of Sanjay, an excitable and irreverent 12-year-old boy ( Maulik Pancholy , 30 Rock) and Craig, a smooth-talking snake and master of disguise ( Chris Hardwick , Nerdist, Back at the Barnyard). Together, they embark on epic kid-inspired quests that are at times totally ridiculous, absolutely gross and weirdly sweet. Sanjay and Craig will air regularly Saturdays at 10:30am (ET/PT) on Nickelodeon. The series features the voice talents of Pancholy and Hardwick in the lead roles with additional cast members that include: Linda Cardellini (Mad Men, Freaks and Geeks) as Megan; Matt Jones (Breaking Bad) as Hector; Tony Hale (Veep, Arrested Development) as Mr. Noodman; Kunal Nayyar (The Big Bang Theory) as Vijay; Grey DeLisle (The Fairly OddParents) as Darlene and Sandy Dickson ; and Remington Tufflips as himself.
Sanjay and Craig’s relationship is an alliance of equals, with Sanjay relying on his best buddy to aid his misadventures through their suburban neighborhood. From perfecting the ultimate bike skid, tightroping across a pool of garbage on a dare or Craig manipulating a contest to win his best buddy one hundred dogs, their routine hijinks often cross into the land of the fantastical and the absurd. Only Sanjay and his closest friends can hear Craig’s warped words of wisdom. The only thing that stands in their way is their unhinged, snake-phobic neighbor, Mr. Noodman, who’s always on the verge of figuring out that Craig can talk.
Nobody can stop Sanjay Patel’s excitement and curiosity about the world — not even himself! He can be clumsy and isn’t always equipped for the situation at hand, but he doesn’t know the meaning of the words ‘uncool’ or ‘impossible.’ This 12-year-old is a definite charmer, which is handy when your best friend is a snake.
Indian Americans have taken the top title in the past 6 straight spelling bees. Arvind Mahankali became the latest in a long line of Indian-American athletes to win the National Spelling Bee. As usual, a handful of jerks on Twitter tried to rain on the parade, but Arvind and Hari are both unfazed. Hari Kondabolu gives his take on the past winners and the current one too.
Rapper Jason Chu x singer Kevin Lien join forces for a special remix of the Lupe Fiasco’s Battle Scars. The duo shares a story about the mental and emotional pain one goes through when they suffer from bullying. The video follows a boy, hurt by his classmates and ignored by adults, who decides to take his fate – and revenge – into his own hands. It’s a story of fighting to be heard; and of learning to let go.
While bullying and violence in schools are a universal concern, the hope is that this music video can especially spark discussion and dialogue in the Asian American community, where many children grow up marginalized or seen as outcasts in junior and high school.
We get hurt – bullied, teased, left out. We lash out – hurting others, or even ourselves. And we grow colder as our heart scars over. Only love can heal our battle scars. What battle scars do you carry – and have they been healed?
INTRO
Wounds heal but this never does
That’s cause you’re at war with, love
You’re at war with, love, yeah
CHORUS
These battle scars, don’t look like they’re fading
Don’t look like they’re ever going away
They ain’t never gonna change
These battle…
VERSE 1
Ah, you used to be so bright-eyed
Sincere with your interests and your insights
I used to see the light pouring out of you
Now it’s like it’s getting late and there’s a different point of view
Can’t even keep your head up, but you ain’t dead – wait
I know it seems like the world is dead weight
Pressing down on you to stamp you out, and this is not the Clone Wars
But you’re fighting your, self
Every time you gave your love, it didn’t come back
And I know it hurt you bad, like a Heart Attack
But life ain’t Trey Songz, or even Marvin Gaye songs
And hope doesn’t only walk in Gotham with a cape on
BRIDGE
I wish I never looked, I wish I never touched
I wish that I could stop loving you so much
Cause I’m the only one that’s trying to keep us together
When all of the signs say that I could do better
I wish you weren’t the best, the best I ever had
I wish that the good outweighed the bad
Cause it’ll never be over, until you tell me it’s over
CHORUS
BRIDGE 2
Cause you’ve set me on fire
I’ve never felt so alive, yeah
You hope the wound heals, but it never does
That’s cause you’re at war with, love
And I’m at the point of breaking
And it’s impossible to shake it
You hoped the wound would heal, but it never does
That’s cause you’re at war with, love
Hope it heals, but it never does
That’s cause you’re at war with, love!
you’re at war with, love!
you’re at war with, love!
VERSE 2
You looked for love in all the wrong places
Went from exclamation marks to all lower cases
Shell casings scattered in your location
You used to make love, now you settle for masturbation
You once thought that you were strong enough
but you don’t have be strong to love
I mean, you have to be strong enough
But when you fail and you fall that’s EXACTLY when love CAN lift you up
Thank God you’re still breathing – you still survive
Cuz you were lost without your maps like the iPhone 5
Now you can get back up and give it one more try
Its hard to heal – but even dead men can rise
