Author Archives: Jeff

About Jeff

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

Asian American Civic Involvement: A California Study

Although we have talked about Asian American voter apathy for years now, recent elections in places like Georgia are said to have swung based on increased Asian American voter turnout.  Does that mean that Asian American civic involvement, which more … Continue reading

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Where Increasing Asian and Asian American Media Representation has its Limits

It’s impossible to miss the increase in Asian and Asian American representation. This year, Everything Everywhere all at Once and its actors won a number of Golden Globe awards and received several Oscar award nominations.  In the past few years, … Continue reading

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California Shootings Highlight the Struggles of Asian American Seniors

After the initial shock about hearing about the Half Moon Bay shootings, my next reaction to hearing that Chunli Zhao actions were related to his work on a farm was “why is a 66-year-old working on a farm?” This shooting … Continue reading

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Apple’s 2023 Chinese New Year Short: Through the Five Passes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjHG5kzi85o Every year, Apple releases a short film for Chinese New Year that is shot on an iPhone, and every year I look forward to the story that is created. This short for this 2023 is called Through the Five … Continue reading

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Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan win Golden Globes for their Everything Everywhere All At Once Performances

Michelle Yeoh won a best actress Golden Globe in a musical or comedy film, and Ke Huy Quan won best supporting actor Golden Globe in a motion picture for their work in Everything Everywhere All at Once. It is especially … Continue reading

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Asian American Candidates Tie after Recount – Winner Determined by Drawing Lots

I wrote before about how every vote can make a difference, and when I wrote the story, Murali Srinivasan was beating Justin Wang for Sunnyvale City Council by just one vote.  A recount found 3 more ballots – two for … Continue reading

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Visualizing the Asian American Population in California

Graphical visualizations are often the best way to understand data. The San Francisco Chronicle recently published this dynamic set of visualizations looking at the Asian American population.  It allows interactive exploration of California Asian American population trends. Some of the … Continue reading

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American American Obesity Rates Vary Widely between Asian Subgroups

As it is now the holiday season, it is important for people to consider what and how much they are eating.  While Asian American obesity rates are lower than the American average, a recently published study summarized here shows that … Continue reading

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One Vote Victory, Recounts, and Failed Recount Requests: Asian American Votes do Matter

Our writer John has written about Asian American voter apathy over the years and sometimes brings it up when we have lunch, but for me, three recent events really bring out the importance of Asian American votes.  The first is … Continue reading

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Michelle Yeoh is Time Magazine’s 2022 Icon of the Year

Michelle Yeoh has been selected to be Time Magazine’s 2022 Icon of the Year. She is riding a streak of hit movies in the United States, from Crazy Rich Asians and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings to this … Continue reading

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Documentary: Rising Against Asian Hate: One Day in March

The documentary Rising Against Asia Hate:  One Day in March came out about a month ago, but it some of its key points are particularly relevant today, particularly with the Senate runoff in Georgia between Raphael Warnock and Herschel Walker.  It … Continue reading

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From Homeless Single Mother to Oakland Mayor: Sheng Thao wins through Ranked Choice Voting

In an amazing journey from being a homeless single mother living in a car, Sheng Thao was elected mayor of Oakland. The journey is even more amazing considering that in the initial count of votes, Thao was in second place.  … Continue reading

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