The Filipino Friends Blog

Thriller From Manila

I rec’d a daily email from UrbanDaddy~San Francisco newsletter and this one just happens to catch my attention!  Another Filipino making news and being a successful entrepreneur in business of selling food to the masses!  Who doesn’t love Filipino food!! Read on and if you’re an adept in social networking, and you have twitter and tweet, follow him @adobohobo!  This guy is not your average Filipino either, he’s 6’0 tall!!

A Filipino Favorite by the Cartful

Lately, you’ve been gorging yourself on gourmet food served in all manner of portable devices—trucks, pushcarts, bicycles.

And maybe you’ve gotten a little lost, forgot what street food really tastes like.

Here as a delicious reminder of the humble art of street food is Adobo Hobo—San Francisco’s first street food cart helmed by a real estate broker, serving up the ultimate in Filipino comfort food, chicken adobo, by the plateful now.

Think of the cart as a take on the Manila street food scene in the Mission—except that chef/partner Jason took his family’s time-tested recipes and updated them to San Francisco standards. Meaning this meaty, slow-cooked stew (which originated as a dish for Filipino mountaineers because of its long shelf life) is now made with organic, skinless drumsticks and is an ideal way to warm up on a foggy afternoon in the park.

Follow @AdoboHobo, and be at the ready when he tweets his locale—generally Dolores Park or the bar-soaked Mission sidewalks (ideal for when you don’t want to abandon your bar-stool). And if you’re having trouble spotting him—a six-foot-tall Filipino—and his shiny new cart, just follow your nose. The tangy garlic scent wafting from his pushcart will give him away.

Once you find him, order your $5 plate and watch as he scoops a few heaps of rice, piles on two drumsticks (or an occasional thigh if you’re lucky) and spoons over the adobo sauce. Then dig in with the gusto of a man who’s conquered many a mountaintop.

Or many a hill… Follow @adobohobo on Twitter and he can let you know when he is back and what goodies he’s selling!

Miami Heat coach is Fil-Am!

My cousin posted a link to this article about a filipino-american coach for the Miami Heat basketball professional team! How cool is that! Apparently he was only 3 yrs old when he was last in the Philippines. This article was written by abs-cbnNEWS.com

MANILA – Erik Spoelstra, the Filipino-American head coach of Miami Heat, has never been to the Philippines since he was 3.

“This is such a special homecoming for me,” he said on his “On the Road” blog at the US Department of State website. “I felt very moved to have my family and friends on hand.”

Spoelstra is in the Philippines for the US Department of State’s Sports Envoy Program.

He is joined by Miami Heat assistant coach David Fizdale and former US Women National Basketball Association (WNBA) all-star Sue Wicks, assistant coach of the St. Francis College Terriers.

He has been holding basketball clinics in the country alongside Wicks and Fizdale. Their first stop was Zamboanga where they taught some 200 children on Tuesday.

“It was very cool to be a part of the first NBA contingent to visit,” he said, noting that the National Basketball Association has never been to Zamboanga.

The three-hour clinic had drills for the boys and girls who participated. Spoelstra and company were assisted by local basketball coaches and players who serve in the US military.

“I was amazed at how enthusiastic the youth participating in the clinic were,” he said. “They all had smiles on their faces and greeted us warmly.”

He added, “The kids of Zamboanga in general are very warm and hospitable.”

Memorable experience

Aside from holding drills, Spoelstra also played a one-on-one game with Zamboanga City Mayor Celso Lobregat.

After the clinic, the NBA personalities answered the chidlren’s questions. “We were stunned at how knowledgeable they are about the NBA. They wanted to know about when Dwyane Wade becomes a free agent.”

He remarked, “If I didn’t know better, I would have thought I was answering questions at a post game press conference.”

The coaches in turn asked NBA trivia questions. “They even knew that Bill Russell has won more titles than any player in league history and they knew the number of rings he has – 11,” he shared. “So they know the history of the NBA, not just the players of today.”

Spoelstra wrote on his blog, “Our trip to Zamboanga was a memorable experience that I won’t forget.”

Filipino heritage

He went on to write about his Filipino roots. “The Philippines is the homeland of my mother… I have wanted to make this trip for a number of years. I am excited to finally be back.” His mother hails from Laguna province.

The Miami head coach mentioned that from Zamboanga, he went to Manila to continue holding basketball clinics in the capital.

Spoelstra, Wicks, Fizdale, and another Miami Heat assistant coach Chad Kammerer did an instructional clinic for some 75 college and professional basketball coaches Wednesday afternoon.

Following the basketball clinic held at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City, the NBA/WNBA coaches proceeded to a reception hosted at the residence of US Ambassador Kristie Kenney.

“This was a night I will never forget as over 200 people welcomed us to the Philippines with open arms,” Spoelstra shared.

“What made the evening most special to me was having members of my family and close friends from Manila in attendance.”

Spoelstra, 38, is the youngest head coach in the NBA and the first Asian-American to hold such position.

“I have always been very proud of my Filipino heritage but maybe never more so than I have been this week as I have returned to the homeland of my mother and many of my family members,” he said.

His father, Jon Spoelstra, is a long-time NBA executive who has guided the Portland Trail Blazers, New Jersey Nets, and Denver Nuggets. His grandfather, Watson, was a Detroit Tigers beat writer, stated a US Embassy news release.

His wife, meantime, is a Filipino, according to Joaquin Henson of The Philippine Star.

NBA over PBA

Spoelstra was a starting point guard for four years for the University of Portland Pilots where he graduated in 1992 with a degree in communications. He was named West Coast Conference Freshman of the Year.

After college, he spent two years as a playing coach for Tus Herten, a team in the German professional sports league.

“I thought that after playing in Europe, I might be able to do the PBA [Philippine Basketball Association],” he told Henson.

“But when the offer from Miami came, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to work in the NBA,” he added.

Henson reported that Spoelstra also recommends Fil-Ams and imports to some PBA coaches.

The Fil-Am head coach started as a video coordinator for the Heat in 1995. He prepared scouting tapes and developed the Heat’s information technology for the coaching staff for two seasons.

He became assistant coach/video coordinator for the two seasons (1997-1999) and then assistant coach/advance scout for the next two seasons (1999-2001). He then assumed the post of assistant coach/director of scouting.

He was named head coach on April 28, 2008 after Heat President and head coach Pat Riley stepped down. With a report from Joaquin Henson, The Philippine Star and the Sports Envoy Blog at www.exchanges.state.gov

Pinoy at Pixar

This story was first published or posted August 19, 2008 by Nepales at the Philippine Daily Inquirer

I thought of sharing it with you again, as its good news for all of us Filipino-American that have made a name for themselves.  HOOORAAAAAAHHHH…

LOS ANGELES, California—Chris Chua, 29-year-old Filipino-American animator at Pixar Animation Studios, makes things look easy.

When we interviewed him at Pixar’s sprawling Emeryville office, Chris casually rattled off things about his career. Unintentionally, he made his rise in the animation world sound simple—which, of course, was not.

“I went to California Institute of the Arts in Valencia for college, joined DreamWorks, transferred to Pixar and then got assigned to do my first Pixar movie, which is ‘Wall-E,’ ” he said.

He added, “I always look forward to coming to work because the people I work with here are just so passionate about everything.” And so is Chris.

“It’s great working here,” he stressed. “Everyday, no matter how tired I am, I always look forward to coming to work.”

Loving it

“Work” for Chris means doing what he loves, donning casual clothes everyday, or riding a bike, scooter or rollerblades around the office. In his “free time,” he may take some “enrichment” courses at Pixar University.

“Wall-E,” the latest film from Academy Award-winning writer-director Andrew Stanton (“Finding Nemo”), is about the last robot left on earth to clean up the trash that mankind has left behind. It is a very timely and relevant movie about the environment.

Chris, who has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2-D Animation from Cal Arts, explained the look of “Wall-E,” which is unlike other Pixar movies: It is monochromatic at times and has almost no dialogue in some scenes—an animator’s dream, or nightmare.

“Some animations are bleak and have a doomsday feel to them,” Chris said. “For ‘Wall-E,’ I think there are moments when it is very colorful and entertaining. For me, it is totally a dream project because, as an animator, you are taught that pantomime comes first. All the great scenes happen when you turn off the volume and you know exactly what is going on even without sound coming from the characters’ mouths. The visuals take center stage. We do not have to deal with voices. Just the fact that these emotions can come from this little robot with simple eyes is fulfilling—you can do so much with so little.”

Chris, who got married last year, joined the Pixar team last November as a fix animator for “Wall-E.” He takes shots from the films that have already been animated and polishes them up for final use.

He explained his job further: “Mainly, I assist the animator. For example, you have an animator who has Wall-E going left and right on the screen, but he wants him to go a little slower. So he would come to me and ask me to make Wall-E slow down. I already have the main scene going on in front of me. I just need to adjust it. Sometimes it is very easy, like they will say, ‘Okay, add one blink here.’ Other times, it is more involved and they will completely change everything. I will have to do those changes as well. Then I get them approved by my supervisor. If it’s a bigger change, then the director has to see it since it’s his movie.”

The animator, born in Manila to a Chinese father and a half-Filipino mother, moved to the US at age 10. He said he’s the only artist in the family. Dad William is a banker while mom Juliet was a secretary.

It was during high school that Chris discovered his love for drawing. “I loved to draw and enjoyed watching cartoons and movies,” he recalled. “My teacher told me that I could do this for a living. She said that there is a school in Southern California called the California Institute for the Arts. I think it was right before high school ended when I saw ‘Toy Story.’ That changed everything for me. That was when I set my goal of becoming an animator. Once I had seen more Pixar films, I got more convinced.”

Asked if it was hard for him as a Filipino-Chinese to break into Hollywood, Chris replied, “In this profession, especially animation, it’s not so much about race. There is no real race barrier. It is just about how much work you put in.”

Previous work

Prior to joining Pixar, Chris worked as an animator at DreamWorks Animation on various projects, including “Sinbad,” “Shark Tale” and “Flushed Away.” In the Bay Area, he had a short stint at LucasArts working on the video game project, “Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.”

“Wall-E” is his first Pixar movie.

He recently got promoted as animator on Pixar’s latest film, “UP” which will be directed by Pete Docter (“Monsters Inc.”) and is due out next May. He and wife Joy recently moved from Emeryville to North Berkeley where they just bought a house.

Asked how it was working with director Andrew Stanton, Chris said, “Andrew knows what he wants. He may feel things out a couple of times as he will see it and say, ‘That’s not what I want, let us do this.’ But a lot of times, he has a good eye for filmmaking and detail. With him, a movie almost feels like a live-action film just with the way the camera moves.”

As for the Pixar culture, Chris exclaims, “It’s great!” He added, “The movies they make here are ‘director-driven’ as opposed to ‘public-driven.’ In the same way that I am more passionate when something comes from the heart. You feel like when it comes from the director’s soul, you feel like it comes across. That, more than anything else, is what makes Pixar great.”