by Special Correspondent Arturo Garcia

A message-board buddy of mine summed up my reaction perfectly: “And just who the hell is Matt Smith?”
Turns out the 26-year-old has been cast as the newest lead in Doctor Who, as confirmed Saturday. But, on one level, Matt Smith will represent, to me, a wasted opportunity.
Not that I think Smith […]

Hosted By Special Correspondent Arturo R. García

Heroes pulled off something rare for its’ fall finale, ending its’ third storyarc with both a bang and a whimper. How bad was it? Your friendly neighborhood Roundtable members were warning me about it before it even aired on the west coast. Take this message, for instance, from Mahsino: […]

by Special Correspondent Fatemah Fakhraie

My brother likes to push my buttons. When I bring up women’s issues, he tells me to get back to the kitchen. When I bring up Iranian culture, he cracks jokes in a fakey Middle Eastern accent.
I love him anyway.
We’re pretty close. We look alike, family members often confuse our voices […]

by Guest Contributor Joanna Eng

In Gran Torino, Clint Eastwood plays a bitter old man who’s basically the only white person left in a run-down neighborhood somewhere in the Midwest. He (reluctantly, at first) gets to know his Hmong neighbors, and ends up getting intricately involved in their lives, as they deal with issues caused by […]

By Special Correspondent Arturo R. García, also posted to The Instant Callback

*Warning: Spoilers Ahead*

… Well, at least Volume IV looks promising. Sort of.
You could almost see the hands of writer Jeph Loeb moving everyone around in “Dual,” frantically tying up the loose plot threads of this latest arc, as the decks get cleared for a […]

by Guest Contributor (and regular commenter) Atlasien

*Warning: Strong Language*

From Protecting children from racism and racial abuse: a research review: Summary of research and findings
- Although the family structure is an important site of resistance to racism, research highlights that many minority ethnic children do not discuss their experiences of racial abuse with parents or other […]

Hosted by Special Correspondent Arturo R. García
On the eve of the end of Volume III, Heroes managed to pull a genuinely compelling episode out of its’ space-time continuum. But even in that, there were some bad spots.
To begin this week’s Roundtable, I wanted to address two instances that recalled our discussion about the series’ penchant […]

by Guest Contributor Angry Asian Man, originally published at Angry Asian Man

In November, the University of Maryland’s Asian American Studies Program, with support from OCA, released a major new study on Chinese Americans in the United States. Based on extensive U.S. Census data and independent interviews, A Portrait of Chinese Americans offers the most comprehensive […]

By Special Correspondent Arturo R. García, also Posted At The Instant Callback
Warning: Spoilers Ahead!
Welcome Back, Sylar
(To be sung to the theme from Welcome Back Kotter)
Welcome back,
Your powers were your ticket out
Welcome back,
You slicing heads was all we cared about
Well your hair has changed since you last swung around
But now Sylar’s back and Elle’s in the […]

Hosted by Special Correspondent Arturo R. García

We’re all about shaking things up here at The R, so last week your Friendly Neighbo(u)rhood Roundtable got together to chat about not only the recently-concluded two-parter, “The Eclipse,” but other issues surrounding the show, including:
• Our old pal Mohinder, who was a hot topic in last week’s recap thread.
• The […]

by Guest Contributor Neesha Meminger

Young Adult (YA) literature has exploded in recent years with the phenomenal success of the Harry Potter books, the Chronicles of Narnia, Tuck Everlasting, Lord of the Rings, the Gossip Girl series, The Princess Diaries, and the more recent Twilight series to name a few right off the top of […]

By Special Correspondent Arturo R. García, also posted at The Instant Callback

Warning: Spoilers Ahead!
So at the end of the night: Gabriel is evil; Claire and her father have issues; Hiro is slowly coming around; and the Petrelli boys are at odds. Turns out “The Eclipse” was a big RESET button.
Teases, turns and bloodletting marked the […]

By Special Correspondent Arturo R. García, also posted at The Instant Callback

Warning: Spoilers Ahead!
Can you feel it now that spring has come
And its time to live in the scattered sun
Waiting for the sun
– The Doors

“Everything’s going to change today.”
– Arthur Petrelli
Hey, that didn’t suck!
In Part 1 of “The Eclipse,” Heroes finally trades in most of […]

Hosted by Arturo R. García

The word has come down from Tim Kring’s ivory tower: It’s our fault Heroes has been stinking up the joint this season.
More specifically, those of us who own and actually use our DVRs. The show’s creator bemoaned the state of serialized storytelling at a screenwriters’ gathering earlier this month, because the […]

By Special Correspondent Arturo R. García, also posted at The Instant Callback

Warning: Spoilers Ahead!
Well, it took ‘em long enough.
You can always tell the storyarcs on Heroes are heading toward a resolution when the good guys figure out they should give this whole “teamwork” thing a try. And as everybody is keeping an eye on the […]