Author Archives: Jeff

About Jeff

Jeff lives in Silicon Valley, and attempts to juggle marriage, fatherhood, computer systems research, running, and writing.

Former Boxing Champion Ana Julaton Takes Up MMA

Former IBA and WBO Superbantamweight Boxing Champion Ana Julaton has started fighting MMA professionally this year.  Not only is she a boxer, but she has a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and kenpo Karate.  She follows well known boxer … Continue reading

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“Karate Clerk” Mayura Dissanayake Wins Recent MMA Match by Knockout in 18 Seconds

“Karate Clerk” Mayura Dissanayake recently showed his skills in the MMA ring by knocking out Jaime Garcia in 18 seconds.    A video of the match is below.  When I watched it, I felt sorry for Garcia.  This was an amateur … Continue reading

Posted in Current Events, Sports | Tagged | 2 Comments

Asian American Hairstylist Gives Homeless Haircuts for Free

Despite a career styling the hair of celebrities like Jeff Gordon at high end salon Three Squares Studio, Mark Bustos takes time every Sunday to give free haircuts to the homeless.   He first started doing this in the Philippines as … Continue reading

Posted in Fashion, Lifestyles, New York | Leave a comment

What’s An Asian Name Worth? At least US$2600 if you are named Sam Sung!

Carrying an Asian name would seem to be a liability in the many countries – actress Chloe Bennet says that changing her Asian last name resulted in her getting more acting work. Former Apple Employee Sam Sung thought his old … Continue reading

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Orange County Asian American Population Growth Different from Older Enclaves

While typical media images of “The O.C.” are those of fashionable young white people or white surfers in beach communities, Orange County has grown to contain the third largest Asian American population of any county in the U.S., behind Los … Continue reading

Posted in Current Events, Local, Southern California | Tagged , | 1 Comment

San Francisco’s Tech Boom Squeezing Out Chinese American Small Businesses

While we’ve written about how Filipinos have been affected by the San Francisco Tech boom, this story from Boom (summarized here by New America Media), talks about the effects of the boom on small Chinese American businesses like these on … Continue reading

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Affirmative Action Alternatives and their Effects on Asian Americans

With the tabling of SCA5, the Fisher vs University of Texas decision, and the lawsuit over admissions to New York’s selective high schools, non-race based alternatives to diversifying campuses are increasingly being discussed. Some of these discussions, like this one … Continue reading

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Drake sings “Let it Go” as Manny Pacquiao – Funny or Offensive?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNSSOzH-a2g Drake did the above spoof of Manny Pacquiao singing Let it Go on the ESPY awards show.  I personally thought it was funny and was not at all offended.  As this Buzzfeed article points out, some Filipinos agree with … Continue reading

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The Evolution of Asian American Studies: Princeton Hires First Professor of Asian American History

When I was undergraduate at Princeton during the last century, instituting an Asian American Studies (AAS) program was a focus of the university’s Asian American Students Association. After decades of effort by many students, Alumni, and professors, Princeton University finally … Continue reading

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Shen Yun Performing Arts: A Review of Sorts

If you live in the Bay Area or in other urban areas, you may notice that periodically, advertisements go up for a “Shen Yun Performing Arts.” These usually have a picture of a Chinese woman doing some sort of traditional … Continue reading

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Indicted Leland Yee Gets 320,000 Votes Even After Dropping out of the CA Secretary Race

Leland Yee has been arrested on a number of corruption charges and dropped out of the California Secretary of State race, but 323,000 people managed to do what is pictured here as of the most recent count of California’s primary … Continue reading

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Asian Americans non-voters: “Too Busy to Vote”

Despite Asian Americans complaining about being treated badly politically with bills like SCA5, they simply haven’t been turning out to vote. This analysis of Census Data from the Pew Research Center says that over time, Asian American turnout is about … Continue reading

Posted in Politics | Tagged , | 1 Comment