What’s Going On? Everything, All at Once

By Ben Fong-Torres

MAY 8, 2022

With “Like a Rolling Stone: The Life and Times of Ben Fong-Torres” the documentary about me, now out today and streaming merrily along on Netflix, I’m officially in the film industry. 

Actually, that’s been the case since last June, when the documentary, which stole its title from a popular column at Asian Connections created by director Suzanne Joe Kai's son Mike when he was 14, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in Manhattan.

In the months since, the film, which was produced, written and directed by Suzanne, screened at various other festivals, picked up awards, including a Critics Choice honor, a 2022 Nomination by the Writers Guild of America for Best Documentary Screenplay, a Best Music Film Award at the Newport Beach Film Festival, the Audience Award from the Asian American Film Festival in San Diego, and scored more than 112 press reviews and mentions (so far) - all quite positive reviews. 

And I find myself mingling with movie people. In March, I attended the premiere of “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” starring Michelle Yeoh, at the Castro Theater here in San Francisco.

Our only previous connection was at a Lunar New Year parade, in 2018, when she was the glamorous grand marshall and I was co-anchor of KTVU’s broadcast.

From a distance, we waved at each other. Or maybe she was just waving to her fans. 

Astronaut Leroy Chiao's Space Blog-Beijing: I finally shot a decent picture of Beijing. It is surprisingly difficult! There is often dense smog in the Eastern coastal areas of China, and visibility gets even worse with low sun angles. So, everything has to be right for the shot to even be set up correctly. I was also fortunate with this pass, that the weather was clear and there was light snow cover on the ground, enhancing the view of the city. This is a 400mm shot, I wanted to get the whole core of the city inside of the frame.

I finally shot a decent picture of Beijing. It is surprisingly difficult! There is often dense smog in the Eastern coastal areas of China, and visibility gets even worse with low sun angles. So, everything has to be right for the shot to even be set up correctly. I was also fortunate with this pass, that the weather was clear and there was light snow cover on the ground, enhancing the view of the city. This is a 400mm shot, I wanted to get the whole core of the city inside of the frame.

A Walk in Space My Russian Orlan Suit Greece Egypt China Launch Complex Argentina Nepal/China Border Region Chi Lien Mountains South Africa Salamat Basin in Chad Mozambique Corrientes, Argentina Dec. 10, 2004 Blog Malaysia Patagonian Glaciers Bolivia

Click here for AsianConnections' exclusive interview with Leroy while in training at Star City, Russia.

Astronaut Leroy Chiao's Space Blog-the moon

Hi Lia

How are you? I'm counting down the days. Just a little over 50 to go!

This shot of the moon was another accident. I happened to look out the window as the moon was setting behind the earth. I shot this with an 800mm lens. This turned out nicely, as it caught the true flavor of the flourescent blue shades of the earth limb in sunlight.

Capturing the feeling of spaceflight Progress 17 docks to International Space Station China/Russia Border Beijing A Walk in Space My Russian Orlan Suit Greece Egypt China Launch Complex Argentina Nepal/China Border Region Chi Lien Mountains South Africa Salamat Basin in Chad Mozambique Corrientes, Argentina Dec. 10, 2004 Blog Malaysia Patagonian Glaciers Bolivia

Click here for AsianConnections' exclusive interview with Leroy while in training at Star City, Russia.

Astronaut Leroy Chiao's Space Blog-capturing the feeling of spaceflight

We received a new Progress resupply ship last night. As it approached under 100 meters, I was able to capture it in perfect lighting, as it crossed the earth limb. Again, one can see the shades of flourescent blue as well as the detail of the ship. This shot captures the feeling of spaceflight!

Progress 17 docks to International Space Station China/Russia Border Beijing A Walk in Space My Russian Orlan Suit Greece Egypt China Launch Complex Argentina Nepal/China Border Region Chi Lien Mountains South Africa Salamat Basin in Chad Mozambique Corrientes, Argentina Dec. 10, 2004 Blog Malaysia Patagonian Glaciers Bolivia

Click here for AsianConnections' exclusive interview with Leroy while in training at Star City, Russia.