Voxcali

BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier delivers a legendary victory over No. 2 Notre Dame in a week featuring clutch NFL finishes, MLB playoff action, and NBA season tip-off storylines.

Bear Bachmeier delivered one of the biggest victories in BYU football history, leading the No. 8 Cougars past No. 2 Notre Dame, 28–24.  The Thai American quarterback threw for 224 yards and a touchdown, rushed for two more scores, and caught a 15-yard touchdown on a trick play.  His defining moment came with 1:47 remaining, when he connected with Walker Lyons for a six-yard go-ahead touchdown, capping a 10-play, 55-yard drive.  BYU then survived Notre Dame’s final possession to secure its first win over a top-two opponent since defeating No. 1 Miami in 1990.  Bachmeier also became the first FBS player in 30 years to record passing, rushing and receiving touchdowns against an AP top-five team.

Colts’ Filipino American safety Cam Bynum recorded his first interception of the season, and true to form, he celebrated with choreography from BTS’s 2.0.

In London, Ka’imi Fairbairn secured the Texans’ victory over Jacksonville at Wembley Stadium with a 49-yard field goal as time expired, marking back-to-back wins for Houston.

Shohei Ohtani’s injury riddled season has come to an end, as the Dodgers were swept in the NLCS.  Ohtani went down fighting, launching a three-run homer early in game four.

In the ALCS, Cleveland’s Steven Kwan has continued contributing at the plate collecting six in the series, and even more so defensively showing off his arm and glove.  However, the Guardians dropped the last two and now trail Tampa Bay 3-2 and are one loss from elimination.

The NBA regular season tips off on Tuesday October 20th, with Jeremy Lin joining ESPN as a full-time analyst, including regular appearances on NBA Today and game broadcasts.  In preseason action, Milwaukee rookie Brayden Burries posted 19 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals against Chicago.  Memphis center Zach Edey showed efficient interior scoring, recording 10 points and six rebounds against Charlotte.  San Antonio guard Dylan Harper closed preseason with 19 points and four assists against Sacramento, strengthening his case for a larger role alongside Victor Wembanyama and De’Aaron Fox.

Japanese American actor Noah Fleder combined decades of martial arts training with filmmaking and motion-capture technology to bring some of today’s most exciting action characters to life.

Not only is Noah Fleder a Japanese American actor, filmmaker and third-degree black belt, he also impressively performed as eight different fighters in Mortal Kombat 1.

He was born and raised in Los Angeles in 1993 to a Japanese mother and German Native American father and began practicing taekwondo when he was just four years old. Fleder has openly admitted that he initially hated training because his parents would force him to attend classes, but they believed martial arts would give their rebellious son discipline and structure. His mother made sure he consistently attended practice, while his father figured out how he could eventually use his skills in the entertainment industry. His father had trained with well respected taekwondo master and stunt coordinator, Simon Rhee, who later became one of Fleder’s most important instructors.

Outside of martial arts, Fleder became an Eagle Scout and participated in youth military programs, including the Naval Sea Cadet Corps. Although he considered a military future, he ultimately decided that it did not align with his personal values and realized that he wanted to combine martial arts with storytelling. So during his teenage years, Fleder began taking his training more seriously, studying more than 20 martial-arts systems and earning a third-degree black belt under Rhee.

In 2014, Fleder founded an independent production company called Osu Films and began releasing cinematic fight videos online where he would also collaborate with other Asian American performers and creators. Through Osu Films, Fleder was able to showcase martial arts as both physical performance and visual storytelling.

Fleder’s biggest mainstream moment came with Mortal Kombat 1 as he became the facial model for Japanese swordsman Kenshi Takahashi and performed motion capture for eight of the game’s fighters. During production, Fleder performed some combinations so quickly that he was reportedly asked to slow down for the motion-capture cameras.

More recently in 2025, Fleder appeared in the action comedy Trouble Man and today, he continues operating Osu Films, teaching martial arts and developing his career as an action performer. By combining traditional training with independent filmmaking and motion-capture technology, he developed his own route into an industry where Asian action performers had limited opportunities.

Victor discusses the tactics fitness grifters and charlatans employ to infiltrate your headspace and your wallets.

Victor (00:00)

Victor (00:26)

Victor (00:37)

Victor (01:03)

Victor (01:20)

Victor (01:37)

Victor (01:51)

Victor (02:07)

Victor (02:23)

Victor (02:35)

Victor (02:54)

Victor (03:18)

Victor (03:46)

Victor (03:58)

Victor (04:26)

There is the house, which is the social media companies like Meta, and then there are the other players, such as your various influencers. And these influencers can either have good information or bad information, but the point is they are all attempting to sell you, the consumer, something. And both the influencers and the house are.

are attempting to separate you from your money and mine your attention.

Victor (05:15)

Victor (05:31)

My own understanding of media literacy and the media landscape. So I have to give him a lot of credit for these ideas I am about to put out.

Victor (06:16)

will c will consist of five things. The first is going to be a sacred knowledge. The second is a behavioral tactic called never play defense. The third is the establishment of an in-group versus an outgroup, which ties back to the prior two points. The fourth is jargon. And the fifth is data avoidance and manipulation.

Victor (06:47)

Victor (07:06)

Victor (07:23)

Victor (07:44)

Victor (08:08)

Victor (08:30)

Victor (08:54)

Victor (09:17)

Beyond

what I've just outlined when it comes to achieving your goal physique,

Victor (09:55)

Victor (10:24)

Victor (10:46)

Victor (11:32)

Or is this something simply designed to confuse and possibly elevate otherwise unnotable content from this influencer?

Victor (12:14)

Victor (12:40)

They can convince you that they have some sort of esoteric knowledge that they can impart on you for an easy payment of a hundred dollars per week or something.

Victor (13:22)

Victor (13:41)

Victor (14:04)

Victor (14:19)

And will give you every single type of disease known to man, plummet your credit score, And leave you riddled with crippling debt and injuries.

Victor (14:57)

Victor (15:27)

Victor (15:56)

Victor (16:10)

Victor (16:24)

Victor (16:51)

Victor (17:04)

Victor (17:19)

Victor (17:35)

Victor (17:58)

Victor (18:24)

Victor (18:49)

Victor (19:18)

Victor (19:41)

Victor (20:06)

Victor (20:20)

Victor (20:32)

Victor (20:56)

Victor (21:06)

Victor (21:24)

Victor (21:32)

Rising star Callina Liang follows up standout performances in Presence and Bad Genius by stepping into the iconic role of Chun-Li in Paramount Pictures’ upcoming Street Fighter adaptation.

Callina Liang is set to take on her biggest role yet in Street Fighter, Paramount Pictures’ upcoming adaptation of Capcom’s video game franchise. Releasing October 16th, the film casts Liang as Chun-Li, who recruits Ryu and Ken Masters for the World Warrior Tournament after the pair are drawn back into combat.  Directed by Kitao Sakurai, Street Fighter is set in 1993 and centers on a conspiracy surrounding the tournament.

Liang made her feature-film breakthrough in 2024 with two very different projects. She starred as Chloe in Steven Soderbergh’s Presence, a supernatural thriller about a family who begins to suspect that an unseen presence inhabits their new home. Later that year, she played Lynn Kang in Bad Genius, J.C. Lee’s adaptation of the 2017 Thai film. The story follows students who develop an elaborate scheme to cheat on high-stakes exams, placing Liang in an Asian-centered story built around academic pressure and competition.

Before her film roles, Liang began building her screen career with Tell Me Everything in 2022, an ITVX teen drama.  She followed with a role in the Apple TV+ science-fiction series Foundation in 2023.  Those early television credits gave Liang her first opportunities to work in scripted productions before her transition into feature films.

Born in Vancouver in 2000, Liang is a Canadian actress who grew up between Beijing, Sydney and Singapore.  She attended the Australian International School in Singapore, where she achieved the highest score in the world in IGCSE Drama, before studying Performance at Lasalle College of the Arts.

Presence marked a significant step forward for Liang, earning attention for her performance opposite Lucy Liu before her casting as Chun-Li.  Now, Street Fighter gives her a central role in a major theatrical franchise, bringing one of video games’ best-known Asian characters to the screen.

These five Asian restaurants combine incredible venues, live entertainment and unforgettable photo opportunities for an experience that extends far beyond the food.

Los Angeles has no shortage of incredible Asian food, but when you want your night out to feel like an entire event, these five restaurants offer some of the most unforgettable Asian dinner experiences.

Hidden underneath Pershing Square Building in Downtown Los Angeles is Mrs. Fish, a Japanese restaurant, sushi bar and whisky lounge that feels like an underwater nightclub. Guests enter through a set of doors that descend into a colorful dining room that features a floating 5,500-gallon aquarium filled with marine life. The restaurant also hosts live music, making it a perfect choice when you want your dinner to continue into the night.

One of LA’s newest dining experiences is SUSHISAMBA in West Hollywood. The 11,000-square-foot rooftop blends Japanese, Brazilian and Peruvian cuisines inside a colorful, multi-level space overlooking Hollywood Hills. SUSHISAMBA even brings out DJs, drummers and samba dancers throughout the evening, basically turning your dinner into a rooftop party.

For something that feels closer to Las Vegas nightlife, MainRo in Hollywood combines a restaurant, nightclub and live production inside one space. Your dinner will consist of Japanese, Vietnamese and French flavors, while aerialists, dancers and tableside magicians perform around the dining room. Later in the night, the restaurant becomes more energetic as the venue transforms into a full outing with a DJ and dancing.

Yamashiro offers a completely different atmosphere inside one of Hollywood’s most historic properties. The Japanese-inspired mansion was completed in 1914 and sits approximately 250 feet above Hollywood Boulevard, giving diners panoramic views of Los Angeles. Guests can explore the garden courtyard and take photos in front of the iconic pagoda before enjoying Japanese-inspired dishes and sushi.

Finally, it would be impossible to discuss extravagant Asian dining in Los Angeles without mentioning TAO, a two-level Hollywood restaurant centered around a massive 16-foot Quan Yin statue overlooking a koi pond. The restaurant’s grand staircase, dim lighting and lively crowd make the entire room feel like a movie set. Their menu features Chinese, Japanese and Thai influences, with plenty of oversized dishes designed for a family style meal.

A memorable dinner does not end with what arrives on the plate and these five restaurants truly prove how an ordinary reservation can be transformed into an unforgettable dining experience and night out in Los Angeles.

After a record-setting freshman campaign that earned him Big 12 Offensive Freshman honors, BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier is back to lead the Cougars’ dynamic offense.

BYU’s Bear Bachmeier has emerged as one of the most notable young quarterbacks in college football, building on a record-setting freshman season that made him a central figure in the Cougars’ offense.

Now in his sophomore campaign, the Thai American has continued to develop as a dual-threat quarterback with Big 12 Championship and Playoff aspirations.

Bachmeier arrived at BYU last season becoming the first true freshman quarterback in school history to start a season opener.  Additionally, he became the first Asian American starting quarterback in BYU history, adding another milestone to a freshman season already filled with them.  He went on to lead the Cougs to a 12-2 record and finished the season with 2,700 passing yards and 15 touchdowns, while adding over 500 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground.  Bachmeier was named Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year and earned MVP honors in BYU’s Pop-Tarts Bowl victory.

The 20-year-old was born and raised in Southern California, where he starred at Murrieta Valley High School.  He was a four-star recruit and originally committed to Stanford, enrolling early in 2025 before transferring to BYU that spring.  His decision to join the Cougars also brought him together with his older brother Tiger, who also transferred from the Cardinal and plays wide receiver at BYU.

Despite the Cougars finishing last season with a top 25 win in one of the most endearing, viral bowl games, the ending was bittersweet after the team lost in the Big 12 Title game to Texas Tech for the second time.  Despite only losing to one team, BYU was not granted a playoff spot, with the Red Raiders being the only representative in the conference.

After starting the season 5-0, Bachmeier and the Cougars have a chance at College Football Playoff redemption, with their toughest test in Notre Dame ahead of them this weekend.  With the young dual-threat Bachmeier at the helm, BYU remains one of the Big 12’s toughest and most aspiring teams.

In the first half of a long Chapter 13 we meet Dimitri Pavlovitch Kanov, a Russian Buryat Mongol General who looms large in Jack Tang's plan to create a federation designed to change the global power structure.

      The beeping of the cellular phone aboard the Russian TU-22M jet—a medium bomber converted into a flying headquarters—didn’t register in the mind of General Dimitri Pavlovich Kanov.  He spent his flying time thinking through important decisions, and this one was more important than any yet made in his 58 years on earth.  As was his habit when in deep thought, Kanov stroked his short thick beard which, despite his age, was black, with hardly a trace of gray.

      “For you, General,” said the blond female aide. 

      “Who is it?” demanded Kanov in a voice that rumbled like an earthquake from somewhere deep in his massive frame.

      “A Mr X,” the aide said, her light blue eyes betraying nothing.  That was what Kanov liked best about Lieutenant Marya Petrovna Sukorsky—she didn’t feel compelled to inject her feelings into matters she knew nothing about.

      “Tell him I am busy,” Kanov muttered, showing no concern that the caller might hear.

      “Yes, General,” said Lieutenant Sukorsky. 

      Kanov watched the aide walking back to her seat.  Despite the wool uniform, the contours of her shapely rear were easily appreciated.   His eyes had wandered, but the smile on General Kanov’s lips had nothing to do with Marya Petrovna’s ass.  It concerned Jack Tang—Mr X as he called himself on the phone—the man who had figured prominently in Kanov’s thoughts for the past several hours.  Kanov had no intention of contributing to Tang’s already inflated self-importance.  On the contrary, he would first have to deflate the man before anything could come of their contacts over the past four years. 

      Kanov’s unpredictability was one reason he was feared by the other generals in the Russian military.  Keeping others guessing kept them fearful.  Fear, Kanov had learned during his thirty-seven years as a Soviet—and now Russian—army officer, was the best weapon where too many people wanted too few resources—the story of Russian life.  When it came down to it, most people would rather do without than live in constant fear.   For Kanov, fear had always been an ally.  Whether due to hormones, slow synapses or a childhood spent fighting for survival against gangs of vicious ethnic-Russian bullies, fear didn’t affect Kanov as it did others.  Of course, he felt fear too—he was no madman—but what he felt, it generally turned out, was a fraction of what the other man felt.  If Kanov was worried, the other man was trembling.  If Kanov was afraid, the other man lived in stark raving terror.  For the moment Kanov was amused, which meant Tang was probably worried.

      The sight of the endless steppes and taiga sliding thirty-five thousand feet below filled Dimitri Kanov with a deep yearning for home.  It was always like that after a long stay in Moscow sparring with the dozen aging generals who comprised the Kremlin’s Supreme High Command.  Their tired jokes always tired him.  “What ugly crime did you commit, Dimitri Pavlovich, to get yourself sent to Siberia?”  Kanov had to keep reminding himself that their stupid jokes were not personal.  Nevertheless, he found it difficult to enjoy being among men so ignorant about Siberia in general, and in particular about his heritage. 

      General Kanov was a Buryat Mongol born and raised on the east bank of Lake Baikal in south central Siberia.  He was descended from the herding and hunting tribes which, in the early years of the 13th century, Genghis Kahn led to conquer the largest empire in history, stretching six thousand miles from Korea to Czechoslovakia.  Their horsemanship and archery made Mongols masters of the swift, sweeping attack which overwhelmed the flower of European knighthood.  Their westward conquests took them as far as France and northern Germany where, on the plains of Silesia, they slaughtered the north German knights who had banded together for a desperate stand.  So awfully did Mongols traumatize the European consciousness that until recently the litany of its churches contained the prayer, “From the fury of the Mongols, good Lord deliver us”. 

      The western branch of the Mongol family, known as the Tatars or the Golden Horde, enslaved European Russia for two centuries.   By the fifteenth century, however, the Tatars lost their conquering spirit and divided into the separate khanates of Crimea, Astrakhan, Kazan, Nogai and Siberia.  Even then the khans considered Russian grand princes their vassals, continuing to raid Moscow and other cities to enforce tribute.  By the mid-sixteenth century, however, Ivan the Terrible succeeded in toppling the Kazan khanate, opening the east to Russian ambition.  Then the tables began turning.  By the mid seventeenth century Russians and their Cossack soldiers had advanced into Siberia and began attacking the northern reaches of the Mongols’ ancestral homeland around Lake Baikal, home of the Buryat Mongols.  

      In the beginning the Mongol hunters and herdsmen resisted fiercely.  On several occasions they successfully counter-attacked their would-be conquerors and burned their settlements.  In the end, however, firearms gave the Russians an irresistible advantage.  Faced with the prospect of paying tribute, many Buryat Mongols migrated south into the parts of Mongolia which, by that time, had fallen under Chinese rule.  The Buryats who remained suffered the loss of traditional ways of life the same way that North American Indians suffered from the inexorable westward expansion of white settlements.  First the Russians with their rifles took over the hunting grounds.  Then they began building towns, damming rivers and digging mines, all of which ruined lands once devoted to grazing sheep and horses.  What little remained of the traditional life was finished off by vodka.

      Now the Buryat Mongols were Siberia’s single largest non-Russian ethnic group with a population of six hundred thousand, concentrated around Lake Baikal.   Even combined with the dozen other ethnic minorities, the non-Russian population made up barely two million of Siberia’s 35 million.  Many Buryats, along with Siberia’s other minorities, were resentful at having been shoved aside and marginalized in their own homelands by arrogant Russian settlers who cared little about preserving the land.  Even worse, the people who stood to profit most from its rape weren’t the natives, but corrupt newcomers.  In recent years this smoldering ethnic resentment had flared into movements for the creation of independent homelands. 

      Such nationalist sentiments were a key factor in the calculation Kanov was making as he gazed down at the earth 35,000 feet below.  Other than fear, sex and greed—all of which figured as well in his thoughts—few impulses were as reliable as the yearning for ethnic pride and identity. 

      When Siberia had been part of the Soviet empire, the communist party had made a show of keeping racism invisible in its official dealings.  Mongols, Tatars and other non-white Siberians had been given equal consideration with ethnic Russians for military and government posts.  It had been during the Soviet era that Kanov had attained general rank and been awarded the Siberian Command.  But under the Kremlin’s new regime, where racism again ran rampant, Kanov would never have been given a regional command despite the fact that his uncle, General Ivan Baldynov, had commanded the Buryat-Mongol Rifle Division,  fighting the Germans in World War II and briefly the Japanese in the war’s final days.  In the nineteenth century other Kanov relations had fought in Russian Mongol cavalry units against the Chinese.  And now Dimitri Kanov commanded the formidable border forces that protected the same harsh lands on which, for countless generations, his ancestors had carved out a rugged life on horseback.  All that made little difference to the Russians.  As far as they were concerned, they were the chosen people while he was merely an aboriginal holdover, to be tolerated until he could be disposed of.

      The Kremlin czars hadn’t yet said so, but they were looking for a safe way to ease Kanov out of the Siberian Command headquarters in Irkhutsk on the southeast shore of Lake Baikal.  For the Kremlin it was economic expedience.  Siberia’s yet untapped oil and gas reserves and mineral wealth were among the treasures they wanted to sell to the west.  They wanted the Siberian Command under a Russian with no qualms about raping the land, leaving tens of millions of natives without a homeland capable of sustaining them in dignity.  They would become hod carriers and prostitutes for foreign industrialists.  Sooner or later, Kanov knew, the Kremlin would back him into a corner, forcing him to consider destroying his homeland in order to save it. 

      Over the past four years Dimitri Kanov had thought carefully about how such a free and independent Mongol state might be created.  Industrialized South Korea would be its brain, disciplined North Korea might be its heart, heavily populated North China its belly and legs.  Vast, heavily armed Siberia would be its backbone, providing the transcontinental dimensions needed to overshadow the emerging Chinese superpower.  The new Mongol superpower would have an advanced industrial base, unlimited natural resources and the technological depth to rival the United States as an economic and military power.  Jack Tang had hinted at other potential allies and rewards.  The time had come to learn what they might be. 

      The prospect of being one of the lords, perhaps even the overlord, of a new Mongol empire made Kanov suddenly very thirsty.  He wanted a drink.  The general pressed a button on his armrest and the aide hurried to answer his call. 

      “Vodka,” said the general. 

      The moment Marya Petrovna’s blue eyes saw the general’s face, she knew that he wanted more than vodka.  To be sure, he wanted the vodka, and she had brought a bottle and a glass, but he wanted more.  Her expression as she poured out the vodka and handed him the glass left little doubt that she was willing to oblige him.  Kneeling, she unbuckled Kanov’s belt and shoulder-strap which held his Makarov 9 mm pistol, the standard-issue sidearm for Russian general officers, and gently laid it aside out of the way.

      Normally about now Kanov’s jet would have begun its descent toward a military airfield outside Irkutsk.  This time, however, Kanov had ordered the pilot to continue on to Vladivostok, extending his eastward flight by nearly three hours.  Marya Petrovna would now have to make the time pass as he had already made his important decision.  In the port city of Vladisvostok, at one of the new hotels built by a Korean chaebol, Tang would be waiting, not fully knowing what to expect.  Delightful, thought Kanov.  Truly delightful.

      The oaf never stops playing games, thought Jack Tang as he hung up.  General Kanov fancied himself superior to the ethnic Russians who ran the country, but in fact he abundantly embodied all their worst traits, by turns petulant, suspicious, patronizing, stubborn, rude and boisterous.  But far be it from him to tell Kanov that he was anything but the reincarnation of Genghis Kahn himself.  The General commanded the loyalty of troops who controlled 3,000 nuclear warheads in bombers and launch silos scattered throughout Siberia’s four thousand miles of forests and steppes.  The ethnic pride of men like Kanov, and smoldering rage at its violation, was the glue that would lock the members of the East Asian Federation into an imposing whole.  Kanov would come soon enough.

      The US passport that had facilitated Tang’s somewhat circuitous journey to Vladisvostok identified its holder as Anthony Ching, a graphic designer by occupation.  What was in a name anyway?  At long last he was free from the oppressive limitations imposed on Pentagon contractors of “deep black” projects.  For the moment Jack Tang was awakening to an invigorating sense of freedom that seemed to wash away the regretful thoughts that had made his long journey even longer.

      At the moment his sharpest regret was having to fritter away his first full day of freedom in the ugly little harbortown of Vladivostok.  But he had yet to secure the final pieces of the jigsaw puzzle he had spent four years assembling.  He hadn’t expected Vladisvostok to offer the amenities of a great capitalist city, but even his low expectations had been disappointed.  The Donghae Hotel was one of two recently put up by aggressive Korean chaebol with excess construction capacity and an eye toward exploiting Siberia’s mineral wealth.  It might be the best Vladisvostok had to offer, but would barely satisfy even the minions sent by foreign corporations to babysit Siberian joint ventures.  The limitations of the local infrastructure and the Korean companies willing to gamble on Russia’s wild east were sadly apparent in the shoddy material and workmanship that went into the Donghae’s so-called presidential suite.  Hardly a year after its opening, tiles were coming loose in the bathroom and hairline cracks had appeared on the walls.  In a more civilized city, the Donghae would be lucky to be called a tourist hotel, much less its claimed first-class designation.

      The knock on the door made Tang start though he had been awaiting it all day, had even begun to fear it wouldn’t come.  General Kanov was important, but the man now waiting outside the door, had been causing Tang far more anxiety.

      “I have kept you waiting,” said the heavyset man in Korean.  He was merely stating a fact.  His impassive face suggested no regret at it.  Without offering a nod or a hand in greeting, he ambled confidently past Tang and sank into an armchair at the coffee table.

      The anger he felt toward the man was something Tang didn’t want to acknowledge.  That would be dangerous, and unproductive.  He had to keep his focus on the ultimate objective.  Picking up his laptop computer from the dining table, Tang carried it to the coffee table, being careful not to tangle the line that connected it to the phone jack.  Sitting down on the sofa, he checked the high-resolution color LCD to ensure the web browser showed the correct page before handing it to his guest.  The man’s stolid expression didn’t change as he scrutinized the color image on the webpage.  After a half minute of intense scrutiny, he blinked once and set the laptop on the coffee table. 

      His cold eyes locked Tang’s.  “Mistakes won’t be tolerated.” 

      “There won’t be any,” replied Tang, struggling to keep down his anger.  Despite the effort at self-control, he couldn’t keep from asking, “How is she?”

      The heavyset man stood and gazed out the window.  “You’ll see for yourself.  Be ready at eight tomorrow morning.”  Without waiting for a reply, he let himself out of the room.

      As soon as the door closed, Tang let out a deep breath as his head fell back against the sofa.  His eyes stared out the window where the slanting yellow light marked the sun’s rapid descent into the rugged snow-covered mountains to the west.  Somewhere on the other side of those mountains was a voiceless woman approaching death.  Tang had tried to forget her as he had the others who had been a part of his past life.  But he couldn’t.  To gaze into her eyes just once more and see recognition there—that was the obsession that had ruled his life. 

      Had it already been five years since she had been snatched from a Seoul hotel room?  It had been while she was visiting relatives.  Hours after her abduction an email message had appeared on the computer in his Palo Alto office.  It disclosed a URL for a web page containing a photo that left no doubt in his mind that she had been abducted.  The email message had warned against involving law enforcement.  Over the years other messages had followed, in sporadic, unpredictable intervals, making demands and granting small favors in exchange.  The demands had gotten bigger and he had somehow met them.  He had been rewarded with an international phone number.  For two years he had lived for those few seconds each week when he was allowed to speak to her and hear her breaking voice.  But the woman, now past 70, had suffered a stroke that killed the neurons controlling her vocal chords.  For the past two years he had had to content himself with an occasional digital image and one-way phone conversations during which all he could do was imagine her listening, perhaps remembering and, he had fervently hoped, knowing in her heart that he would never give up his quest for reunion. 

      The quest had forced him to make a superhuman effort, sacrificing every other area of his life—loves, friendships, loyalty to devoted employees.  It had forced him to live for five years with a singlemindedness that had driven him to accomplish more than even he had imagined possible.  As much as he hated them, he had to admire their acumen in picking him.  With Jack Tang they had hit the richest of paydirt, probably exceeding even their own wildest expectations.  Over the years he had heard bits and pieces about other abductions.  There was next to nothing in the way of media coverage, only whispered suspicions and gossip about mysterious disappearances.  Tang was certain every abduction involved the dearest loved ones of Korean Americans with valuable access. 

      Now, he had somehow satisfied their most unreasonable demands.  Even they had to know no more could be demanded of him, a dead man, the victim of a gruesome murder.  He forced his mind away from the magnitude of the betrayals he had committed to make a trail-less exit from the US in time for the next act.  Without jeopardizing his objectives, he had done what he could to ease the suffering of those he had betrayed.  No useful purpose could be served by dwelling on them.

      Now, after five years of living on edge, he would finally hold again the woman who had given him life, nursed him, crooned the Nightingale song hours on end as he struggled against a childhood disease whose raging fever, the doctors had pronounced, would leave his brain incapable of recognizing his own family.  He had surprised everyone by going on to distinguish himself in school, college and law school, then becoming a successful entrepreneur.  He owed it all to her faith and willingness to devote her life to caring for a son who would never understand her sacrifice, or much of anything else.  But, as it turned out, he did understand its full measure.  It had come to be the central fact of his life.  If he could only hold her again and see in her dimming eyes some recognition that her devotion had not been forgotten, he would gladly die the next instant with only a few small regrets.

      They were letting him see her at long last, Tang suspected, only because she was on her deathbed.  Better to use what life remained to extract a final advantage than overplay their fast-fading hand and risk having him balk.

      Seeing his beloved mother again remained Jack Tang’s first objective.  There was no question about that.  But over those past five years a secondary objective had taken shape in his mind.  Perhaps it had been born of hatred and anger, but he had learned years ago, even before the abduction, that hatred and anger were not constructive.  They weakened a man, sapped his creative and critical faculties.  Ambition and desire, he had found, were far more helpful for achieving satisfying ends.  During the past five years he had conceived a sincere desire to punish his tormentors, and more constructively, an ambitious plan that would put him in a position to do so—and more.             

Ironically, their own unreasonable demands had planted in his mind the seeds for the plan. 

After helming chaotic comedy hits like The Eric André Show and Twisted Metal, director Kitao Sakurai is steering Capcom's legendary fighting franchise into a major theatrical blockbuster.

Director Kitao Sakurai is taking on his biggest professional challenge yet with Street Fighter, the upcoming adaptation of Capcom’s landmark fighting-game franchise set for release October 16th.  In addition to directing the Legendary and Paramount Pictures film, he also co-wrote the screenplay alongside T.J. Fixman.

Sakurai first gained recognition through his work with comedian Eric André, serving as a principal director for 62 episodes on The Eric André Show from 2012 through 2023.  The Adult Swim series became known for its surreal interviews, elaborate pranks and deliberately unpredictable format.  Sakurai also connected with André on the 2021 Netflix feature film Bad Trip, his second full-length project after his debut in 2010 with Aardvark.

He also directed two episodes for the most recent 2026 season of "Beef" and five episodes of the FXX comedy series "Dave" from 2021-2023. 

Sakurai previously was given an earlier opportunity to translate a video game property into a live-action comedy series before Street Fighter in 2023, with four episodes of Peacock's Twisted Metal series.

Born in Japan, the 43-year-old director was raised in Cleveland from the age of three.  He attended a Japanese school in Ohio, connecting his Japanese background with an American upbringing that would inform his work across comedy, television and film.

With Street Fighter representing a significant milestone for Sakurai, he has stated rather than treating the project as a conventional video-game adaptation, he was brought on to create something with a distinct tone and approach to enhance the major theatrical rollout of the franchise.

The ultra-sleek, all-electric Cadillac Celestiq brings the future to today for those who insist on the ultimate in power and luxury.

Our editorial team got a closer look at the debut of the Cadillac Celestique Night Test at The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering, during Monterey Car Week earlier this fall.

Finished in stunning Caspia Metallic—a sophisticated tricoat finish—this particular commission was meticulously hand-assembled at the Cadillac Artisan Center in Warren, Michigan.

The first words that came to this reporter’s mind? Stunning. Quiet. And, of course, exclusive.

Now, if only they allowed test drives.

The celestial inspiration behind its name feels fitting for this 655-horsepower, hand-built beauty, capable of accelerating from 0 to 60 mph in just 3.7 seconds.

Designed to compete in the rarefied world of the Rolls-Royce Spectre and Bentley's ultra-luxury offerings, the CELESTIQ represents Cadillac's bold vision for the future of electric luxury.

And with a price tag approaching an eye-watering $400,000, it's the kind of dream that may remain just that for most of us.

But for those fortunate enough to afford it? The CELESTIQ deserves a place on the consideration list.

Following a dramatic playoff victory last year and a stellar 2026 campaign, Jeeno Thitikul looks to add another trophy to her remarkable LPGA resume in Shanghai.

Jeeno Thitikul returns to the Buick LPGA Shanghai this year looking to defend the title she won in dramatic fashion in 2025.  Thitikul came from four shots behind with five holes to play before forcing a playoff with Minami Katsu.  After the players matched pars through four playoff holes, Thitikul made birdie on the fifth to claim the championship.

That victory was the second of three LPGA Tour titles Thitikul collected in 2025, a season that concluded with a second consecutive CME Group Tour Championship victory and another $4 million payday.  Her $7.5M in official earnings set an LPGA Tour record for a single season, surpassing the mark she had established the previous year.  She also finished 2025 with a 68.68 scoring average, the lowest single-season mark in LPGA Tour history.

The current season has added another chapter to Thitikul’s record-setting career.  She has captured three titles, including the Honda LPGA Thailand, Mizuho Americas Open, The Standard Portland Classic, and LOTTE Championship and currently sits No. 2 in the Women’s World Golf Rankings. In Portland, she closed with a 64 to finish at 22-under and beat fellow Thai players Arpichaya Yubol and Chanettee Wannasaen by one stroke.

Thitikul’s financial milestones have been just as striking.  In May, she became the fastest player in LPGA Tour history to reach $18 million in official career earnings.  The LPGA currently lists her career earnings at over $20 million, fourth-most all-time.

The 23-year-old Thai star started playing golf at age 6 and turned professional in 2020.  She joined the LPGA Tour in 2022 after finishing third at LPGA Final Qualifying.  Later that year, she became the second-youngest player ever to reach No. 1 in the Women’s World Golf Rankings.

Thitikul has since established herself as one of the LPGA Tour’s most consistent players.  She enters the Shanghai event with 11 career LPGA victories and 65 career top-10 finishes, including ten top-10 results in 2026.  Her combination of scoring efficiency, consistency and short-game skill make her one to watch in the years to come.