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...)

Historic Japanese American Norman Y. Mineta Dies at 90

Posted on May 5, 2022 by John

Former Secretary of Transportation and Japanese American Norman Y. Mineta died on Tuesday at age 90: “Norman Y. Mineta, a second-generation Japanese American who was held in an internment camp during World War II and later became one of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Current Events, Politics | Tagged | 2 Comments

Asian American Commercial Watch: Panda Express – ‘Wok-Fired Shrimp: Now Back at Panda Express’

Posted on May 2, 2022 by John

https://youtu.be/c0LymLgu5LI A former colleague and friend Mike passed this recent Panda Express commercial to me that I had not yet seen. He was intrigued by the Mandarin version of Johnny Cash’s classic, Ring of Fire – quite a clever song … Continue reading →

Posted in 8Series, Asian American Commercial Watch, Entertainment, TV | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

8mm Review: ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’ & SF Premiere Panel Discussion Footage

Posted on April 4, 2022 by John

I had the honor and pleasure of attending the San Francisco premiere of Everything Everywhere All At Once on Sunday, March 20th at the historic Castro Theater with Q&A afterwards with cast members Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, and Stephanie … Continue reading →

Posted in 8mm Film Review, 8Series, Entertainment, Local, Movies, San Francisco Bay Area | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Asian Canadian Commercial Watch: Google Pixel 6 X Simu Liu | For All You Are

Posted on February 16, 2022 by John

Asian *Canadian* actor Simu Liu is in this Google Pixel 6 commercial speaking in Mandarin showcasing the Pixel’s “Live Translate” feature. Pretty cool to see Simu speaking Mandarin.  He sounds fluent to me, but I’m not fluent in Mandarin (I … Continue reading →

Posted in 8Series, Asian American Commercial Watch, Entertainment, Tech | Tagged | Leave a comment

San Francisco apologizes for discrimination against Chinese immigrants

Posted on February 14, 2022 by John

In early February, San Francisco became the fourth city in the United States to apologize for its historic systemic racism against the Chinese: “The Board of Supervisors passed the apology resolution presented by city supervisor Matt Haney on Monday, coinciding with … Continue reading →

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

Jon M. Chu Joins Ethnic E-Grocery Weee! As Chief Creative Officer

Posted on February 9, 2022 by John

If you haven’t heard of Weee!, maybe the online delivery grocer doesn’t deliver in your area (their major markets are SF Bay Area, LA, Seattle, Portland, San Diego and New York but expanding rapidly). Weee! was founded in Fremont, California … Continue reading →

Posted in 8Series, Asian American Commercial Watch, Food & Drink | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Asian American Commercial Watch: P&G: Chloe Kim & ‘Always There’

Posted on February 7, 2022 by John

Love you always, dad. Couldn’t have taken this wild ride without your and mom’s constant love and support. Check out our story from @proctergamble 😍#sponsored pic.twitter.com/wjFspVMAmi — Chloe Kim (@ChloeKim) February 4, 2022 I saw Chloe Kim tweet this Proctor & … Continue reading →

Posted in 8Series, Asian American Commercial Watch, Sports | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

CBS Sunday Morning: ‘Actor James Hong: At 92. Still going strong’

Posted on February 3, 2022 by John

If you’ve watched any television or movies in the past 70 years, you’ve probably seen actor James Hong at least once in your life, even if you may not have known who he was. In fact, he may be the … Continue reading →

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

Asian American Commercial Watch: NBC Sports – 2022 Winter Olympics Tie-In with Nathan Chen & Jurassic World Dominion

Posted on February 2, 2022 by John

I’m not sure if this is airing on television – I think I caught this on the web – but this has to be one of the strangest commercials I’ve ever seen! NBC is promoting the Winter Olympics (which it … Continue reading →

Posted in 8Series, Asian American Commercial Watch, Current Events, Sports | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Golden State Warriors 2022 Lunar New Year Celebration Night

Posted on February 1, 2022 by John

The highly popular and successful Golden State Warriors play in the San Francisco Bay Area , which overall is almost 25% Asian. San Francisco, where the Warriors play in Chase Center, is itself 35% Asian, so it’s no surprise that … Continue reading →

Posted in Community, Events, Local, San Francisco Bay Area, Sports | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

San Francisco Asian Justice Rally & Remembering Vicha Ratanapakdee

Posted on January 31, 2022 by John

This past Sunday marked the one year anniversary of 84-year-old Vicha Ratanapakdee being assaulted while on a walk in San Francisco and died. The Asian Justice Rally, held in five other cities along side San Francisco (Atlanta. Chicago, Los Angeles, … Continue reading →

Posted in Community, Current Events, Discrimination, Events, Local, San Francisco Bay Area | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Asian American Commercial Watch: Progressive’s ‘Sign Spinner | Stay’

Posted on January 26, 2022 by John

https://youtu.be/dtgmdb7zHLQ I saw this Progressive Insurance company commercial while watching the San Francisco 49ers edge the Green Bay Packers in the playoffs this past weekend and thought it was hilarious.  The commercial that is, not the defeat of the Packers, … Continue reading →

Posted in 8Series, Asian American Commercial Watch | Tagged | Leave a comment