Author Archives: Tim

About Tim

I'm a Chinese/Taiwanese-American, born in Taiwan, raised on Long Island, went to college in Philadelphia, tried Wall Street and then moved to the California Bay Area to work in high tech in 1990. I'm a recent dad and husband. Other adjectives that describe me include: son, brother, geek, DIYer, manager, teacher, tinkerer, amateur horologist, gay, and occasional couch potato. I write for about 5 different blogs including 8Asians. When not doing anything else, I like to challenge people's preconceived notions of who I should be.

The Netbook Phenomenon

Posted on December 4, 2009 by Tim

My mom told me that when I was younger, she worried that I would be the one child who didn’t get to travel, didn’t get to see the world. Both my sisters had already done Europe before they graduated from … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Technology | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Disney Makes ‘High School Musical’ Their 3rd Chinese Production

Posted on November 23, 2009 by Tim

Disney is remaking its hit film High School Musical as a Chinese movie. This film marks Disney’s third co-production in China after The Magic Gourd in 2007 and this year’s Trail of the Panda. The film will feature six newcomers … Continue reading →

Posted in (simple), Movies | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Mulan Is Finally Chinese Again

Posted on November 23, 2009 by Tim

Disney made the Chinese fable of Mulan almost universally known with its animated film of the same title, released in 1998. At the time of its debut, there were plenty of critics who complained about Disney’s flawed images of Chinese … Continue reading →

Posted in Entertainment, Movies | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Taking Care of Your Elderly Parents

Posted on November 21, 2009 by Tim

If you’re more Chinese (or Asian) than you are American, you know exactly what I mean when I say it’s expected the kids will take care of their parents when they are older. Confucius called it filial obligation, even the … Continue reading →

Posted in (featured), Family, Lifestyles, Observations | Tagged , | 10 Comments

My First Protest: Asian Americans and Activism

Posted on November 19, 2009 by Tim

Bao Phi wrote a recent blog post in the Star Tribune, which was a compilation of several local and national Asian American activists writing about their first protest. His definition of “protest” is broadly defined as “an action to stand … Continue reading →

Posted in (simple) | Tagged | Leave a comment

Shirley Tan: Advocate Person of the Year

Posted on November 16, 2009 by Tim

I wrote previously about Shirley Tan’s plight of possible deportation and separation from her family, and followed up later with a post on the act of Congress that let her stay with her family in the United States. Tan has … Continue reading →

Posted in (simple), Discrimination, LGBT | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Cancer: Asians and the Big C

Posted on November 13, 2009 by Tim

If you’re a regular reader of 8Asians, you already know I lost both my parents to the big C – Cancer. Toan Lam writes this week in the Huffington Post about a phenomenon in the Asian community surrounding Cancer, specifically … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Family, Health | Tagged | 11 Comments

Leave it to the Taiwanese to think of wrapping a donut inside another donut

Posted on November 12, 2009 by Tim

When I came across a blog article with the title above, I knew immediately what the author was referring to. The food known in Mandarin Chinese as yóu tiáo 油條, but which in Taiwanese goes by the name 油炸粿, is … Continue reading →

Posted in Family, Food & Drink, San Francisco Bay Area | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

Sesame Street’s Asian Muppets

Posted on November 11, 2009 by Tim

Google helped bring attention this week to Sesame Street’s 40th anniversary by publishing Google doodles with various characters from Sesame Street. For those of us in the U.S. we saw Cookie Monster, Big Bird and other familiar muppets integrated with … Continue reading →

Posted in (featured), Education, Entertainment, Family, TV | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

Disneyland: Next Stop Shanghai

Posted on November 5, 2009 by Tim

As someone who grew up in the U.S., I never really got the Disney bug as a child. Maybe it’s because I grew up in New York, far away from either Disneyland and Disneyworld. My first experience with Disneyland wasn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Entertainment, Family, Movies | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Finding Your Roots

Posted on October 30, 2009 by Tim

As someone who came to the United States when I was only 2 years old, it was always expected that I would go home to visit the “mother” country. It was never hard to imagine doing, as I had plenty … Continue reading →

Posted in Family, Observations | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

“Saving Face” Film and Discussion at DeAnza College

Posted on October 27, 2009 by Tim

De Anza’s Gay-Straight Alliance in Cupertino, CA is screening the film “Saving Face,” a romantic comedy about right, wrong, and everything in between. “Saving Face” was the first feature film from writer and director Alice Wu. In the film, a … Continue reading →

Posted in (simple), Announcements, Entertainment, Local, Movies, San Francisco Bay Area | 4 Comments