Voxcali

An ancient Vietnamese folk tale of love, mistaken identity, brotherhood and devotion explains the custom of chewing betel.

Come closer, my two little dumplings. Yes, yes, tuck your toes under the blanket. Toes left outside the blanket will be nibbled by the night breeze, and then don’t come blaming Grandma.

Tonight I’ll tell you an old Vietnamese tale, one that explains why, in the old days, people offered betel leaves, areca nuts, and a little lime at weddings and family gatherings. Ah, you make faces now, but once upon a time, grown-ups thought chewing betel was very fine and elegant. Grown-ups are mysterious creatures. You’ll discover that soon enough.

Long, long ago, in a village wrapped in green fields and bamboo shade, there lived two brothers who loved each other more than anything in the world. Their names were Tân and Lang.

They were so alike that even the chickens got confused. When Tân tossed them rice, they clucked thank you to Lang. When Lang chased them from the vegetable patch, they complained to Tân. As for the village aunties, ai-yah, they had no hope at all. They simply called, “You there, handsome boy number one!” and “You there, handsome boy number two!”

The brothers had lost their parents when they were young, so they leaned on each other the way two young trees lean in the wind. Where Tân went, Lang followed. Where Lang laughed, Tân laughed louder. They studied together, worked together, ate together, and if one of them caught a cold, the other one sniffled out of sympathy.

In time, the brothers went to live and study with a wise old teacher. This teacher had a daughter named Liên, gentle as moonlight, but not the kind of moonlight that just sits there looking pretty. Oh no. She was clever, too. She could tell when the rice was done just by the smell, could thread a needle in dim light, and could spot foolishness in a man before he had finished his first sentence.

Now, as young people do, Tân and Liên began to care for one another. At first it was shy glances. Then it was small kindnesses. Then it was that silly kind of smiling at nothing that makes older people say, “Aha, the fish has swallowed the hook.”

Soon Tân and Liên were married.

Lang was happy for his brother. Truly, he was. But after the wedding, things changed, as they always do when one household becomes two hearts instead of three shadows. Tân still loved Lang, but he now had a wife to care for. Liên loved her husband, and she was kind to Lang, but the old closeness between the brothers was no longer quite the same.

Poor Lang felt it first in small ways.

At dinner, Tân sat beside Liên.

When there was news to share, Tân told Liên first.

When the lamp burned late, Tân and Liên whispered together while Lang lay awake, staring into the dark.

Nobody meant to hurt him. That is the trouble with some hurts, my little ones. They are not thrown like stones. They drift in like mist.

One day, Lang came home from the fields tired and dusty. Liên saw him from behind and, because the brothers looked so much alike, thought he was Tân. She greeted him warmly, as a wife greets her husband.

Just then, Tân arrived.

He saw the moment, misunderstood it, and jealousy pricked him like a thorn. Ah, jealousy! Such a tiny insect, but it can buzz louder than a water buffalo in a kitchen.

Tân said nothing, but his heart tightened. Lang saw the look in his brother’s eyes and understood enough to feel ashamed, though he had done nothing wrong. Liên, too, realized the mistake and was embarrassed.

That evening, the house was quieter than usual. No easy laughter. No brotherly teasing. Even the rice pot seemed to steam in whispers.

Lang lay awake, sorrow growing heavy in his chest.

“My brother no longer trusts me,” he thought. “I bring trouble to the house. Better that I leave.”

Oh, my dears, sometimes young hearts make big decisions in the middle of the night, when the moon is dramatic and nobody has eaten breakfast. This is why Grandma always says: never decide your whole life on an empty stomach.

But Lang was young and wounded. Before dawn, he slipped away from the house.

He walked and walked until he came to a lonely riverbank. There, exhausted and heartbroken, he sat down upon a pale stone. He missed his brother so deeply that the sorrow seemed to root him to the earth. And there, by the river, Lang was transformed into a white limestone rock.

When morning came and Tân discovered Lang was gone, his anger melted at once.

“What have I done?” he cried.

He searched the village, the fields, the roads, the forest paths. He called Lang’s name until his voice grew rough. At last he came to the riverbank and saw the white stone. Somehow, deep in his heart, he knew.

“My brother,” he whispered.

Overcome with grief and love, Tân stayed beside the stone. He would not leave Lang again. And there, by the river, Tân was transformed into a tall areca palm, straight and slender, rising beside the limestone rock like a loyal brother keeping watch.

Back at home, Liên waited.

The rice cooled. The lamp burned low. Neither brother returned.

At last, she went searching too. She followed the road, asked the villagers, crossed the fields, and came to the quiet riverbank. There she found the white stone and the areca palm, and she understood with the wisdom that sorrow sometimes gives.

“My husband,” she said softly. “My brother.”

She wept for the misunderstanding that had broken their happy home. She wept for the love that had been true but not patient enough. Then she leaned against the areca palm, and her grief became a green vine. She was transformed into the betel plant, wrapping herself tenderly around the palm, as if even in another form she wished to stay close.

So there they remained: the white limestone rock, the tall areca palm, and the green betel vine.

Years passed. One day, a king traveling through the land stopped at that riverbank. He saw the strange and lovely sight: the vine embracing the palm, the palm standing beside the stone. The people told him the sad story of the two brothers and the faithful wife.

The king was moved. He took a betel leaf from the vine, a nut from the areca palm, and a bit of lime from the white stone. When they were placed together, their juices turned a deep red, bright as a loyal heart.

“This,” said the king, “shall be a symbol of love, faithfulness, and family devotion.”

And from then on, betel leaf, areca nut, and lime were offered at weddings and important ceremonies. They reminded people that love is precious, trust is delicate, and a family must be cared for with patience, not suspicion.

So, my little mooncakes, that is why the betel leaf and areca nut became symbols of marriage and devotion in Vietnam.

Now, what should we learn from this old tale?

First, don’t let jealousy boss you around. It has terrible manners.

Second, when your heart hurts, speak before you run away.

Third, if your brother or sister eats the last sweet cake, do not turn into a limestone rock beside a river. Come tell Grandma. Grandma will judge fairly, and perhaps eat the next cake herself to prevent further conflict.

There now. Your eyes are drooping like sleepy lotus flowers. Snuggle down. May your dreams be green as betel leaves, tall as areca palms, and strong as the love that holds a family together.

Good night, my little ones. Sleep sweetly.

Before commanding the screen in the hit streaming series, Liu leveraged his early karate background to launch a budding career.

Dallas Liu returns to Netflix on June 25th for the highly anticipated second season of Avatar: The Last Airbender, reprising his breakout starring role as Prince Zuko.  He anchored all 10 episodes of the hit first season as the conflicted, fire-bending royalty.

The fantasy epic quickly became a dominant success for the streaming platform, racking up 71 million views in the first half of 2024 alone and securing a dual renewal to finish out its three-season arc.

Before chasing the Avatar on screen, Liu built a standout television presence by playing Maya Erskine’s protective, cool-guy older brother across 14 episodes of the critically acclaimed Hulu comedy-drama Pen15 from 2019 to 2021.

Liu’s versatility has steadily expanded into the cinematic landscape as well, appearing in Marvel Studios’ 2021 blockbuster Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings as Ruihua, the younger sibling of Awkwafina’s character, Katy.

His initial break-in to the industry came at just seven years old when he made his debut as a young Jin Kazama in the martial arts film Tekken, which was released in 2010.

Now 24, the Chinese-Indonesian American actor has forged his early background in competitive martial arts into a full-time passion for acting.  Liu’s rising visibility points toward a breakout trajectory that looks to accelerate with his return to the screen for season two of Avatar: The Last Airbender.

As two of Love Island USA’s bombshells, Carl Lee Schmit and Chay Nehra are already starting to build connections in Casa Amor, giving American viewers a new change with Asian men ready to take center stage.

This week, Love Island opened up Casa Amor and if you’re a first time watcher you are definitely in for an exciting rest of the season.

Casa Amor is the show’s ultimate twist that separates the men and women in different villas and introduces new groups of contestants. It causes drama and heartbreak and this season, the Love Island producers did something completely different by bringing in twelve new male bombshells for the ladies instead of the usual six. To shake things up even more the women were shown footage of what the men were doing in Casa Amor during the first hand introductions, sparking anger amongst the ladies.

Out of the twelve new bombshells, two of them stood out to us Asian American viewers: Carl Lee Schmit and Chay Nehra.

Carl is a fitness trainer from Denver and he shocked the audience during his conversation with original islander, Aniya. He revealed that he is half Chinese and that he can speak both Chinese and Japanese. Quickly into Casa Amor, Carl caught Aniya’s attention and the two bonded over culture and traveling, then later in the episode, he even taught Aniya how to introduce herself in Chinese.

Joining Carl is Chay, an entrepreneur of Indian descent who shared a conversation with former bombshell Kayda. Watchers enjoyed the initial conversation between Chay and Kayda and are intrigued to see if their romance continues. The new bombshells and original cast will spend the next 4 days in Casa Amor, exploring new connections.

Asian men have often been underrepresented when it comes to dating shows, but it is clear that Love Island is bringing diversity to the villa. Rather than just being additions to the cast, both Asian American men are turning heads and ready to break up existing couples, giving viewers a refreshing change from the limited representation in the past.

Giorgia Meloni has had the full Donald experience.

[VERSE 1]

I've been offended by you since you made up that lie

That I asked for a selfie with your highly detested mug

You grabbed the microphone and waved your ratings high

While the rest of us were drowning in your shrug

[PRE-CHORUS]

You picked a fight with the Pope on holy ground

You blew a kiss to Putin while our jaws hit the ground

[CHORUS]

Mamma mia, here we go again

How could anyone in Europe call you friend?

Mamma mia, does it show again

That your ego has no bottom and no end?

[VERSE 2]

In the G7 chamber, Lord, the suffering was real

Sitting next to someone smelling of his own perfume

"You don't mind being called beautiful" — that deal

Was the sleaziest thing uttered in the room

[PRE-CHORUS]

You started wars in Iran, sent the bills our way

You ditch your oldest allies but the tyrants get to stay

[CHORUS]

Mamma mia, there he goes again

Turning every trusted friendship down the drain

Mamma mia, now the whole world's seen

What it looks like when a bully plays a king

[BRIDGE]

(Building intensity)

What kind of man insults Trudeau at dawn

Then rings up Kim Jong-un to carry on?

What kind of leader mocks the suffering poor

While golfing, lying, starting yet one more war?

Brussels, Paris, Ottawa — we're all in this disgrace

[FINAL CHORUS]

Mamma mia, here I go again

Forced to shake the hand of Europe's biggest pain

Mamma mia, does it ever end?

Can't deteste you any more than now, my friend

Now I really know…

How low…

You can go

Following a dominant Final Four run with Arizona and a standout draft combine, Brayden Burries is a consensus lottery pick.

Combo guard Brayden Burries enters the 2026 NBA Draft as a consensus lottery pick following a standout lone freshman season at Arizona.  The 6’4” explosive playmaker of Hawaiian and Chinese descent has elite scoring instincts that make him highly coveted by NBA front offices.

He further elevated his draft stock with a standout showing at the NBA Draft Combine.  The Riverside County native weighed in at 215 pounds and reached 35 inches on his no-step vertical.  Burries was among the top prospects in 3-point shooting, hitting 61%.

The head-turning performance may have secured him a top-10 selection. Bleacher Report’s latest mock draft slots Burries at No. 9 overall to the Dallas Mavericks, noting a direct player comparison to Team USA Gold medalist Derrick White.  Meanwhile, CBS Sports has him landing with the Golden State Warriors at the No. 11 pick.

Burries’ brief tenure at Arizona left an indelible mark on the program.  He served as a primary catalyst for the Wildcats, guiding the team to both the Big 12 regular season and tournament championships, and their first Final Four appearance in 25 years.  Throughout his five NCAA Tournament games, Burries averaged nearly 17 points per game while lethally shooting above 50% from three.

His consistent play during the regular season and under the brightest lights of March Madness confirms Burries is pro-ready.

South Korea is handed a tough loss while Japan puts on a dominant World Cup performance. Ohtani's return from paternity leave is punctuated by a home run, and Tom Kim earns a top-3 major finish on his birthday.

How can you not be romantic about baseball? Shohei Ohtani personified that phrase after stepping away from the team to welcome his second child with his wife Mamiko.  Apropos to his return on Father’s Day weekend, the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar wasted no time delivering a dramatic solo home run – his 16th of the season.  This helped push his OPS to .969, sixth best in the league, and his batting average to .297, 12th best.  Ohtani’s standout season keeps him firmly in line to compete for the NL MVP once again.

Korean star golfer Tom Kim celebrated his 24th birthday by delivering the finest U.S. Open performance of his young career.  Carding a gritty final-round 70 at Shinnecock Hills, Kim finished alone in third place at one-under par – just three strokes behind wire-to-wire champion Wyndham Clark.  The milestone earned him $1.5M and marked Kim’s third career top-10 at a major championship.

In World Cup action, South Korea is reeling from a heartbreaking defeat against Mexico, following a costly misplay from the Korean goalkeeper.  Despite a furious late-game push to score the equalizer, South Korea’s hopes were crushed in the 87th minute when Mexico’s goalie pulled off a remarkable, acrobatic save to preserve the lead and seal the result.  The Reds will face South Africa on Wednesday where a win would ensure they advance.

The mood was drastically different in Group F, where Japan put on a historic masterclass during the 1,000th match in World Cup tournament history.  They demolished Tunisia 4-0 to become the first Asian nation to ever score four goals in a single World Cup fixture.  Daichi Kamada ignited the rout in just the fourth minute – the fastest goal in Japan’s World Cup history – before Ayase Ueda and Junya Ito combined for three more goals to complete the dominant showing.  Japan now sits level with the Netherlands atop the group, needing only a draw against Sweden on Thursday to advance.

After winning a contest to design the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Maya Lin has been able to reshape the way Americans remember history through innovative architecture.

At just 21 years old, Maya Lin won a national competition to design the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, making her mark as one of the most influential architects in American history.

She was born in 1959 in Athens, Ohio to Chinese immigrants who fled the country in 1948 during the Chinese Civil War. Her father was ceramics professor, her mother was a literature professor, and her brother was a poet, which allowed Lin to grow up in a creative environment that encouraged artistic expression.

While studying architecture and sculpture at Yale in 1981, Lin received national recognition after winning a design competition for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. Her design stood out, out of 1,421 entries. It was unlike traditional memorials with a towering statue of a heroic figure. Instead, Lin proposed two black granite walls with the names of troops who died or went missing engraved into them, arranged chronologically. Visitors would be able to descend into the memorial in order to see the names and she described this concept as a wound in the earth that would eventually heal.

Critics argued that the memorial was too abstract and others attacked Lin herself, criticizing her lack of experience and even her Chinese heritage. The controversy sparked so much debate that Lin was required to defend her design before it was officially approved. A compromise was met which allowed Lin to go through with her original design, but added nearby statues of soldiers.

Once the memorial was dedicated in 1982, the public opinion was quick to shift. Visitors loved the memorial and felt deeply connected with the experience. Rather than celebrating war, Lin designed something that encouraged grief and personal reflection. Today the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is one of the most powerful monuments in the United States that attracts millions of visitors every year.

Lin continued to work in architecture and environmentalism throughout the rest of her career. She has designed a handful of iconic structures including the Women’s Table at Yale University and the Civil Rights Memorial in Montgomery, Alabama. Aside from sculptures and memorials, Lin has also focused on raising climate change awareness and has dedicated many other projects to helping people better understand their relationship with the natural world.

Maya Lin is known as one of the most influential architects of her generation after receiving the National Medal of Arts in 2009 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016. Decades after the unveiling of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, her work can still be appreciated across the country, marking her legacy that has been centered on the power of thoughtful designs.

After a standout 57-point season with the WHL’s Vancouver Giants, the 2026 NHL draft prospect is climbing the rankings as a premier puck-moving defenseman.

At only 18, Ryan Lin has established himself as one of the top defensive prospects in the 2026 NHL Draft class.  Much like the modern blueliners who have transformed the position, Lin has tailored his game for the modern era where high-level vision is paramount alongside technical precision and elite skating.

These skills have earned Lin the #16 spot of North American skaters on NHL.com and the #21 prospect per the projections model of ESPN NHL insider Rachel Kryshak.  His superior positioning and hockey IQ have consistently offset his relatively smaller 5’11”, 178-pound frame, leading scouts to compare his efficiency to established NHL defenders like Cale Makar and Adam Fox.

Mock drafts have Lin going as high as the number 10 pick and as far back as the mid-20s.  The Islanders, Predators, and Blue Jackets have all been linked to interest in the defenseman of Japanese and Taiwanese descent.

Since 2023 Lin has been playing for the Vancouver Giants in the Western Hockey League.  The past season he led all Giants defenders in scoring with 14 goals and 43 assists in 53 games.

Lin was raised in Richmond, British Columbia, and developed through the Delta Hockey Academy before becoming a high-impact player in the WHL.  In April, he committed to the Denver Pioneers, the defending NCAA Hockey champions, though he will remain in the draft.

Having earned a gold medal with Team Canada at the U18 World Championships this past year, Lin now looks to establish himself as a cornerstone of the next generation of NHL defenders.

After the Khmer Rouge, Cambodian refugees fled to Long Beach California to rebuild their lives, allowing survivors of the tragedy to become a thriving community.

Anaheim Street in Long Beach, California is covered with Khmer script on storefronts, Cambodian restaurants serving authentic dishes, and murals that celebrate Cambodia’s history.

The Long Beach neighborhood is known as Cambodiatown with an estimated 20,000 Cambodians living in the area. The larger metropolitan Long Beach area has roughly 50,000 people of Cambodian descent, making it home to the largest Cambodian population outside of the country itself. So how did it come about?

Cambodiatown’s story dates back to 1975 when the Khmer Rouge seized control of Cambodia and carried out a genocide that killed 2 million people through forced labor, starvation, and disease causing countless of families to desperately flea the country. The United States began accepting Cambodian refugees in 1979 after the fall of the Khmer Rouge and a significant number of them found their way to Long Beach, California.

Long Beach was more affordable compared to other parts of Southern California and many jobs were available through the city’s port and manufacturing companies. The Cambodian population increased throughout the 1980s and 1990s and as more refugees arrived, the community grew stronger. Buddhist temples were established as well as Cambodian-owned restaurants and markets. By the 2000s, community leaders were advocating for recognition of the neighborhood and its cultural significance.

Their efforts paid off in 2008 when the City of Long Beach designated a part of Anaheim Street as Cambodiatown, making it the very first officially recognized Cambodiatown in the U.S. Today the neighborhood continues to be the cultural center of Cambodian America. Parades and festivals attract thousands of visitors every year and community organizations are constantly working to promote the Khmer language and history to younger generations.

Even with the many challenges affecting neighborhoods across the country, Cambodiatown has remained a powerful symbol of cultural preservation representing those who were able to rebuild their lives and create a lasting home oceans away from where their stories began.

With over 32 million monthly Spotify listeners, the South African star launched a massive World Cup anthem in advance of her upcoming sophomore album APop.

Global pop sensation Tyla is kicking off an explosive summer, teaming up with Future on the stadium-ready anthem “Game Time” for the Official FIFA World Cup 2026 Soundtrack. 

The 24-year-old multiethnic South African native, who is of Indian descent, is setting the stage for her highly anticipated sophomore studio album, APop*, scheduled to drop on July 24th.  The upcoming record features her hit single “Chanel” – which recently secured an American Music Award for Social Song of the Year – alongside the vibrant track “She Did It Again” featuring pop star Zara Larsson.

This new era follows a historic breakout cycle for the singer.  Tyla’s titular debut album was anchored by “Water,” a track that has amassed over 1.4 billion streams on Spotify and won the inaugural Grammy Award for Best African Music Performance.  Proving her staying power, the deluxe version of the album delivered “Push 2 Start,” which subsequently claimed the Grammy Award in the same category.  Her self-titled debut also boasts massive fan favorites like “Truth or Dare” and the rhythmic “Jump,” further solidifying her distinct sound.

Born and raised in Johannesburg, Tyla has pioneered a fresh, crossover genre by effortlessly blending traditional Amapiano – a style of South African house music – with contemporary R&B, pop, and infectious afrobeats textures.

Today, she commands a massive global audience, pulling in over 32 million monthly listeners on Spotify.  As APop* nears its release date, Tyla continues to redefine the boundaries of modern music on the world stage.