Monthly Archives: December 2008

Jero on Kohaku 2008

Last New Years Eve, Yoshi and I stayed at the Kabuki Hotel in SF J-Town. I guess they pipe in the NHK for the guests there because there is no NHK to be found via DirecTV in San Jose, where … Continue reading

Posted in Entertainment, Lifestyles, Movies, Music, WTF | 6 Comments

POP 88 #26 – FAVs of 2009

Happy New Year Everyone! This year end special of POP 88 brings you my personal favorites of 2008. I really tried to be diverse, and made every effort not to repeat songs I’ve already played this year. It is, however, … Continue reading

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Philippine Coral Reef Exhibit at the California Academy of Sciences

My family and I recently visited the Philippine Coral Reef Exhibit at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.   I recall seeing some of the fish in the exhibit from the time many years ago … Continue reading

Posted in Current Events, Education, Observations | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

The 8Asians.com Writers (And Sassy Korean Guy) Wishes You a Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Posted in Announcements, WTF | 8 Comments

China, the Birthplace of Marijuana!

The most recent issue of the esteemed academic journal, the Journal of Experimental Botany,  has a very interesting article with the rather dry title: Phytochemical and genetic analysis of ancient cannabis from Central Asia. That’s marijuana or pot, for you … Continue reading

Posted in Lifestyles, Observations | 4 Comments

POP 88 #25 – Non-Stop Xmas/ Winter Mix

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, everyone! Enjoy the latest holiday releases from your favorite Japanese and Korean singers. (It’s weird, but I couldn’t find any holiday music from any Chinese artists.) This show plays music from some artists I’ve never … Continue reading

Posted in Entertainment, Music, POP 88 | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

A Tale of Two McNuggets Commercials

For McDonald’s being the shameless mega-corporation that gets sued all the time and makes people fat, they’re a marketers wet dream as far as brand recognition and global identity is concerned. Ask my mom what a “Chipotles” is and she’ll … Continue reading

Posted in Food & Drink, Lifestyles | 7 Comments

San Francisco Police Chief Heather Fong to retire in April

One thing that really shocked me about moving here from Western Massachusetts was the number of Asian Americans with non-stereotyped roles, like police officers or fire fighters.  Almost five years ago, when San Francisco Mayor Newsom appointed 26 year police … Continue reading

Posted in Current Events, Discrimination, Politics | 4 Comments

Nothing Says the Holidays Like a Corpse in your Passenger Seat

I would summarize this incident, but reading the full text of the story allows you to get the context a little better: Taipei – A Taiwan taxi driver drove passengers around for a day with a corpse sitting in his … Continue reading

Posted in Current Events, WTF | 4 Comments

SF Ballet’s Nutcracker on PBS: Yuan Yuan Tan as Snow Queen & Hosted by Kristi Yamaguchi

Since this is Christmas, something that always puts me in the holiday mood is the Nutcracker ballet. This year there is a special treat, as the San Francisco Ballet Nutcracker will be re-broadcast on PBS this Sunday. (That’s on KQED … Continue reading

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White-Washing Avatar: The Last Airbender?

Entertainment Weekly recently announced the casting decisions by M. Night Shyamalan for his latest project, Avatar: The Last Airbender, a live-action version of the popular Nickelodeon cartoon. With names like Jesse McCartney, Twilight’s Jackson Rathbone and Nicola Peltz, it’s clear … Continue reading

Posted in Discrimination, Entertainment, Movies | Tagged , | 136 Comments

Jeremy Lin and the Challenges Facing Asian American Athletes

“That team could use some black kids!” This was the comment of Number Two Son, pointing to the mostly white team that his mostly black team beat in an NJB game. That incident came to mind when I saw this … Continue reading

Posted in Discrimination, Sports | Tagged , , , , , | 22 Comments