I saw this Expedia television ad while watching the NBA Finals Game 4 (what a game!):

“From vacation rentals to road trips, Expedia has every family getaway covered. The Evergreens’ family vacation started with Expedia. The one place you go to go places. When hockey season wrapped up and summer finally arrived, the Evergreen family knew it was time to recharge. Dad had one mission: find peace, quiet, and plenty of space for the whole crew to unwind. With Expedia, planning was effortless. They booked their flights, rental car, and a spacious vacation home all in one place. No stress. No juggling tabs. Just simple, seamless travel planning that made their summer getaway feel easy from the start. Whether your family is escaping after a busy school year or celebrating the start of summer break, Expedia helps you find everything you need in one spot. Nice job, Dad, and nice job, Expedia. If you’re dreaming of your next adventure, family trip, or summer vacation, Expedia is the one place you go to go places.”

 

I was pleasantly surprised to see this mixed race couple with an Asian Male and White Female, a pairing not often seen in TV commercials. The kids definitely look biracial, and the bickering in the back of the car seemed realistic to me!

There were some negative comments posted on the YouTube video, including:

• Why is the woman driving?
• Why does Expedia hate white couples?
• Why do commercials seems to make Men look like wimps, has it become a bad thing to be masculine? 

Plenty of idiots on the Internet…

The post Asian American Commercial Watch: Expedia’s ‘One Place for Summer Getaways’ appeared first on 8Asians | An Asian American collaborative blog.

SF Supervisor Connie Chan Primary Results

I was going to blog about retiring Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi endorsing San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan when this happened back in mid-May for California Congressional District 11, but never got around to it. Now, we see the results of Peosi’s endorsement for Chan. It was decisive in the California primary, which occurred this past week. Chan came in the top two in California’s “jungle” open primary, with California State Senator (and former San Francisco Supervisor) Scott Wiener:

“Wiener secured a runoff spot with about 41% of the vote, with Chan securing about 29%, per the AP. Chan celebrated her second place lead at an election party Tuesday evening after returns showed her doubling the votes of former congressional aide Saikat Chakrabarti — despite his self-funded $10 million campaign.
…
Pelosi’s late endorsement of Chan appears to have achieved its immediate goal: helping secure her place in the top two and preventing Chakrabarti from turning the race into a national proxy battle between Democratic establishment figures and the party’s progressive flank.

Pelosi endorsed Chan just weeks before the election, praising her record and elevating her candidacy after largely staying out of the succession contest.

“Nancy Pelosi’s endorsement absolutely turned the tide for us,” Chan told Axios Tuesday night. “We knew it … but we have also been building momentum.””

Ironically, for someone who has been blogging about Asian Americans involved in politics, I don’t know Connie Chan. I’ve seen her at one or two events in San Francisco, but have never really spoken to her in person. I live about 35 miles south of San Francisco.

Saikat Chakrabarti in Third Place

I had met Saikat Chakrabarti last year at a “meet & greet” via a friend who lived in San Francisco who knew one of the organizers of the event. Chakrabarti seemed to be well intentioned. But Chakrabarti, after striking gold as being the first or second employee at Stripe, left the Bay Area to get involved in politics and eventually becoming Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (“AOC”) original campaign manager back in 2018 and her Chief-of-Staff. AOC refused to officially endorse him which I think caused great harm for his campaign. Chakrabarti often referenced his time with AOC to back his progressive credentials.

He was painted as a carpetbagger for moving back in the Bay Area only a few years ago I believe. Chakrabarti, who has an estimated net worth of approximately $150 million, self-financed his campaign up to $10 million for the primary. Crazy! Money can only go so far. In politics, especially local politics, name recognition and previous public service can go a long way in overcoming any financial advantage. I have known other examples where money can “buy” elections, though.

Friends and acquaintances have often asked me when I am going to run for public office. My usual response is when I win the lottery or when I’m retired! Personally, I’d hate to dial for cash to fundraise to run for public office and would rather self finance. I don’t think I would initially run for a seat like Congress but would start at the local level. I think fundamentally, people want to vote for people who have paid their dues and shown commitment to public service. Of course, Trump is the greatest counter example of all time, but he did have massive name recognition.

Scott Wiener:  Connie Chan’s Opponent in the General Election

I’ve also met California State Senator Scott Wiener (and fellow Duke alum) on a few occasions. Personally, if I lived in San Francisco and could vote for either Wiener or Chan, I’m not sure who I would choose. I would probably choose Wiener given his lengthier time in pubic service and his experience as a state legislator. That he is a fellow Duke alum doesn’t hurt either! I don’t believe in voting on pure “identity politics.” I’d rather commit suicide than vote for Trump even if Trump were Taiwanese American.

Identity politics might come into play for the general election, as Wiener is openly gay Approximately up to 7% of San Francisco adults identify as LGBT with the active electorate between 15% to 23%. Chan is an Asian American. She is originally from Hong Kong with a stint in Taiwan (between the ages of 5 to 13) before arriving as a child in San Francisco. Around 22% of San Francisco is of Chinese decent, and overall, 37.2% Asian.

I suspect that Wiener will prevail in the general election. Still, if Chan wins, I will certainly be happy that Chan would be the first Asian American to represent San Francisco in Congress!

The post SF Supervisor Connie Chan Moves Forward to the General Election with the Help of Retiring Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi Endorsement appeared first on 8Asians | An Asian American collaborative blog.

For those of you who don’t know, Gestational Diabetes Mellitis (GDM) is diabetes diagnosed during pregnancy, usually between the 24th and 28th week of pregnancy. The cause is unknown. Women who develop GDM have a 50% chance of developing type 2 diabetes. Unmanaged GDM increases the odds of preeclampsia, premature birth, and other problems. Children of women with GDM have a higher risk of issues.

As the Atlantic article points out, researchers at the Joslin Diabetes Center have been tracking a GDM increase in Chinese American populations faster than that of the general population. No one seems to know why. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends glucose screen for Asian American women with BMI greater than 23.

(photo credit:  Jessica Merz  licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license)

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Recently, I had an opportunity to attend a meet-and-greet for 39-year-old Massachusetts State Representative Tram Nguyen, who is running for Massachusetts’ 6th Congressional District. Having been born-and-raised in Western Massachusetts (where there were very few Asians in the 70s and 80s), I was excited to learn that if Tram Nguyen wins her Congressional race, she would make history as the first Massachusetts Asian American Representative.

Nguyen is the daughter of a Vietnamese political refugee. Her father had spent something like eight years in prison having worked for the United States during the Vietnam War. She came over to the U.S. when she was 5 years old. Nguyen is the first in her family to attend college (Tufts University (BA), Northeastern University (JD), and Harvard University (MPA)). She worked as a staff attorney for legal aide non-profits before deciding to run for public office.

Nguyen impressed me when I learned that in her first run for Massachusetts Representative back in 2018, she beat a MAGA Republican 8 year incumbent – by 10 points! Nguyen is the first Vietnamese American woman to be elected to office in Massachusetts.

The Massachusetts primary is in September, and she’s running against a few self-funded candidates. Nguyen is the only candidate currently holding public office. According to the Cook Partisan Voter Index, the 6th Congressional District of Massachusetts is currently D+11, so as a Democrat. If Nguyen makes it through the primary, she’s likely to be elected into office in November.

If you want to learn more about Tram Nguyen and/or donate, you can check out her official website at https://www.tramforcongress.com/

The post Tram Nguyen Running for Congress – 6th Congressional District of Massachusetts appeared first on 8Asians | An Asian American collaborative blog.

During an era when Asian Americans continue to be questioned for their loyalty and are still considered perpetual foreigners,  on US Memorial Day (and AAPI Heritage Month) we note Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders who fought and died for their country.  This Memorial Day, we are remembering Florence Choe. US Navy Lieutenant Choe was a medical healthcare system expert helping to build a medical care system for Afghan soldiers. She was killed in Afghanistan in 2009.

Florence Choe grew up in San Diego. Like so many of my family friends there, her father was a Filipino sailor who served in the US Navy. She married a Navy doctor, Lieutenant Commander Jay Choe. Together, they had a daughter, Kristin. Choe would record videos of herself reading a book and send them to her daughter as part of the United Through Reading program. Watching videos of her reading reminds us veteran’s families also make sacrifices.

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The variety of Ruperto’s work surprised me. He works in a variety of forms from graphics (shown here to the right) to film to Virtual Reality. He also has worked on a short movie on Valley Fever, a fungal disease that is particularly fatal to Filipino Americans and African Americans.  Not surprisingly, Ruperto has also worked on movie visual effects.

This exhibit is part of Stanford’s Asian American Art Initiative. Artist Miljohn Ruperto’s exhibit runs until September 14, 2026 at the Cantor Museum.

The post Artist Miljohn Ruperto featured at Stanford’s Cantor Art Museum appeared first on 8Asians | An Asian American collaborative blog.

Overview of The Auntie Sewing Squad Resistance Playbook

I’ve known professor and filmmaker Valerie Soe ever since she started producing her documentary film, Love Boat: Taiwan, where I eventually became a minor producer, interview subject, and archival footage provider. So when I saw that Valerie was going to have her documentary on The Auntie Sewing Squad Resistance Playbook screened at CAAMFest 2026, I knew I was going to attend in person. A summary of the film:

“What would you do to protect your neighbors?

In March 2020, as COVID-19 exposed deep fractures in the U.S. public health system, performance artist Kristina Wong launched the Auntie Sewing Squad. A grassroots collective of primarily BIPOC women volunteers, the Aunties mobilized virtually with an urgent mission: to protect those most at risk. What began as a few dozen crafty activists quickly grew into a nationwide network of more than 800 volunteers, sewing and donating masks to historically disenfranchised communities of color.

In this feature-length documentary, director Valerie Soe (Love Boat: Taiwan, The Oak Park Story) follows Kristina Wong (Radical Cram School) as she activates a group of self-proclaimed Aunties to transform domestic spaces as sites of resistance. From their sewing machines, they confront systemic inequities head-on, openly discussing feminism, anti-racism, mutual aid, and collective care.

Through acts both intimate and expansive, the Squad – Aunties, Uncles, and non-binary volunteers alike – reimagines what solidarity looks like in a time of crisis. Their living room “sweatshops” not only become engines of radical care to offer protection, but also a powerful blueprint for community-driven action and change.”

Relationship to Kristina Wong’s Sweatshop Overlord

I have seen ‘Kristina Wong – Sweatshop Overlord’ performance in San Francisco back in May of 2024 at American Conservatory Theater (ACT), which was hilarious and amazing,

so I was familiar with the story. The Auntie Sewing Squad Resistance Playbook provides a lot more background and context with a lot of interviews with those actively involved in the mask making effort.

Film Q&A

What was amazing to see was that not only those involved with the documentary, but also the many people involved with Auntie Sewing Squad were in attendance. During the post-screening Q&A, I sat next to one of the aunties. She was a local (relatively) from San Jose, which is about 50 miles south of San Francisco.

The footage of the shutdown from COVID-19 from 2020 to 2021 brought back some memories. Amazing to think we went through that, with all those who died (approximately 1.1 million) and how we were all waiting for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) like masks and for a vaccine.

Kristina and others felt they needed to step up because our government failed. I agree, our government did fail. Aa bigger failure was the long-term outsourcing strategy which exposed how dependent the world is on global supply chains, and that maybe it makes sense to manufacture things locally – what a concept!

It was heartwarming to see how the community was built – mostly online, through Facebook and frequent Zoom meetings. The Auntie Sewing Squad Resistance Playbook shows how volunteers wanted to help, where they got supplies and how they learned to sew. What was even more interesting to hear where groups were reaching out asking the Auntie Sewing Squad (ASS for short as Kristina had hilariously realized afterwards after naming her effort). ASS made over 350,000 masks with all non-paid volunteers and donated money and contributions of elastic, cloth, and other supplies.

What I’ve always known and what this documentary demonstrated, was that one person can make a difference. In this case, that person was Kristina Wong, Asian American comedian and activist. We all can make a difference in our own way – either as a leader or individual contributor.

How to See the Movie and other Related Information

Unfortunately, the only way to see the film will probably at a screening at a film festival. There are no currently theatrical or online streaming distribution planned yet. You can keep up-to-date with the documentary and any screenings on its official website – https://www.theauntiesewingsquadresistanceplaybook.com/ or via the Facebook Page or Instagram Page.

At the AMC Kabuki 8 theater, Kristina was also selling her book Auntie Kristina’s Guide to Asian American Activism. Kristina didn’t mention about it (or if she did, I didn’t hear about it) and I didn’t get to learn much about it – but I hope to. One reviewer wrote (as posted on the Amazon.com page):

“The colorful layout and distinct chapter projects make this book one that can be used not only to learn about Asian Americans, but to get readers to see the larger structural issues behind racism and other issues in Asian American communities.”

I will have to take a look and maybe write a review in the future.

The post CAAMFest 2026 Film Review: The Auntie Sewing Squad Resistance Playbook appeared first on 8Asians | An Asian American collaborative blog.

While looking through the CAAMFest 2026 online guide, the documentary Breaking the Code, caught my eye. After seeing the film, I regret not being able to see the film in-person, especially since the subject of the film, Kanwal Rekhi and the filmmaker BenRekhi (his son), were in attendance for the post-screening Q&A.

Overview and Recommendation

Breaking the Code overview:

“Kanwal Rekhi was the first Indian American founder and CEO to take a venture-backed company public on NASDAQ in 1987. He has mentored hundreds of aspiring businessmen through the IndUS Entrepreneurs (TiE), a global network for Indian entrepreneurs he co-founded. People call him the “Godfather of Silicon Valley’s Indian Mafia.”

Every Indian American should watch this documentary. Every Asian American and all Americans working in tech should watch this film. I work in tech in Silicon Valley and love learning about the history of tech. I consider PBS’s ‘Triumph of the Nerds’ the best three hours of television ever produced. Often I attend talks locally in Mountain View at the Computer History Museum. Steven Levy’s ‘Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution’ is a great account of the early days of computing.

Discussion (some spoilers)

Breaking the Code not only chronicles the Rekhi’s rise in the tech/business world, but also a memoir of Kanwal Rekhi, his love story and inter-racial marriage with a white American woman, Ann. He corresponded with her for years as Parker penpals prior to meeting in person.  Later, he cared for her during her cancer. The movie shows Rekhi’s reflections on her periods of depression due to her being abused by her stepfather as a child. Breaking the Code also directly exposes the racism and ignorance in America and one man’s efforts to level the business playing field.

I personally had never heard of Kanwal Rekhi until I came across this film, nor the company he founded and took public, Excelan. I have heard of Novell, which eventually acquired Excelan. Rekhi would eventually become second in command at Novell, which at the time, was the second largest software company in the world after Microsoft.

Kanwal Rekhi as an Early Pioneer

The documentary chronicles Rekhi from his early days as a child, to a student at a new Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) campus, to attending graduate school at Michigan Technological University (MTU).

The documentary reminds us that back in the 1960s, there were very few Indians coming to the United States for graduate school. Indians in IT/technology were far and few between. Indians did not have the reputation of Indians today. Nor were there Indian executive like today – Microsoft & Satya Nadella, Alphabet (Google) & Sundar Pichai, Adobe & Shantanu Narayen, and IBM & Arvind Krishna, to name a few. When Rekhi aced his first exam, he was accused by his professor of cheating and for his second exam, his professor stood over him and watch him take his exam.

After graduating from MTU, Rekhi had a few jobs in Florida and in California and was passed over to be promoted to becoming a manager (sound familiar?). His bosses would want to keep him as an engineer because he was so good at his job. Those bosses promoted a less experienced and qualified white colleague instead. Rekhi had ideas and ambition and was entrepreneurial, so left his safe job to start Excelan with his friends and eventually take the company public. And as stated before, Novell eventually acquired Excelan. Typical for those times, Rekhi eventually was passed over for the top job at Novell. He then concentrated his efforts on building the Indian American entrepreneurial network so that other Indians wouldn’t have to have struggled as much as he had.

The Indus Entrepreneurs

In 1995, Rekhi co-founded TiE, The Indus Entrepreneurs, “a nonprofit support network to provide advice, contacts, and funding to Indian Americans hoping to start businesses.” Having lived in the San Francisco Bay Area/Silicon Valley since 1999, I am aware of TiE and their annual conference in Silicon Valley. Still, I had never known about Rekhi. For Tie alone, Rekhi should be more well known!

In fact, I cannot think of an equivalent influential organization like TiE for Taiwanese, Chinese, Korean or other AAPI communities. The fact that TiE exists could be one of the major reasons why Indian Americans have thrived as business and technology leaders in the United States relative to other Asian American communities (though I have some other ideas on that subject that in the future I will need to formulate more cohesively )

After watching this film, I thought about my friend Jane Hyun and her book, Breaking the Bamboo Ceiling; my blog post on a study on Americans expecting their business leaders to be white, and Morris Chang founding TSMC after hitting the bamboo ceiling at Texas Instruments and how far Indian Americans have come since the 1960s in the United States.

Some Surprises

What surprised me the most was how candid the documentary is, specifically in regards to Rekhi’s wife Ann. It shows her cancer treatments.  Rekhi discusses Ann’s abuse as a child and her periods of depression. In Chinese/Taiwanese culture, airing the family “dirty laundry” would be looked down upon or at least not to be expected. It was refreshing to learn about Ann’s physical and mental health issues. Both of which need to be destigmatized broadly in many if not all Asian American communities.

I think this documentary would be a pretty big eye opener for all Americans working in tech, and resonate with Asian Americans and very heartwarming for Indian Americans.

How can you watch the film?

As for distribution, the documentary is heading to a few more festivals on the circuit (NYIFF on May 30th, and some others that will be announced). The filmmaker is working with sales agents to secure distribution as we speak,aiming for the Fall. I hope this film gets wide distribution like on PBS, much like Invisible Nation.

Indian Institutes of Technology

As an aside, the Indian Institutes of Technology have become so well known by the early 2000’s that 60 Minutes had done a segment on them back in 2003:

“With a population of over a billion people in India, competition to get into the IITs is ferocious. Last year, 178,000 high school seniors took the entrance exam called the JEE. Just over 3,500 were accepted, or less than two percent.”

Personally, I have worked with IIT graduates. I launched Adobe’s first application that was fully engineered by Adobe India. Some of those extremely talented engineers graduated from IIT.

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