Author Archives: Efren

About Efren

Efren is a 30-something queer Filipino American guy living in San Francisco. In the past, he was a wanna-be academic even teaching in Asian American studies at San Francisco State, a wanna-be queer rights and HIV activist, and he used to "blog" when that meant spewing one's college student angst using a text editor on a terminal screen to write in a BBS or usenet back in the early 90s. For all his railing against the model minority myth, he's realized he's done something only a few people can claim--getting into UCSF twice, once for a PhD program in medical sociology which he left; and then for pharmacy school, where he'll be a member of the class of '13. He apologizes profusely for setting the bar unintentionally high for his cousins. blog twitter

Disulfiram: Anti-Alcoholism Drug Acts Like the Asian Flush

Posted on January 25, 2010 by Efren

So we’ve talked WAY too much about the Asian flush here on 8Asians, meaning the immediate flushing response one gets when certain Asians–ahem, Ernie–drinks alcohol, where the symptoms can often include nausea, vomiting, and other not-so-lovely side effects when one … Continue reading →

Posted in Food & Drink, Health, WTF | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 19 Comments

Filipino Government Passes Bill Against “Filipino Time”

Posted on December 20, 2009 by Efren

In yet another example of misplaced priorities, the Filipino House of Representatives recently passed a bill to force all government offices to display the official Philippine government time or PST (which presumably stands for Philippine Standard Time). Given that Filipinos … Continue reading →

Posted in (simple), Current Events, WTF | 2 Comments

UCSF honors Japanese American students interned during World War II

Posted on December 4, 2009 by Efren

In the first move of its kind since the early 1970s, the University of California at San Francisco has given honorary degrees to 68 Japanese American students who were forced to leave the campus because of the internment of West … Continue reading →

Posted in (simple), Discrimination, Education | Leave a comment

Newsflash: Some Asian Men Cheat on their Partners

Posted on October 29, 2009 by Efren

Ever since the Internet has been available to Asian Americans, we’ve heard random shit about Asian American men: They’re effeminate. They’re child abusers. They’re wife beaters. They’re undesirable to women (or men, for that matter). They’re drunkards. They’re socially inept … Continue reading →

Posted in (featured), Dating, Lifestyles, Observations | 21 Comments

Filipino Typhoon Relief Impasse Caused by Politics

Posted on October 19, 2009 by Efren

Over the past few weeks, the Philippines has been attacked relentlessly by typhoons that have caused the worst flooding in Metro Manila in decades as well as flooding all over the northern island of Luzon.  As a result, relief efforts … Continue reading →

Posted in (simple), Current Events, WTF | Leave a comment

George Takei and Brad Altman to be on Newlywed Game

Posted on October 13, 2009 by Efren

George Takei, most well known for being Sulu in the original Star Trek, and currently for being a prominent activist for queer rights and in the Asian American community, will be competing with his partner on the Newlywed Game, a first … Continue reading →

Posted in (simple), Entertainment, TV | 2 Comments

Tropical Storm Ketsana/Ondoy devastates Metro Manila

Posted on September 27, 2009 by Efren

Over the past few days, tropical storm Ketsana (known as Ondoy in the Philippines) has devastated the northern Philippines, with Metro Manila taking the brunt of the storm.  Manila took in 12 hours the amount of rain it usually gets … Continue reading →

Posted in (simple), Current Events | 1 Comment

Daniel Liu Featured on NPR

Posted on September 2, 2009 by Efren

Joz’s cousin Daniel Liu — yes, THAT cousin — who’s been featured quite prominently on our blog and various other Asian Am blogs for being the newest male supermodel, was interviewed by NPR.  In this audio interview, he talks about … Continue reading →

Posted in (simple), Fashion | 2 Comments

What is Beautiful?

Posted on July 22, 2009 by Efren

Back in 1997, when I first met my most recent ex, one of the biggest trends among queer Asian men in SF was bleaching one’s hair blond.  Lest it be seen as a knee-jerk reaction to queer people of color … Continue reading →

Posted in Fashion, Observations | 7 Comments

Shi Pei Pu, The Original “M. Butterfly”, Dies at Age 70

Posted on July 2, 2009 by Efren

Shi Pei Pu, the inspiration of David Henry Hwang‘s acclaimed play, M. Butterfly, was reported by the New York Times to have died recently at the age of 70 years in Paris. Shi Pei Pu and his lover, Bernard Bouriscot, … Continue reading →

Posted in Entertainment, LGBT, Movies, Observations, WTF | Leave a comment

Asians Behaving Badly: Japanese American Woman Sues Because Crunch Berries Aren’t Real Berries

Posted on June 9, 2009 by Efren

Got this link from SFGate and Lowering the Bar, where a judge recently threw out a lawsuit by a Janine Sugawara from San Diego because she believed that the Cap’n Crunch cereal Crunch Berries contained actual fruit called crunch berries. … Continue reading →

Posted in Food & Drink, WTF | 13 Comments

RIP Ronald Takaki (1939-2009)

Posted on May 29, 2009 by Efren

It was announced by Ronald Takaki’s family that famous  Asian American historian committed suicide after a twenty year struggle with multiple sclerosis. You can read the obituary from the LA Times here. Ron Takaki was a hero of mine when … Continue reading →

Posted in Education | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments