Monday, November 13, 2017

Philippine Nationality Room construction hoped to begin May 2018.



This month's Nationality Rooms Newsletter reports on the progress toward a Philippine Nationality Room.
The PNR Task Force has had a very busy year fundraising so that the construction of the Philippine Nationality Room can begin in May 2018. They held a Philippine Movie Marathon and on August 6 held a “Merienda Cena” (high tea) - Saklohohan” (rescue) fundraiser. PAPG and FAAP provided an entertainment. Josie Crooks provided music entertainment.

The PNR Task Force met the required minimum for the Facilities Management to bid for the construction of the Philippine Nationality Room. The Room is scheduled for construction in May 2018.
The preliminary designs of the room come from Popi Laudico, who writes:
The room is designed to incorporate the look of the traditional Philippine Bahay na Bato circa 1820.

Saturday, November 11, 2017

New anime film Fate/stay night: Heaven's Feel 1. presage flower (劇場版 Fate / stay night [Heaven's Feel] 第一章「presage flower」) in Pittsburgh, November 18.



The new Japanese anime film Fate/stay night: Heaven's Feel 1. presage flower (劇場版 Fate / stay night [Heaven's Feel] 第一章「presage flower」) will play at the Hollywood Theater in Dormont on November 18. Wikipedia has the closest thing to a comprehensible summary of the trilogy that begins with this film:
The story of the trilogy revolves around Shirou Emiya, a young and humble high school student who is forced to participate in the Holy Grail War, a fierce battle in which seven mages and their respective summoned servants are forced to kill each other in order to obtain the Holy Grail, an unlimited source of miracles. As the master of the servant Saber, Shirou allies with the prodigy magus Rin to defeat a threatening blood thirsty demonic force, which has been causing the deaths of countless people. However, Shirou's overflowing feelings for his close friend Sakura will lead him to a tragic journey of love, suffering and despair as the war reveals its deepest and darkest secrets.
The movie opened in Japan on October 14, and the Hollywood Theater is the only place in Pennsylvania showing it in November.

Tickets for the 2:00 pm show are available online for $15. The theater is located at 1449 Potomac Ave. in Dormont (map), and is accessible by Pittsburgh's subway/LRT at a block south of Potomac Station.

Thursday, November 9, 2017

New Pittsburgh Asian Dance Meetup.


via @YanlaiDance.

A new Pittsburgh-area Asian Dance Meetup has formed, with 40 members already on meetup.com.
We host Asian dance lessons, parties, and performances. We help people in the Pittsburgh region appreciate and enjoy performances arts of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and other Asian cultures.
Those interested are encouraged to join the meetup.com group to be notified of upcoming events.

Wednesday, November 8, 2017

International Career Toolkit Site Visit: WholeRen (美国厚仁教育集团), November 28.



The University of Pittsburgh's University Center for International Studies will visit WholeRen, an Oakland-based Chinese education and consulting company, on November 28 as part of its International Career Toolkit series. Registration is required and space is limited to 10 students.

Local documentary "Vietnam: Another View" on WQED, November 9 at 8:00 pm.


Father Dam Nguyen of Sacred Heart parish is featured in "Vietnam: Another View" (via Pittsburgh Tribune-Review).

Pittsburgh's PBS affiliate WQED will air a local documentary on the Vietnam War, "Vietnam: Another View," on November 9 at 8:00 pm. The channel has produced content on the war for years, and has compiled it into a single website.
In conjunction with the 18 hour PBS documentary series, The Vietnam War, WQED will produce and explore stories connected to the Pittsburgh area. The local content will focus on the perspectives of American troops and Vietnamese citizens - as well as those engaged on the home front. We will also include archival stories from our extensive reporting on veterans issues over the years. This multi-platform project will complement the PBS series while serving as a valued archive for our region.
The Tribune-Review writes:
Following the broadcast, WQED will host "Reflections on Vietnam" at 8:30 p.m. from the Fred Rogers Studio. Host Chris Moore will lead the discussion, part of WQED's multi-platform engagement project surrounding Burns' series on the war.

Panelists include Tony Accamando (Friends of Danang), Todd DePastino (Veterans Breakfast Club), and Dr. Nghi Nguyen (Vietnamese Association of Pittsburgh).

Tuesday, November 7, 2017

2017 Takashi Miike film Blade of the Immortal (無限の住人) to continue at Hollywood Theater through November 15.



The 2017 Takashi Miike film Blade of the Immortal (無限の住人), which opened at the Hollywood Theater in Dormont on November 3, will continue there through the 15th. A May 18 IndieWire review has a summary of Miike's 100th film:
With a body count in the thousands and a breakneck pitch that starts at feverishly intense and only builds upwards, “Blade of the Immortal” is certainly one of Takashi Miike’s most lethal works. But then, how else should a director with Miike’s talents celebrate such a milestone? You see, not only is his adaptation of a popular manga overloaded, overlong and gleefully over-the-top – it’s also the director’s hundredth feature film.

Based on Hiroaki Samura’s eponymous series, “Blade of the Immortal” follows Manji (local mega-star Takuya Kimura), a cursed samurai and unkillable killing machine who broods and maims his way across Edo era Japan. Thanks to the “sacred bloodworms” coursing through his veins, Manji can heal any wound and ages in slow motion, and that’s not the only similarity to a certain Marvel hero, as this film also hinges on the relationship between the older sell-sword and young girl he’s paid to protect.
Tickets and showtime information is available from the theater's website. The theater is located at 1449 Potomac Ave. in Dormont (map), and is accessible by Pittsburgh's subway/LRT at a block south of Potomac Station.

Monday, November 6, 2017

Korean karaoke night, November 14 at Pitt.



The University of Pittsburgh Asian Studies Center and the English Language Institute—currently hosting students from Gwangju's Chosun National University—will present a Korean karaoke night on November 14. From the Asian Studies Center newsletter:
As part of our partnership with the English Language Institute and the exchange students from Chosun University, we will be hosting a night of karaoke, food and fun in 548 William Pitt Union from 5- 8 pm on Tuesday November 14. Space will be limited, so please email us at asia@pitt.edu if you would like to join us.

Upper St. Clair School District hiring part-time Japanese teacher.

Upper St. Clair School District—ranked eighth in the state and fourth in the region, according to the latest Niche.com list—is hiring a part-time Japanese teacher.
The Upper St. Clair School District is seeking candidates for a .4 FTE Japanese Teacher at the High School. The assignment will begin on January 18, 2018. Interested applicants should electronically submit a letter of interest, resume, PA application, clearances, transcripts, Praxis results, copy of PA certification, and 3 letters of recommendation to k12worldlanguages@uscsd.k12.pa.us. Please put Japanese Teacher in the subject line. The deadline for applications is November 13, 2017. Prospective candidates will be requested to provide additional information.

"Natural Resources and the Making of Modern Xinjiang, 1907-1962" at Pitt, November 10.



The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will host Dr. Judd Kinzley and his talk "Natural Resources and the Making of Modern Xinjiang, 1907-1962" on November 10.
This talk will focus on the central role that natural resources played in shaping Chinese state power and authority in China's far western province of Xinjiang. Based on his forthcoming book, this talk will highlight the often overlooked role played by an assortment of Chinese and Soviet state agents, as well as a wide variety of non-state actors, each of whom were seeking to stake their own claim to Xinjiang's lucrative natural resources. Their combined efforts to gain access to the region's gold, wool, petroleum, and rare minerals served to construct the foundations of Chinese state power and authority in this distant border region.

Dr. Judd Kinzley is a historian of modern China with research and teaching interests that include environmental history, state power, industrial development, and wartime mobilization. His research tends to center around understanding the connections that exist between state power and the natural world in various Chinese peripheral and border regions.
The talk runs from 3:00 to 5:00 pm in 4130 Posvar Hall (map) and is free and open to the public.

Sunday, November 5, 2017

Thai film Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (ลุงบุญมีระลึกชาติ) free at Maridon Museum, November 10.




Butler's Maridon Museum will present the 2010 Thai film Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (ลุงบุญมีระลึกชาติ) on November 10, as the final installment of the museum's Thai Film Series.

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