8 Asians

I first met then candidate Stephanie Murphy shortly after the 2016 Democratic National Convention in July. What I didn’t realize, or had forgotten, was that Murphy had announced running for Congress in June 2016 – and essentially ran a 4-month campaign and defeating a 12-term (24 year) incumbent, Congressman  John Mica. That is pretty unprecedented. So it was with great pleasure that I was able to meet now Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy recently when she was […] Continue »

It’s been a while since I had a Snapple, and maybe that’s why the company is advertising again (or maybe I just noticed), and I came across this commercial recently with an Asian American male office worker: and you get to see the guy drink a Snapple in a more private office: I have no idea who the actor is, but hopefully his career will move on to bigger and better things. These kinds of […] Continue »

I think I first heard of Kristina Wong (“solo performer, writer, actor, educator, culture jammer, and filmmaker”) around her antics of trying to marry her dream husband, Taiwanese American NBA basketball player Jeremy Lin, and her viral TV interview on  which was freaking hilarious on why everyone wants to date Asian women. Last April 2016, I also had a chance to catch her live in her excellent, excellent solo performance of “The Wong Street Journal.” Wong has […] Continue »

NBA / Brooklyn Nets basketball player Jeremy Lin during the offseason returns to his native Bay Area for a short while before he does his annual pilgrimage to Asia – usually Taiwan and China, where he has a strong fan base. Recently, he posted what life is like on YouTube when he’s back: “Just another day in the life in the Bay Area! Working on staying healthy and excited for this upcoming season. Make sure […] Continue »

Back in July, I was able to attend Politicon (think of it as Comic-Con for political geeks) in Pasadena, California. This was the third year it was being held – I had first learned about it last year, but had planned on going to the Democratic National Convention (which I did), so didn’t make any plans to attend. This year, I wanted to check the 2-day event out, especially after reading about this panel: Asian […] Continue »

I caught this recent Bounce commercial: “If only Harry used some Bounce to dry, he would be less wrinkly and winning at life. Toss wrinkles, static, lint, and pet hair goodbye.” This businessman is pitching something to a group of humorless groups of Asians, which I assume are foreigners (since in the U.S., it would be unlikely for a group of Americans on a team to be all Asian Americans). Of course, his pitch would […] Continue »

I was surprised to see this commercial. Not that Asian Americans don’t need Depend adult diapers, but that this commercial highlighted a use case I had not thought about – firefighters wearing Depend’s: “On Jon’s crew, every second counts. See how the breathable fabric of Depend® Real Fit® briefs helps him manage his bladder leakage so he can stay prepared for whatever lies ahead.” The commercial highlights that “Jon S.” is an actual Depend user. […] Continue »

At my local Trader Joe’s in Silicon Valley, this frozen dish goes for $4.99. I’ve had this dish before where I have stir fried it, so this time around, I microwaved the dish – first the shrimp separately, then adding the shrimp to the rice, for a total microwave time of around 4 to 5 minutes: Overall, the dish tasted almost as good as stir fried. Overall, I like the dish – it was pretty […] Continue »

Recently, NPR interviewed Vincent Chin’s best friend and best nan, Gary Koivu, to remember Chin, on the 35th anniversary of his death:   “Gary Koivu met Chin when they were in the first grade and their teacher introduced Chin to the rest of the class. They were friends for more than 20 years and Chin asked Koivu to be the best man in his wedding. … There was an auto worker,” Koivu says. “He said […] Continue »

If you hadn’t heard recently, there was a Supreme Court decision involving the Asian American band called The Slants, that was settled in their favor: “Members of the Asian-American rock band The Slants have the right to call themselves by a disparaging name, the Supreme Court says, in a ruling that could have broad impact on how the First Amendment is applied in other trademark cases. The Slants’ frontman, Simon Tam, filed a lawsuit after the U.S. […] Continue »

If you’re not aware, there is a closely watched special Congressional election coming this Tuesday, June 20th in Georgia – in a suburb of Atlanta (Georgia’s 6th Congressional District between Republican Karen Handel and Democrat Jon Ossoff), and Asian Americans could be the difference in having a Democrat win over a traditionally Republican district: “Based on the district’s demographic makeup, Asian-American residents like Kolichala could play a major role in determining the final winner. While […] Continue »

I’m a big fan Korean food, especially Korean BBQ. But I also like bibimbap: “The word literally means “mixed rice”. Bibimbap is served as a bowl of warm white rice topped with namul (sautéed and seasoned vegetables) and gochujang (chili pepper paste), soy sauce, or doenjang (a fermented soybean paste). A raw or fried egg and sliced meat (usually beef) are common additions. The hot dish is stirred together thoroughly just before eating.” At my local […] Continue »