Category Archives: 8Series

8mm Review: The Last Repair Shop

As I mentioned on my post on Nai Nai and Wài Pó, I also screened The Last Repair Shop. Although this 40 minute short documentary is not necessarily Asian American related, I did want to review it and give it … Continue reading

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Nǎi Nai and Wài Pó: Review and Q&A with Oscar Nominated filmmaker Sean Wang

One of the things I have loved about living in the San Francisco Bay Area since I had moved out here in 1999 has been attending CAAMFest, or what it was known previous, as the San Francisco International Asian American … Continue reading

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Island in Between: Review and Q&A with Oscar-Nominated Director S. Leo Chiang

I live in Silicon Valley, and one of the benefits is that I live about five miles from Stanford University, where are often quite a few events of interest to me that are open to the public. Recently, there was … Continue reading

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8Books Review: Valley Verified by Kyla Zhao

Celebrate Valentine’s Day by curling up with Kyla Zhao‘s latest novel, Valley Verified. Will fashion writer Zoe Zeng be able to hack it (pun intended) in the startup world of Silicon Valley? After years of “paying her dues” only to … Continue reading

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Asian American Commercial Watch: Ken Jeong in Popeyes’ 2024 Super Bowl Ad “The Wait Is Over”

My favorite fellow Duke Asian American alumni is Ken Jeong (’90), and he stars in this Super Bowl commercial announcing that the Popeyes fast food chain is now offering chicken wings as part of their menu: “The year is 1972. … Continue reading

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8Books Review: A Quantum Love Story by Mike Chen

Mike Chen’s latest novel A Quantum Love Story is a delightful romp through a time loop. Carter Cho is stuck. He wakes up on Monday morning. On Thursday, the particle accelerator explodes. And when he opens his eyes again, it’s … Continue reading

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8Books Review: Ra Pu Zel and the Stinky Tofu

Ra Pu Zel and the Stinky Tofu, written by Ying Chang Compestine and illustrated by Crystal Kung, is a fun and imaginative retelling of the classic tale of Rapunzel. No hair is chopped off, there’s no evil witch, and its … Continue reading

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Asian American Commercial Watch: Liberty Mutual Insurance’s ‘First Word | Truth Tellers’

I forget when I saw this cute commercial – probably while watching the San Francisco 49ers play. The premise is that the mother has been telling everyone how much money she’s been saving switching her insurance to Liberty Mutual, causing … Continue reading

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Netflix’s The Brothers Sun: Review (Spoilers)

As we had mentioned back in December, the Netflix series The Brothers Sun premiered January 4th. I just finished binge watching the series, and I don’t think I can say enough great things about it!  The series is about: “When … Continue reading

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Publishing Your Way as a Change Maker: The First Chinese Festivals

I came across this Cornell webinar from an alumni email about a “Leadership Lunch and Learning” webinar series.  The topic was the following: “L Sam Zhang, author and illustrator of The First Chinese Festivals series of picture books, speaks on … Continue reading

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8Books Review: When Lola Visits

I ordinarily do not review children’s books, but I couldn’t help myself after The Wife gave me the book When Lola Visits to wrap as a Christmas present for one of her nephews. “Lola” means grandmother in Tagalog. This book … Continue reading

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8Books Review: The Golden Screen: The Movies that Made Asian America

The many awards won by the Everything Everywhere all at Once, including Golden Globes and five Academy Awards, are a triumph of filmmaking and also a triumph for Asian American representation. The road to reach this milestone was not a … Continue reading

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