Pablo Torre is not an IT Guy

Posted on September 4, 2026 by Jeff

Pablo Torre doing an interview

When Pablo Torre told some people that he had started working at ESPN, they assumed he did Tech Support.  But this Pulitzer prize winning journalist is definitely not an IT Guy. I find the story of this Filipino American fascinating.

First, if you don’t know Pablo Torre (likely if you don’t follow American sports), let me give you a quick summary. He began writing for Sports Illustrated, and eventually started appearing on ESPN on cable TV. Torre’s story on how athletes go broke became well known and resulted in a Security and Exchange Commission investigation. He left ESPN and created a podcast and YouTube channel called Pablo Torre Finds Out. A series of stories on how Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers evaded the NBA salary cap won him a Pulitzer prize.  I have embedded the first podcast of his investigation above.

Torre didn’t start off wanting to be a journalist. His Filipino parents wanted him to be a doctor (so typical!), but he wasn’t good at science. Law appeared to an acceptable career route, but he tested poorly on his LSATs and took at job at Sports Illustrated as a fact checker while gearing up another try at the LSATs. He eventually became a writer there, kicking off his career.

I can appreciate his frustration at being thought of as being tech support because he is Asian. Sad to say, but I remember seeing him years ago on ESPN and wondering “who is this Asian guy and why is he there?” A few weeks ago, ESPN recently released a story saying that NBA found on evidence of wrongdoing in the Clipper case. It seemed to refute all of Torre’s investigations. Then, the NBA’s recent announcement vindicated him.

As an actual IT guy accustomed to being behind the scenes (like most Filipino Americans), I am amazed at how Filipinos and Filipino American’s are increasing in visibility. Tennis player Alex Elea comes to mind. Paolo Pasco too- another Filipino American from Harvard like Torre. For his part, Torre is working on other investigations. I didn’t know who he was before, but my sons put me on him.  I am now a fan, and I can’t wait for his next story!

 

 

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A Summer in Japan

Posted on September 3, 2026 by High School Voices
Tree in front of Japanese building, part of post on my summer in Japan

Photo by Angela Xu

By Angela Xu

This summer, I went to Japan for my summer break, making it the third consecutive year I had traveled to Japan. The years before, I mostly visited tourist spots, which were fun, but also crowded. On this trip, we decided to tour more hidden cities. This year, it was only me and my mom, and we travelled throughout Japan for about a month, heading to places we had never been to before. 

Photo by Angela Xu

Kamakura, which is south of Tokyo, was one of our first stops on the trip, and we headed to this iconic temple with a fish pond. This temple, called Hase-dera, is known for having a huge wooden statue. Unfortunately, we didn’t head over to see the huge wooden statue. I did, however, walk around the gardens and came upon a cave, which was dark and had rooms for praying inside. This temple contained many hidden surprises in every single corner. 

We also went to another temple at a different location, in an area called Enoshima. At this one, there was a long shopping street before heading to a mountain. It was steep, and at the top of the mountain was the temple where you either had to climb or pay to use the escalator which took you to the top. I paid for the escalator and found myself at the top of the mountain, which had many activities. The wooden signs in this photo are all wishes made by visitors. They were mostly wishes made by people for their family or their relationships with others.

Kamakura was mostly full of temples, but if you weren’t interested in them, there aren’t any other things to do. However, it is a beach town, if you want to see beaches.

Photo by Angela Xu

Just south of Kamakura in Shizuoka prefecture, Tokko-no-yu is a small village renowned for its hot springs. The oldest and most sacred onsen in its area, it has a rich history with legends about the village. I learned that one of the onsens was supposedly off limits for any one to bathe in, because only the gods were allowed to. I did go into a public bathhouse there, which was strange to experience. It was communal and different from anything in America. The water there is all extracted from the ground, so it is hot. There was also a temple nearby, with fresh hot water to rinse your hands and mouth before praying. 

Photo by Angela Xu

Next, we went to Nagoya, a city famous for its breakfast tradition and Toyota cars. This bookstore at the Nagoya Noritake Aeon Mall is also at the former location of the factory of Noritake, a dinnerware company. The factory was changed into a museum. 

While I was in Nagoya, I went to Sakae, a shopping district that was the most lively part of Nagoya, with bustling streets full of shopping, eating, and activities. I went to Yabaton, a famous miso katsu restaurant, and also bought some Bape, which is cheaper in Japan. There was definitely more to do there, because the more popular activities in the city were there. The Fuji Nagoya Science Museum was also there, and it had many locals, who probably visit the museum on weekends. When I went inside, there were a bunch of experiments inside which explained about different science topics, such as water. Continue reading →

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Fremont is “Happiest” City again in 2026

Posted on September 1, 2026 by Jeff

Happiest

Source: WalletHub

Mission Peak as scene from Lake Elizabeth in Fremont California. Fremont is the "Happiest" City in the US according to WalletHub.WalletHub has updated their ratings for the happiest cities, and Fremont is “Happiest” City again in 2026. Last year, we mentioned two other Asian American cities being in the top 3, but this year Irvine has dropped to 8th and San Jose has dropped to 10th.

Florida has no cities on the top 30 list while Texas has only one.  I have definitely heard good things about Plano in Texas. As we have noted in other “top city” lists with Asian American cities in them, the criteria for selection makes a huge amount of difference.

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Jeopardy Masters are mostly Asian

Posted on August 28, 2026 by Jeff

leaderboard screenshot showing that Jeopardy Masters are mostly Asia

After tuning in to the tournament this week, I noticed that 2026 Jeopardy Masters are mostly Asian.  Most are Asian American, with Juveria Zaheer being Asian Canadian. The contestants are from a wide variety of Asian ethnicities, ranging from Filipino, Vietnamese, Chinese, and South Asian.

For those of you who don’t know, Jeopardy Masters is tournament of six highly ranked Jeopardy contestants. They include current champion Yogesh Raut and past winner Victoria Groce. 2026 Tournament of Champion winner Paolo Pasco and 2026 Jeopardy Invitational winner Andrew He are joined by Juveria Zaheer and Long Nguyen.

While I am not the only one to have noticed the large number of Asians, I have not detected any backlash. I find that some of these contests are interesting aside from being Jeopardy masters. Juveria Zaheer is a psychiatrist, medical school professor, and noted authority on suicide prevention. Paolo Pasco is a two time American crossword puzzle champion and creates puzzles for a living.

The quarter finals continues tonight.  The tournament goes on through next week. You can catch the broadcasts on ABC at 8 PM/7 Central. Games stream the day after airing on Hulu.

(screenshot credit: Jeopardy)

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Dear Me from 2 Years Ago,

Posted on August 23, 2026 by High School Voices

Sunset from Dear me from 2 years ago

By Yung-Yi Chang

Dear Me from 2 Years Ago,

You’re carrying little more than a suitcase and entering a new world that you don’t know. You’re also carrying the weight of a new language in your mouth. 

No one warns you how exhausting it is to translate English into Chinese.

In your 9th grade year, you almost can’t understand anything in class, constantly feeling awkward because you can’t even answer a single question when the teacher is asking. When speaking in English, you always hesitate, and your voice becomes low and weird; this is why you are afraid of speaking to others. You work hard on your English and are able to speak to others after a while. 

This struggle feels heavier because you’re at the age when you are learning who you are and where you belong. Immigrating as a teenager especially makes people feel insecure but it will also help you become stronger. Not only will you learn a new language, but you will find yourself a new place in this world. I know it is really hard for you to be here in America, but this is where you find your strength. Each challenge here will always help you to grow despite being at such a young age, and you will be able to handle many problems by yourself and become a better person.

I know it is hard for you to be in a new and unfamiliar country, but you will try your best to fit into everything, from school to friends to culture. People will love to talk to you, especially when you do your best to make a joke, and it turns out that everyone will love it and laugh. 

You will deserve all your successes due to your hard work. There will be one specific moment that will show that you’re growing strong. During a group project, everyone will be talking about their ideas, and you’re the only one who can’t say anything–at first. You want to share some ideas, but are scared to speak out because English is not your first language. Finally, you stand up and share your ideas, and everyone agrees with you. After that, people start talking to you, and they find you interesting. This will help you feel more confident, something hard earned from all your efforts.

Attending school in a new country and learning a new language is one of the bravest things that a person can do. Feel proud that you had the courage to do it. 

One day, you will no longer be behind; you will overcome the barriers to improve your English to the next level. So live freely and don’t let the pressure get to you. 

You’re going to do just fine. 

Sincerely,

Claire 

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John Luk: Asian Mall Builder

Posted on August 21, 2026 by Jeff

Irvine 99 Ranch Market, part of John Luk Asian Mall Developer storyWhen my tech co-workers and I first had heard about Lion Plaza, one of the first Asian malls in the Santa Clara Valley john (Silicon Valley), we were so excited. We would drive 15 minutes each direction to eat lunch there. Before that, the only way we could experience a such concentration of Asian restaurants and shop would be to go to Oakland or San Francisco Chinatown. Both are more than 40 miles away. Yet even Lion Plaza would seem far away when Milpitas Square opened in 1996. One of the largest Asian shopping areas in the Bay Area, former Hong Kong nurse John Luk developed it. Luk is interviewed in this article from the San Jose Mercury News. He talks about his life and strategies for making Asian malls successful.

John Luk Story and Mall Strategy

Luk started off as an emergency room nurse.  He even worked his way up to becoming head nurse.  Then, after noticing the lack of Asian groceries stores and banquet halls in the Santa Clara Valley, he gathered resources and partners to launch Milpitas Square. While we liked going to Lion Plaza, Milpitas Square is a massive Asian oriented developed on a scale we had never seen before. It situated itself strategically in Silicon Valley’s Golden Triangle.

Luk focuses on two things for developing an Asian themed mall – an anchor tenant and banquet hall facilities. Ranch 99 was the key anchor for Milpitas Square. Incidentally, he was involved with Lion Plaza also. He also worked with an older center in Newark (not far from where I grew up) and brought in a Ranch 99 and a banquet restaurant.  I have been to both.

Willow Lung-Amam Paper on Asian American Malls

The history of Asian malls in Silicon Valley is an interesting one. The growth and evolution of these malls reflect the changing demographics and economic realities of Silicon Valley.  If you are interested in more detail, I recommend this paper from Willow Lung-Amam on Asian mall evolution in the Valley. Note that if you can’t access it, JSTOR provides an overview here. Lung-Amam also talked about some of the challenges to open Asian malls, such as opposition by local residents, in her book Trespassers?: Asian Americans and the Battle for Suburbia.

The John Luk interview and Lung-Amam’s paper resonates with me because I lived this history. These Asian malls are places near to me that my family and I still go to. The paper also discusses the challenges of urban Chinatowns as suburban dwellers like myself have little reason to go there.

One area that the interview and paper didn’t cover is how the catering to Asian customers doesn’t just happen at dedicated Asian malls. I have talked about how mainstream malls like Valley Fair and Stonestown Galleria have remained viable by catering to Asian American customers. Perhaps a future paper from Lung-Amam will cover this developments.

(photo credit: Nandaro licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.)

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Adventure Time’s Lady Rainicorn

Posted on August 18, 2026 by Jeff

Adventure Time's Lady RainicornYears before KPop Demon Hunters had wide swaths of America singing in Korean, one mainstream cartoon had a show were characters would speak almost totally in Korean. Adventure Time‘s Lady Rainicorn had the vast majority of her lines in Korean! I never watched Adventure Time as it first came out in 2010, years past the time when my kids would watch cartoons a lot. Looking at the clip above, I wish I did!

The voice actor who does Lady Rainicorn has an interesting story, as she relates (4:59) in the video below. Niki Yang was originally a storyboard artist on the show. As she was fluent in Korean, they decided to give a character lines in Korean. What ended up being really funny is that they never subtitle Lady Rainicorn’s lines! Her Korean is often very blunt and adult.

Korean was chosen for the show as in 2010, it would seem very alien to American viewers. How times have changed! To see a translation of Lady Rainicorn’s best quotes, look here.  Adventure Time streams on Hulu, Disny+, and HBO Max.

(picture credit: Fred Seibert by CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

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TV show makes Cupertino Asian Americans Disappear

Posted on August 12, 2026 by Jeff

Monta Vista High School in Cupertino, Given how AI, tech billionaires, and social media have huge mindshare these days, Silicon Valley is an incredibly hot topic. I can just see someone pitching a show about striking back those giant corporations and tycoons.  The upcoming show Cupertino fits that profile.  It also seems to be expert in magic, as it has made Cupertino Asian Americans disappear!

As an Asian American living in Silicon Valley, I think of Cupertino mainly in three areas: hypercompetitive high schools, resulting high housing prices, and great Asian food! Apple comes in fourth. Cupertino is a majority Asian American city, where Asians are 70% of the population. That high percentage has lead to some pretty good eating there. ChonkyABG covers a few spots in Cupertino. I embedded the first part of her two part series on Cupertino Asian food below.

To be fair, it is just the teaser trailer, and the series might actually reflect the real demographics of Silicon Valley. Then again, it might not. If you are still interested in seeing the show, Cupertino will premiere on October 10, 10 PM and 9 central on CBS.

 

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Understanding the Rise in Asian American Breast Cancer

Posted on August 10, 2026 by Jeff

woman getting a mammogram - part of article on the rise in Asian American breast cancerI get a newsletter from the ASPIRE cancer study, and their last message included a link to this Newsweek article about the rise in Asian American breast cancer  Not too long ago, doctors were once skeptical that Asian American women would have breast cancer. Now, Asian American women have the fastest growing rate of breast cancer. Researchers at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) are trying to find out why, and one of the lead investigators presents data on the issue in this talk (video embedded above). In addition, you can help these researchers.

Dr. Scarlett Lin Gomez points out in her talk that immigrant Asian Americans were once less likely to get breast cancer.  Now that has reversed. She also makes the case that not only Asian Americans experience increases in breast cancer but so do Asians in Asia.

I mentioned that you can help.  The CRANE study (Breast Cancer Risk and AsiaN AmEricans Study) wants Asian American women with or without breast cancer in the Bay Area counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Mateo, or Santa Clara to sign up for the their study. Also, note that Stanford’s Center for Asian Health Research and Education hosted Dr. Gomez’s talk. They conduct a number of webinars on Asian American health, including an upcoming one on Gastric Cancer Screening on September 22.

 

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Asian American Cognitive Decline varies by Ethnic Group

Posted on August 7, 2026 by Jeff

Brain and thoughts, part of story on the variability of Asian American Cognitive DeclineA study recently published in Nature finds that cognitive decline in Asian American seniors varies greatly by ethnic group. This study followed a group of older Asian Americans and measured their cognitive function over time. It looked at factors such as nativity, language, and educational attainment. Among other findings, the researchers discovered that Filipino Americans had the greatest decline in executive function.

Why Filipino Americans? The study authors speculate that this is may be from Filipino American’s high incidence of hypertension, which correlates strongly with cognitive decline. I personally know many Filipinos with hypertension, an I am one of them!

Data for this study was taken from the Kaiser Health Aging and Diverse Life Experience (HANDLE) project and LifeAfter90 longitudinal studies. One actionable item from this study is that if you have hypertension, get it under control. I have had to do that myself.

(photo credit: Phlsph7 adapted by The Anome, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons)

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Jollibee returns to San Francisco after six year Permitting Struggle

Posted on August 4, 2026 by Jeff

Filipino Fast Food Chain Jollibee store in Earl's Court. Jollibee returns to San Francisco after a 15 year absence.

Earl’s Court Jollibee

After a 15 year absence, Jollibee returns to San Francisco! I remember the old on 4th and Howard. The return of the America’s best fast food fried chicken was not easy. The company had applied to open a store in 2020. They had to run a gauntlet of regulations and permit approvals that delayed opening until late July. Some articles held up Jollibee’s struggles with the city bureaucracy as an example of what is wrong with San Francisco.

While it’s great that Jollibee has opened in an area of San Francisco that could use more businesses, would I have waited hours for it?  No.  That might be because I live close to a Jollibee and have a few I can  choose from!

To get a thorough overview on this story, from why Jollibee is a big deal for many Filipinos to the ridiculous permitting situation and to reforms that the new mayor has made to prevent that situation from happening again, I suggest you check out the podcast embedded below. If you just want to eat at Jollibee San Francisco, it is located at 934 Market.

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Plus One with Lisa and Morgan: Ken Jeong and Tran Ho

Posted on July 30, 2026 by John

Ken Jeong and Tran Ho on the podcast PLUS+ONE with Lisa and Morgan

As a fellow Duke alum and a founding national board member and Duke Northern California Duke Asian Alumni Alliance chapter founder, I follow Duke’s most famous Asian American alumni (and possibly most famous?), Ken Jeong, religiously. Recently I saw that he had shared on social media a podcast interview with Ken Jeong and Tran Ho. The podcast series is titled “Plus One with Lisa and Morgan” about:

“Plus One with Lisa and Morgan takes a unique look at celebrity by putting the “plus ones” front and center. What do you do when your significant other is just a little too significant? We’ve all been there. A spouse, best friend. co-worker… you know the people who always manage to find their light. Each episode, Lisa Joyner, married to Jon Cryer and Morgan Walsh, wife of comedian Matt Walsh, bring the Plus+One’s out of the shadows to share incredible stories of who they are, what they do and how they play a best supporting role to their famous counterparts. Then we hear from the famous, in their own words.”

So it was super interesting to hear from Ken’s “Ho,” her experience meeting and building a life with Ken:

“This week on Plus One, Lisa Joyner and Morgan Walsh welcome Dr. Tran Ho—family physician, breast cancer survivor, humanitarian, and wife of actor and comedian Ken Jeong.

Tran shares how she and Ken met while working as doctors, why she encouraged him to leave medicine to pursue comedy full-time, and the unforgettable first date that started it all.

She also opens up about being diagnosed with aggressive triple-negative breast cancer shortly after giving birth to twins, and how humor, resilience, and the support of family and friends helped them through one of the hardest chapters of their lives.

Later, Ken joins the conversation to talk about what it’s like being Tran’s plus one, why she’s the funniest person in their family, and the partnership that has carried them through every stage of life.”

I still have yet to meet Ken – that is my ultimate Duke alumni goal!

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