The Business of Belonging, Part 1: Finding Community, Doing the Work, and Feeling (Un)Welcomed
A moral audit (of sorts): How AAPI advocacy organizations use resources, money, and power to give back to the communities they claim to serve. During a post-movie dinner with a group of fellow Filipinos, the conversation turned to a film little known beyond the...
Shorty Reviews: The Existential Road Trip From Hell in ‘It Ends’; My Thots on ‘Passenger’ and ‘Camp Rock 3’
SPOILER ALERT: This article includes details about It Ends, Passenger, and Camp Rock 3. It Ends… or does it? Following the success of Backrooms and Obsession, director Alex Ullom is the latest to jump on the horror auteur train with It Ends. It Ends premiered at SXSW...
‘Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma’: Jane Schoenbrun Serves a Valuable Lesson in Slasher Movies, Gender, and Queerness
SPOILER ALERT: This article contains details about Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma When I attended Texas A&M University, and at the time, it was over 80% white. I was constantly in search of classes that had flavor and color… literally. Considering the...
The Business of Belonging Part 2: The Golden Era of AAPI Representation and Those Who Were Left Behind
A moral audit (of sorts): How AAPI advocacy organizations use resources, money, and power to give back to the communities they claim to serve. Around 2018, when I was an editor at Deadline...
Shorty Reviews: ‘By Any Means’, ‘Coyote vs. Acme’, ‘Forgotten Island’ Preview, ‘The Great Food Truck Race’, and Revisiting ‘9 to 5’
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! We recently took down the paywall and have made DIASPORA a free newsletter as we continue our nonprofit journey, but please consider donating to help us...
EVENTS
DIASPORA Calendar: September 7 – September 13, 2026
FILM The Monster Squad in 35mm – 11 AM, September 12: Sean Crenshaw (Andre Gower) is the leader of his school's monster club, a group of monster- and horror film-loving pre-teens who get the thrill of their lives when their favorite on-screen creatures show up in...
DIASPORA Calendar: August 31 – September 6, 2026
FILM The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas – 7:30 PM, August 31: The movie musical starring the late, great, and legendary Doly Parton follows a town sheriff and a regular patron of a historical whorehouse that fights to keep it running when a television reporter...
DIASPORA Calendar: August 24 – August 30, 2026
BOOKS FalconINK Presents: Hard Ball and Wild Game: Open Season – 5 PM, August 29, 2026: Join Booksoup for a special evening in celebration of FalconINK’s first two novellas! Featuring appearances by Derek Kage, Eddie Burke, co-author Ben Rush, and some of your...
DIASPORA Calendar: August 17 – August 23, 2026
FILM Cult Classics Cinema presents Idlewild starring Outkast 7 PM, August 23: Classic Cinema, curated by DJ Rosegawd in Los Angeles, is a cinematic and musical journey celebrating classic Black movies and the soundtracks that brought them to life. This series honors a...
COMMENTARY
The Business of Belonging Part 2: The Golden Era of AAPI Representation and Those Who Were Left Behind
A moral audit (of sorts): How AAPI advocacy organizations use resources, money, and power to give back to the communities they claim to serve. Around 2018, when I was an editor at Deadline...
Shorty Reviews: ‘By Any Means’, ‘Coyote vs. Acme’, ‘Forgotten Island’ Preview, ‘The Great Food Truck Race’, and Revisiting ‘9 to 5’
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! We recently took down the paywall and have made DIASPORA a free newsletter as we continue our nonprofit journey, but please consider donating to help us continue raise...
DOSSIER
CLASSICS: ‘The Craft’
Talking to younger folks should make me feel old, but it just makes me feel wiser and more experienced. By default, older people have more life experience than younger folks and therefore makes us...
MUSIC: Toshi
During the late '90s and early '00s, I was very much into the neo-soul scene. I was obsessed with artists featured on Okayplayer and beyond. I loved vibing to music from D'Angelo, Floetry, Les...
THE DIASPORA LIBRARY
‘In Cold Blood’ by Truman Capote
I recently re-read Truman Capote's In Cold Blood and realized: "OMG. This is basically procedural... a true crime podcast, even." In Cold Blood shook the literary world. Capote brought literary...
‘In Defense of Our America: The Fight for Civil Liberties in the Age of Terror’ by Anthony D. Romero and Dina Temple-Raston
Since the world is less-than-desirable when it comes to civil rights as of late, I recommend the book In Defense of Our America: The Fight for Civil Liberties in the Age of Terror by ACLU Executive...