Author Archives: John

About John

I'm a Taiwanese-American and was born & raised in Western Massachusetts, went to college in upstate New York, worked in Connecticut, went to grad school in North Carolina and then moved out to the Bay Area in 1999 and have been living here ever since - love the weather and almost everything about the area (except the high cost of housing...)

Amazon Prime Video: Jimmy O Yang: ‘Good Deal’ Comedy Special Now Streaming

Posted on May 14, 2020 by John

Now that Netflix has popularized streaming comedy specials, Amazon Prime Video is seems to be starting to make more of an effort in this area (or at least this is the first special I have noticed). Jimmy O. Yang’s ‘Good … Continue reading →

Posted in Comedy, Entertainment, TV | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

8mm Review: Netflix’s ‘Tigertail’ – A Taiwanese Journey to an Unfulfilled American Dream (Spoilers)

Posted on May 11, 2020 by John

I’m a bit late getting to this, but I did watch ‘Tigertail‘ when it premiered on Netflix on April 10th. Tigertail was written, produced and directed by Alan Yang (most known for his work on Netflix’s ‘Master of None.’). The … Continue reading →

Posted in Entertainment, Movies, Reviews | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

CAAMFest Online: Heritage at Home – May 13-22, 2020

Posted on May 7, 2020 by John

When I first moved to the San Francisco Bay Area and then eventually discovered the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival (SFIAAFF), now known as CAAMFest (CAAM = Center of Asian American Media), is one of my favorite annual … Continue reading →

Posted in Current Events, Entertainment, Events, Local, Movies, San Francisco Bay Area | Tagged , | Leave a comment

8mm Review: Filmmaker Alice Wu Returns with Netflix’s ‘The Half of It’

Posted on May 4, 2020 by John

The Half of It was released by Netflix on May 1st and is about: “When smart but cash-strapped teen Ellie Chu agrees to write a love letter for a jock, she doesn’t expect to become his friend — or fall … Continue reading →

Posted in 8mm Film Review, 8Series, Entertainment, Movies | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

California Assemblymember Evan Low Introduces Universal Basic Income Bill

Posted on March 16, 2020 by John

Since Andrew Yang dropped out of the presidential race, Assemblymember Evan Low, who was Andrew’s former campaign co-chair has been keeping busy – on February 25th, introduced a statewide universal income for Californians: “He just introduced AB 2712, proposing a … Continue reading →

Posted in Current Events, Local, Politics, San Francisco Bay Area, Southern California | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Former Presidential Candidate Andrew Yang Launches ‘Humanity Forward’

Posted on March 11, 2020 by John

Former presidential candidate Andrew Yang announced on ‘The View,’ email, and elsewhere the launch of ‘Humanity Forward’: “The entrepreneur Andrew Yang, who last month ended his long-shot presidential campaign in which he promoted a universal basic income, argued for data … Continue reading →

Posted in Current Events, Nonprofit, Politics | Tagged , | Leave a comment

8Asians Interview: Rowena Chiu, Harvey Weinstein’s Former Assistant and Assault Victim, Speaks Out to the Asian American Community

Posted on March 6, 2020 by John

Back in September 2019, when I had first read about a ‘Rowena Chiu’ who had come out publicly to recount for the first time Harvey Weinstein’s attempt to sexually assault her, I immediately instant messaged my friend Rowena the article … Continue reading →

Posted in Current Events | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Interview with Sophie Kim – Amara in Netflix’s ‘The Healing Powers of Dude’

Posted on March 4, 2020 by John

Back in January, I wrote that Netflix had launched the TV show ‘The Healing Powers of Dude,” which co-starred Sophie Kim. I recently had the opportunity to drop by her house on a Saturday afternoon to interview her.  In this … Continue reading →

Posted in Entertainment, TV | Leave a comment

Din Tai Fung Las Vegas – “Steaming this summer”

Posted on February 27, 2020 by John

Back in November of last year, I had blogged about the news that Din Tai Fung was going to open a restaurant in Las Vegas. At the time, there was little clarity as to when it was going to open … Continue reading →

Posted in Food & Drink | Tagged , | Leave a comment

‘Harvard Please Let Me In’ – A Music Video by Ethan Kim

Posted on February 13, 2020 by John

I saw a Facebook friend of mine post this video from YouTube about North Carolina high school student Ethan Kim, who had applied early to Harvard, but got deferred. So he decided to put together a rap music video asking … Continue reading →

Posted in Entertainment, Music | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Andrew Yang Suspends Presidential Run: Thoughts On His Historic Run

Posted on February 12, 2020 by John

Shortly after the closing of the New Hampshire primary polls, Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang announced (to my surprise) the suspension of his campaign. His stated reason: “Before the Iowa caucus last week, Yang and his aides had held out … Continue reading →

Posted in Current Events, Politics | Tagged | Leave a comment

Asian American Commercial Watch: Samsung’s ‘Galaxy Note10: Mission Statement from Kevin Lin’

Posted on February 3, 2020 by John

I first met fellow Taiwanese American entrepreneur Kevin Lin over a decade ago when he was first working on Justin.tv before that company pivoted to become the very successful Twitch (which was acquired by Amazon for $970 million in cash.) … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian American Commercial Watch, Tech, Technology | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment