Gary Singh

San Jose

Freelance Journalist at Freelance

Columnist at @metronewspaper for 19 years. Author at @HistoryPress. More words at: @atlasobscura @ieeecga @SF_ARTS @AAWW @LAReviewofBooks @AltaJournal

Articles

Viva CalleSJ Marks a Decade of Open Street Events

1 week ago | metrosiliconvalley.com | Gary Singh

Last Sunday, Viva CalleSJ celebrated ten years of open street events in San Jose. It’s been a wild ride. Back in 2015, plans emerged to replicate various open street initiatives around the world, especially those in Latin America, where locals converted stretches of road into car-free spaces just for a few hours.
Silicon Alleys: A 20-Year Journey Starts With One Stop

2 weeks ago | metrosiliconvalley.com | Gary Singh

Lisa Thomas got me the job. That’s how it all started. Somewhere in the roach-infested paradise of Cactus Club’s happy hour—every day for me and maybe a few evenings a week for her—Lisa and I carried on with the others. She knew I was a struggling freelancer and she convinced me to apply for something, anything, at Metro, the alt-weekly newspaper located in an old brick building down the street from Cactus.
Highlights from Tourism Australia’s Incentive Showcase and a Gold Coast Tour

2 weeks ago | meetingstoday.com | Gary Singh

It was a tale of two cities. A combo of country and gold. Tourism Australia presented the 2024 version of its signature incentive showcase, Australia Next, this past September 8-11 in Cairns, North Queensland, with a separate post-fam to Gold Coast, a thriving beach city just south of Brisbane. In both places, Meetings Today inspected some drop-dead gorgeous offsite venues for groups.
Silicon Valley’s Music Scene Has Come a Long Way

3 weeks ago | metrosiliconvalley.com | Gary Singh

As the Silicon Alleys column approaches 20 years, I am obsessed with reflections. In the first year of this page, 2005, I visited Nashville, Music City, and returned to complain about San Jose’s dismal live music scene, at that moment. Last week, I was in Nashville again—for the first time since that column—but I am not going to repeat myself. This time, even though San Jose will never be anything close to Nashville, I returned home with a more positive attitude.
Maitri Provides Relief for South Asian Women Facing Abuse

3 weeks ago | metrosiliconvalley.com | Gary Singh

This Saturday, the nonprofit organization Maitri celebrates 34 years of combating domestic violence in South Asian diasporas. With an annual gala set to raise at least six figures, Maitri members take joy in reflecting on all they’ve accomplished over the decades. “Within Maitri, we always say it is one of those typical successful Silicon Valley startup stories where somebody starts something in the garage and it becomes really big,” said Geetha Krishnamurthy, Matri’s president of the board.
Womanhood Project Brings Poetry to Alum Rock Avenue

4 weeks ago | metrosiliconvalley.com | Gary Singh

Between 34th Street and Sunset, along Alum Rock Avenue, I experience poetry. It only takes a few banners. As I shuffle down the sidewalk, three vertical banners in particular catch my eye, each 2.5 x 8 feet, hanging from light poles that rise from the sidewalk. Pink digital prints with rainbows. Three lines from a poem, “En Otra Vida,” by local artist Ruby Morales.
Cinequest Forms a Matrix of Past, Present and Future

1 month ago | metrosiliconvalley.com | Gary Singh

With Cinequest once again in full swing, the familial nature of the entire festival necessitates another report from the trenches. As the artist lounge opened for business on opening night, I was reminded of just how much family is really involved here. Nathan Louie, who is now sadly no longer with us, was once again dearly missed. Nathan was the guy decked out in traditional Chinese attire that welcomed everyone in front of the California Theatre, for what seemed like decades.
Family Hub Card Programs: The Next Growth Engine For Credit Unions

1 month ago | cutoday.info | Gary Singh

Credit unions face an ongoing challenge in engaging younger members, especially as their core member base ages. With Gen Z embracing credit products and digital banking tools at an unprecedented rate, credit unions must rethink how to meet these evolving needs. One emerging solution is family hub card programs, which offer credit unions a way to engage parents and their children, fostering long-term loyalty and financial education.
‘Boutique’ Documentary Pens Love Letter to Film Preservation

1 month ago | metrosiliconvalley.com | Gary Singh

Even if you’re not old enough to remember renting Gates of Hell on VHS, underage, at your local multistory video store just to watch someone vomiting her guts out, Ry Levey’s new documentary, Boutique: To Preserve and Collect, will take you back to those days. Thankfully, though, Boutique is not just about the past. The film is a love letter to physical media and the heroes who restore old forgotten Z-grade films for modern-day consumption.
Seven Don’t-Miss Screenings at the Cinequest Festival

1 month ago | metrosiliconvalley.com | Gary Singh |Jeffrey Edalatpour

More Cinequest: Read an interview with Halfdan Hussey, cofounder of the Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival. From March 11–23, during the in-person Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival, hundreds of films will be screened in three locations: the California Theatre, 345 S 1st St, San Jose; 3Below Theaters, 288 S Second St, San Jose; and the Hammer Theatre Center (101 Paseo de San Antonio, San Jose).