Category Archives: History

The Chopstick Story

Some time around my thirtieth birthday, my parents sat me down and gave me some of the treasured family heirlooms. Within the cache were two pairs of silver chopsticks, they were made with a round barrel, carved on the far … Continue reading

Posted in Family, Food & Drink, History | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

Happy Harvey Milk Day: What Milk Meant to the API Community

Today on May 22nd, California will honor Harvey Milk with the First Annual Harvey Milk Day for his courageous leadership and conviction. Some of my friends will be celebrating his legacy in San Francisco at the Castro District where he … Continue reading

Posted in Discrimination, Education, History, LGBT, San Francisco Bay Area | 5 Comments

Professional Wrestler Kinji Shibuya Passes Away

Some of the earliest portrayals of Asians on TV that I remember were done by  professional wrestlers.  These Asians were heels, as bad guys in professional wrestling are called, and played the role of evil scheming Japanese.   I loved to … Continue reading

Posted in Discrimination, Entertainment, History, Local, San Francisco Bay Area, Sports | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Happy Birthday: Yuri Kochiyama and Malcolm X

Today marks the birthdays of two incredible people, one who is still amongst us, and the other who passed away over 35 years ago:  Yuri Kochiyama and Malcolm X. Although they have lived very different lives, the hardships they faced … Continue reading

Posted in Education, History | 3 Comments

35 Years Since Khmer Rouge Takeover

April 17th, 1975 saw the end of a civil war in Cambodia between the Lon Nol Republic and a communist movement, the Khmer Rouge. What began was a massive social experiment to return Cambodia to an idyllic agrarian society. Resetting … Continue reading

Posted in Current Events, History | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Vicki Manalo Draves, The First Asian American Female Gold Medalist, Passes Away

Vicki Manalo Draves, a biracial Filipina American diver, who was also the first Asian American female Olympic gold medalist, passed away a week ago. In 1948, nearly 40 years before Greg Louganis, the first male Olympic diver, who won both … Continue reading

Posted in (simple), History, Sports | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Over Half of Filipino-born Adults Have a Bachelor’s Degree or Higher

“Filipino Immigrants Record Higher Levels of Postsecondary Learning than US Population Overall” That statistic that was the subject line of a message to 8asians about a spotlight on Filipino immigrants done by the Migration Policy Institute.   Using data from the … Continue reading

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

A Census 2010 Inspired Question: Are Filipinos Hispanic?

When I was filling out the census form for my household, I came across question 8 (see picture), and I wasn’t quite sure how to answer.  For myself, I answered no.  For The Wife, the Brother-in-Law, and my kids, it … Continue reading

Posted in Current Events, Family, History, Observations | Tagged , | 95 Comments

Belldandy, Genghis, and other Fabulous Filipino First Names

We received a link from a reader who thought that Ernie was kidding in this conversation with Rosemary about Filipino names but realized he wasn’t when she saw this link featuring a Filipina girl named Belldandy whose parents dress her … Continue reading

Posted in (featured), Family, History, Lifestyles, WTF | Tagged , | 14 Comments

The Pacific: the Crossroad Between Generation Gaps and Political Correctness

A couple of years ago, I was introduced to Band of Brothers, the hugely successful HBO miniseries about the 101st Airborne and their accomplishments in the European theater in World War II, and was instantly hooked.  The miniseries focused more … Continue reading

Posted in Entertainment, History, TV | 1 Comment

HBO Asian Heritage Project Wants Your Stories

Want to tell the world about your Asian-American stories and experiences?  Jonathan Yi, who is working on a mini-documentary for Asian American Heritage month, is looking for you!  He’s seeking a wide variety of stories about the Asian American.  They … Continue reading

Posted in (simple), Entertainment, History, TV | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

From the Tumblr: Japanese American Immigrants in the 1920s

The 8Asians tumblr highlights Asians [& uber talented non-Asians] who draw, dance, build, film, sing, write, invent, paint, teleport, and of course, tumble. It’s curated by Jun, Moye and Ernie.

Posted in History, Lifestyles | Leave a comment