Monthly Archives: April 2025

San Francisco International Film Festival Premiere of ‘Isle Child’: Review and post-screening Q&A

Posted on April 30, 2025 by John

Last year at the San Francisco International Film Festival, I got to see on opening night Sean Wang’s feature length directorial debut of Didi , which premiered at Sundance earlier in 2024. At this year’s 2025 festival, I got to … Continue reading →

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Asian American Frozen Foods: Pulmuone’s Beef Japchae

Posted on April 28, 2025 by John

I was at my local Costco in Silicon Valley the other day and came across this offering, Pulmuone’s Club Beef Japchae: “Once considered a royal dish, Japchae is a flavorful noodle stir-fry and one of Korea’s most-loved dishes that can … Continue reading →

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Scientists Study World Record Setting 77 year-old Runner Jeannie Rice

Posted on April 23, 2025 by Jeff

77-year-old runner Jeannie Rice has broken every women’s distance world record for the 75-79 age group. Most runners slow down significantly after 70, but she has not.  So when British scientists heard that she was running in the London Marathon … Continue reading →

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US Chinatowns Feeling the Effects of Tariffs

Posted on April 21, 2025 by Jeff

US Chinatowns from Honolulu and San Francisco to Las Vegas and New York are feeling the effects of the Trump Administration’s tariffs. Many business in these Chinatowns have low margins and price-sensitive customers, and cost increases have a tremendous impact.  … Continue reading →

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Netflix Japan’s “First Love”

Posted on April 19, 2025 by tinabot

Utada Hikaru’s “First Love” was a big hit, but it was more popular within Japan itself than anywhere else in the world. It’s a testament to its indelible place in modern Japanese consciousness that an entire Netflix produced drama would … Continue reading →

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Kaitlyn Chen Drafted by the Golden State Valkyries of the WNBA

Posted on April 15, 2025 by Jeff

Kaitlyn Chen was selected on Monday April 14th by the Golden State Valkyries in the WNBA draft. She was drafted in the 3rd round and 30th overall.  We mentioned previously that she did not declare for the draft, but since … Continue reading →

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Former Navy SEAL and Doctor Jonny Kim Finally Making First Trip To Space

Posted on April 14, 2025 by John

Back in January of 2020, I had blogged about the incredible Jonny Kim, who was selected by NASA to become an astronaut. Well, a few days ago of this writing, Kim finally made it into space and talks about it … Continue reading →

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Netflix’s House of Ninjas

Posted on April 12, 2025 by tinabot

Haru Tawara (Kento Kaku) refills vendings machines for a living and lives in a run-down old Japanese home compound with his motley family. Despite his father Soichi’s (Yosuke Eguchi) claims that they are a normal Japanese family, all evidence suggests … Continue reading →

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Kaitlyn Chen’s Path to the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship

Posted on April 11, 2025 by Jeff

One doesn’t see many Asian faces in in American basketball championships (the last time I can recall was when Jeremy Lin won the NBA championship with the 2019 Toronto Raptors), so it was a pleasant surprise to see Kaitlyn Chen … Continue reading →

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Mayor Michelle Wu Playing Rhapsody in Blue with the Boston Pops

Posted on April 7, 2025 by Jeff

Although this concert happened last year, I  just recently saw this video of Boston Mayor Michelle Wu performing George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue on the piano with the Boston Pops orchestra. Rhapsody in Blue is a difficult piece (rated as … Continue reading →

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‘Home Court’ Now Streaming on All PBS Platforms

Posted on April 1, 2025 by John

Last year, I had the opportunity to see and review  Home Court at CAAMFest: “Ashley Chea is a Cambodian American basketball phenom. Home Court, filmed over three years, is a coming-of-age story that relays the highs and lows of her immigrant family, … Continue reading →

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