Forgotten Flowers: A Stanford Project on Asian American Flower Growers

Posted on February 13, 2026 by Jeff

Sign for Asian American Flower Growers organization called the Bay Area Chrysanthemum Growers Association Cooperative

People associate the Bay Area with technology and Silicon Valley. Asian Americans in the region are often thought of as engineers and software writers. But in the last century, agriculture was a major industry and employer of Asian Americans. A Stanford University project called Forgotten Flowers is uncovering the history of Asian American Flower Growers in the San Francisco Bay Area.

I grew up in the Bay Area, and some of my Asian American classmates’ families were in the flower business. Asian Americans farmers for a time could not legally own land. In that era, leasing a small farm and growing flowers was a way to make a living. University Archaeologist Laura Jones says that there is substantial literature about the history of Bay Area orchards but little about flowers. Forgotten Flowers aims to create an exhibit that allows users to explore a map of historical flower farm data, accompanied by family interviews.

This is very timely. My current ethnoburb in the Santa Clara Valley paved over former agricultural lands. When I first moved in during the 1990’s, I could choose between two long standing flower shops in the neighborhood. Chinese Americans ran one, and  Japanese Americans ran the other. The Bay Area Chrysanthemum Growers Association Cooperative (sign above) had a warehouse and meeting space within walking distance. A few years ago, both flower shops closed. The Chrysanthemum Co-op building is now for lease, and the co-op has moved out to be closer to operating farms. I am happy that the project will preserve a unique piece of Asian American history.

Forgotten Flowers is part of Stanford’s Community Engagement Impact Projects.

 

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Apple’s 2026 Chinese New Year Short: Glad I Met You

Posted on February 9, 2026 by Jeff

Every year, Apple releases a  Chinese New Year short film that is shot on their latest iPhone, and every year I look forward to the story that is created. This short for 2026 is called Glad I Met You. Apple’s description of the Chinese New Year Short:

A girl, a talking dog, and a meticulously thought out scheme make up this heartwarming tale about finding family. Apple joins forces with director Bai Xue for an imaginative blend of cinematography and stop-motion to usher in Chinese New Year.

The stop-motion segments surprised me. Amazing what you can do with an iPhone!

As usual, a “making of” video has been released (you can see it below). Also, while this was shot on an iPhone, additional hardware and software were used and it was professionally edited.

Here are all of the previous Chinese New Year Shorts that we have talked about. Happy Lunar New Year!

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Asian Americans in the 2026 Winter Olympics

Posted on February 6, 2026 by Jeff

Excited to see Asian Americans in the 2026 Winter Olympics? There are definitely some interesting stories regarding Asian Americans in Milano Cortina. Netflix has produced this documentary series Glitter & Gold (trailer above) that includes one Asian American competitor, Madison Chock, and her ice dancing partner and husband Evan Bates. Chloe Kim will be back, but hasn’t been able to practice for a while because of a shoulder injury. Alysa Liu has come out of retirement to compete again.

Northwest Asian Weekly has compiled a lists of Asian Americans to watch who are competing for Team USA. In addition to the people I mentioned, they highlight figure skaters Emily Chan and Spencer Akira Howe and speed skater Andy Heo. Goldsea points out some other notable Asian Americans, like paralympic athlete Jen Lee, who competes in sled hockey. Another list from Northwest Asian Weekly contains Asian Americans who are competing for other countries, notably Eileen Gu.

The Milano Cortina Winter Olympics takes place between February 6 and February 22. A schedule is here. The Paralympic Winter Games take place between March 6 and March 15th.

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Ruth Asawa Documentary released by New York MOMA

Posted on February 3, 2026 by Jeff

Books on Ruth AsawaThe New York City Museum of Modern art (MOMA) put together this fantastic Ruth Asawa documentary.  Despite reading about her, going to an exhibit on her work, and writing about her, this documentary taught me something new about her.

I really liked how it talked to her children and got their perspectives on her and her work. It was great to hear her in her own voice. What’s even more special is how she sets an example not just about art, but how to live a life.

The MOMA exhibit on Ruth Asawa ends on February 7, so if you are in the New York area and have not seen, I encourage you to see it while you can. Otherwise, your next chance will be in Bilbao Spain in March.

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Golden State Warriors 2026 Lunar New Year Celebration Night

Posted on January 29, 2026 by John

Golden State Warriors 2026 Lunar New Year Celebration NightGolden State Warriors’ 2026 Lunar New Year Celebration night came early this year on  Tuesday, January 20th, although the 2026 Lunar New Year isn’t until Tuesday, February 17th. I guess within a month is still okay! The last time I had attended this annual Warriors celebration night was back in 2024.

It’s great that the Golden State Warriors and other NBA teams have such theme nights. San Francisco is 37% Asian and the San Francisco Bay Area overall is approximately 27% Asian American. The Warriors get local Asian organizations to perform in front of their audience.

The Lunar New Year celebration first started with a pre-game performance at 6:30 PM (the game started at 7:00 PM) with a terrific performance by Huaxing SF:

My photographer and I, as well as others, were truly impressed. We thought afterwards this performance was the best of the evening. It’s unfortunate that many attendees had not yet arrived yet to see the performance.

Right before the singing of the national anthems and introduction of the teams, Executive Director of Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, Linyi Nikki Yu, was the honorary Bell Ringer for the evening.

Before the start of the game, I believe it was Huaxing SF that did the pre-game performance that sang both the Canadian and the U.S. national anthem. The Warriors were playing the Toronto Raptors.

Continue reading →

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The Rise of Houston’s Asian American Population

Posted on January 26, 2026 by Jeff

houston downtownWe have talked about Asian ethnoburbs in states of California, Hawaii, and even in Georgia, but we have not detailed any in Texas. A study from Rice University’s Kinder Institute details the rise of Houston’s Asian American Population. Houston is the most diverse big city in the United States, with two other Texas cities in the top 3, according to WalletHub.

Indians Americans make up the largest Asian ethnic group in the area. Vietnamese Americans are second. Houston has a Chinatown, a little Saigon, and even a Mahatma Gandhi District. Despite that, in many heavily Asian areas, there isn’t a majority of any particular Asian ethic group. One Asian American city in the Houston area, Sugarland, rates as the third best city in the US to live in, according to Liveability. Overall, Asian Americans make up 9% of the Houston region.

My summary only scratches the surface of the report. Check it out.

(photo credit: David Daniel Turner licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license)

 

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Largest H Mart in the US Will Open in Fremont, California

Posted on January 23, 2026 by John
Largest H Mart in the US to open in Fremont H Mart, the biggest Asian grocery chain in the United States, announced recently that they are opening the largest H Mart store yet. It will be located in the San Francisco Bay Area city of Fremont, California:
“A 100,000-square-foot, two-story H Mart is headed to Pacific Commons Shopping Center in Fremont, according to a press release. It will be the first, flagship location of H Mart’s new “multi-level prototype,” with a food hall, restaurants and a bar, in addition to the grocery store. “This project represents the largest investment in the company’s history,” the release states.

Construction on the new H Mart, which will be located in a former Kohl’s store at 43782 Christy St. on the west side of the Fremont shopping center, is expected to start later this year. The company did not provide an opening date. The sprawling Pacific Commons Shopping Center is full of large retail and restaurant chains, including In-N-Out Burger, plus some local restaurants such as Pho Ha Noi.”

Unfortunately, no expected opening date has been announced. I first heard of H Mart from the book, Crying in H Mart. That was before I actually ever visited an actual H Mart (in San Jose, California)! It took a while for H Mart to make it to the Bay Area, as the chain started on the East Coast. H Mart competes with many Asian Grocery stores in California, especially from the long established Ranch 99 (I don’t ever call the chain 99 Ranch!).
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The Pinoy Step: An Asian American Basketball Move

Posted on January 16, 2026 by Jeff

Kiefer Ravena who with Ricci Rivero popularized the Pinoy stepThis broadcast segment surprised me when it described basketball superstar Luka Doncic doing “that Pinoy step.” I looked up it up, and people have been talking about it and even doing instructional videos on it for a few years now. Wikipedia actually describes it in a page. The Pinoy step is something quintessentially Asian American on different levels.

First, what is the Pinoy step? It is a basketball move related to the Euro step. Basketball players are allowed two steps after stopping their dribble. The Pinoy Step, involves doing a pump fake on the first step, and then following through to do a layup or dunk on the second step. Smaller players can use it to get around bigger defenders, especially if they can get the defender in the air.

Second, why is it named the Pinoy Step? Two parts to answer that question. The move itself is attributed to Filipino basketball player Kiefer Ravena. The step’s utility was so great that it spread across the world. Where did the word Pinoy come from? First usages of the word, which is an affectionate nickname for Filipinos, originated in the US in the early 20th century. Carlos Bulosan used it in his classic book American is in the Heart. Pinoy then became widely used in the Philippines.

So why do I consider the Pinoy step something so fundamentally Asian American? Not unlike the food chain Jollibee, the Pinoy step started with something from the America (basketball and the name Pinoy). These then became changed and popular in Asia and came back to the US.

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Dada Banatao Obituary and Celebration of Life

Posted on January 14, 2026 by Jeff

Dado Banatao‘s family recently posted what should be the official Dado Banatao obituary and announced a time and place for his celebration of life.  The event venue has reached its limit, so there is no space for any more guests. They have provided a livestream, which you can find in the announcement. The streaming of the memorial service will start at 2:30 PM Pacific time on Friday, January 16.

The Banatao family ask that people consider a donation to PhilDev in his memory.  Dado founded PhilDev 15 years ago to support scholars and innovators through programs in both the US and the Philippines.

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Siskyou County Settles Asian Discrimination Lawsuit

Posted on January 13, 2026 by Jeff

You might not associate traffic stops with anti-Asian racism, but Siskyou County just settled an Asian Discrimination Lawsuit alleging exactly that. The lawsuit claims racial profiling in traffic stops and restricting Asian American access to water. The pretense for these actions is to stop illegal marijuana growing. Siskyou County is a county in Northern California next to the Oregon border.

While the county admits no wrongdoing, they did agree to remove certain ordinances, implement a nondiscriminatory traffic stop policy, and hire an external auditor to monitor their compliance. Body cameras must be used  during all traffic stops. The text of the lawsuit mentions the county’s history in the Driving Out.

Litigation concerning water access to Asian Americans continues.

(image credit: Arkyan licensed under under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.)

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Rosemead Movie is in Bay Area Theatres this Weekend

Posted on January 9, 2026 by Jeff

Rosemead movie poster with Lucy LiuExpanding beyond its initial limited release in Los Angeles and New York City, the Rosemead movie is in Bay Area Theatres this weekend. Why has it gotten a larger release? It could be because of the Oscar buzz that Liu’s performance has generated. Co-star Lawrence Shou, will be at two post screening sessions at the San Francisco Metreon’s 7 PM showings on Friday January 9 and Saturday January 10.

Rosemead is showing in three movie theatres in the Bay Area.  You can see which ones and buy tickets here. Also, check out the Mercury News interview of Shou.  Like Sean Wang, the director of Dìdi (弟弟), he is a native of Fremont.

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Asian Dad Gets Laid Off from Tech job and goes Viral

Posted on January 1, 2026 by Jeff

Asian Dad get laid off from decades long tech careerAn Asian dad gets laid off after working decades in Tech, and his video about the experience has gone viral.  Why did that happen?  For me, his situation really connected.  Like Asian Dad Energy (his channel name and what I will call him), I am an Ivy League educated engineer and father who took a package to leave a job in Big Tech after decades of work. With many other people being laid off from Tech, his experiences resonates widely.

As Asian Americans, we are often raised to chase big prizes like Ivy league educations and high paying jobs in Tech. But are those prizes worth the cost?  Asian Dad Energy tells the story of an excellent and hardworking engineer who was looking to finally get some time with his son. That engineer then gets sick and died, and weeks later, at work, it is like nothing happened. I have heard versions of this story happening to people time and time again. I also thought of the movie Didi. In that movie, the main character’s father is gone, working remotely through out the movie.

Like many people laid off, Asian Dad Energy is looking for what’s next. He feels lucky that he isn’t under a lot of financial pressure but wonders about next steps. As for myself, I took a little over a year to find a new job, not in Big Tech, but doing tech for a nonprofit.  I find this really meaningful and less stressful. Asian Dad Energy also discusses highly topical issues like age discrimination and budgeting. I will be following Asian Dad Energy to see what happens next for him.

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