Native Guns reunites to honor Dawn Mabalon
by Eddie Wong. Posted December 9, 2018. This post is a preview/teaser for a longer story that will include an interview with Native Guns and more clips from their December 8, 2018 show at Bindlestiff Studio by Jericho Saria. MCs Bambu and Kiwi and DJ Phatrick performed at this benefit for Little Manila Rising and…
Play It Again, David Sum – SF Chinatown’s pioneering jazz pianist.
By Eddie Wong. Posted November 14, 2018. Introduction I interviewed David Sum a long, long time ago. October 30, 1982 to be exact. I had heard that David played in San Francisco Chinatown dance bands and jazz combos in the 1920s and 1930s, but I had no idea that he toured the USA in vaudeville.…
OC APAs Planting Seeds for Progressives
Orange County APAs lay foundation for progressive electoral organizing By Mark Masaoka. Posted November 12, 2018. As heavily Democratic as Asian Pacific Americans are in the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles—that is how heavily Republican APAs are in Orange County (OC). Of Orange County’s 13 state legislators, five are APA Republicans, as are…
Election Commentaries by Timmy Lu and Michael Liu
APAs on the Move! By Timmy Lu. Posted November 13, 2018. There were some really exciting wins at the local level, with House races in Orange County, California still TBD, progressive Asian American candidates winning in the Bay Area (Gordon Mar for San Francisco Board of Supervisors, Nikki Fortunato Bas and Sheng Thao for Oakland…
APAs Impact the Midterm Elections
By Eddie Wong. Posted November 12, 2018. All over the country, Asian Pacific American activists participated in the all-out effort to beat back Trump and take back theHouse of Representatives on November 6. Not only did the Democrats exceed the goal of flipping 23 seats (votes are still being tabulated in several close races and…
Blue Tsunami in Cobb County, Georgia. Abrams All the Way!
By Donna Wong. Posted November 12, 2018. I’m keeping my spirits up ….and my yard sign for Stacey Abrams as thousands of provisional, absentee ballots are still being counted for Governor of Georgia for a possible runoff which will be announced by Wednesday, November 14. Meanwhile on Tuesday, November 6, Election Day, the Blue Tsunami…
Fifty Years of Knocking on Doors –“You got to move when the Spirit says “Move!”
by Alex Hing. Posted November 12, 2018. “This is the most important election of our lives” was my mantra during this election season. No way I was going to sit this one out and only vote and donate money. While there were many campaigns that needed volunteers, I was intuitively and by happenstance drawn to…
Larry Itliong Day at SF Marriott Workers Strike
by Eddie Wong. Posted October 26, 2018. 8,000 UNITE HERE workers nationwide at the Marriott Hotels remain on strike for better wages and safer working conditions. The following video celebrates the Oct. 25, 1913 birthday of labor organizer and leader Larry Itliong, the First Vice-President of the United Farm Workers. Norman Ten and Daz Lamparas…
Review of “1942” by No No Boy – Concert clips & more
By Peter Horikoshi. Posted October 23, 2018. When Eddie asked me to review this CD, I thought, “Cool, new Asian American musicians! I wonder what kind of music they play – jazz, rap, New Wave?” What? Singer-songwriters? Sort of folk-rock? I haven’t heard this kind of music since, like, forever. This should be pretty quick.…
From Heart Mountain to Henoko Bay – for Uncle Shōbo and Okinawa
By Miya Sommers. Posted November 15, 2018. Monday was Veterans Day, and the ashy skies sagged from the weight of yet another devastating fire raging in California. I have trouble breathing as I inhale apocalyptic visions of our future on this day of solemn commemoration. My Facebook feed is filled with tag lines like “…