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.

Everything Gives You Cancer

Posted on August 20, 2009 by Tim

Joe Jackson had a song called “Cancer” on his 1982 Night and Day Album, featuring the lyric “Everything Gives You Cancer.” It seems in this day and age, that truly everything does give you cancer, and if you’re Asian, you’re … Continue reading →

Posted in Family, Health | 5 Comments

Typhoon Morakot hits Taiwan and Asia

Posted on August 12, 2009 by Tim

It’s often too easy to overlook the news reports of natural disasters, since there seem to be so many all the time. In a week that had a 6.9 earthquake in Japan on Sunday, followed by another 6.4 in Japan … Continue reading →

Posted in (simple) | Leave a comment

Kai-Lan, or the Chinese Dora

Posted on August 11, 2009 by Tim

When you’re the parent of a toddler, there’s something you share with the parents of all the other young children out there in the world. You know who Dora the Explorer is, and you can probably name most of her … Continue reading →

Posted in Announcements, Education, Entertainment, Family | 4 Comments

Symbols of the Asian-American Dream

Posted on August 6, 2009 by Tim

Asians who come to the U.S. as children of less affluent parents tend to view some objects or things as a represention of having attained the American dream. A Southeast Indian friend of mine, eYeks, reminded me of this in … Continue reading →

Posted in Ask an Asian, Family, Lifestyles | 3 Comments

Gay Asian-Americans Face More Stress

Posted on August 1, 2009 by Tim

In what’s probably not a surprise to any Asian-American gay youth, Hyeouk Chris Hahm of the Boston University School of Social Work published a new study indicating this group often faces extended family and cultural social stresses that affect their … Continue reading →

Posted in Family, LGBT, Lifestyles | 5 Comments

Xiao Long Bao, aka Shanghai Dumplings

Posted on July 25, 2009 by Tim

The time was the late 1980’s. I was in college, and on a visit back home to my parent’s house on Long Island. My mom insisted we needed to go to a restaurant in Flushing, NY. I groaned, since it … Continue reading →

Posted in Food & Drink, New York, San Francisco Bay Area | Tagged | 17 Comments

Alien Neighbors, Foreign Friends

Posted on July 24, 2009 by Tim

The progression of rights for Asian Americans in California has had more change in the last 100 years than most people realize. Charlotte Brooks has a new book out, Alien Neighbors, Foreign Friends: Asian Americans, Housing, and the Transformation of … Continue reading →

Posted in Discrimination, Education, Reviews, San Francisco Bay Area | Tagged | 3 Comments

Finding A Final Resting Place

Posted on July 6, 2009 by Tim

Death is a big business. It’s probably one of the few industries not really affected by the recession, but it’s also a business looking for new ways to grow and Asian-Americans seem to be an ideal target market. Cemeteries are … Continue reading →

Posted in Observations | 1 Comment

Acceptability and Asian Culture

Posted on June 26, 2009 by Tim

There’s a scene in Amy Tan‘s The Joy Luck Club, where one of the moms is preparing a crab dinner with her daughter. There’s just enough crabs so that each person gets one, but one of the crabs is too … Continue reading →

Posted in Family, Observations | Tagged | 1 Comment

Chinese Elders Rush For Help as TV Goes Digital

Posted on June 14, 2009 by Tim

The U.S. switched to digital TV last Friday June 12, and it’s estimated there were around 60,000 unprepared households in the San Francisco Bay Area, including many Chinese and Asian elders, who have larger difficulties preparing for the transition than … Continue reading →

Posted in Current Events, Entertainment, San Francisco Bay Area, Technology | Tagged | 1 Comment

British Airways and Casual Racism

Posted on June 12, 2009 by Tim

I could have just as easily titled this piece, “Is it racism if nobody complains?”. Douglas Maughan, British Airways (BA) pilot claims there’s been a culture of casual racism at BA for some time now against Asians. He published his … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Current Events, Discrimination | 4 Comments

The Bamboo Ceiling

Posted on June 1, 2009 by Tim

I’ve written in the past about the glass ceiling for Asians in corporate America, but until I found this recent article on Asian scientists, I didn’t realize there was a specific term for the ceiling when referring to Asians, specifically … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Current Events, Discrimination | Tagged | 10 Comments