Thursday, June 30, 2016

Japanese film Our Little Sister (海街diary) in Pittsburgh, August 19 - 25.



The 2015 Japanese film Our Little Sister (海街diary) will play at the Harris Theater from August 19 through 25, it was recently announced. Variety writes in a 2015 review:
Marking the subtle transitions in the lives of three sisters after they take under their wing a teenage half-sibling they never knew, “Our Little Sister” is so meticulously shot and gracefully orchestrated that it can be considered a worthy contempo successor to Kon Ichikawa’s masterpiece “The Makioka Sisters.” Yet, in attempting to evoke an overwhelmingly femme-centric universe for the first time, Hirokazu Kore-eda adopts an approach so serene that his protagonists’ pain as well as their personalities remain largely muffled as they drift soulfully through the seasons. While gently engaging throughout, the pic nonetheless doesn’t reverberate as deeply as the helmer’s 2013 Cannes jury prizewinner, “Like Father, Like Son,” but Kore-eda’s standing among the worldwide culturati will ensure a warm response at festivals and arthouse cinemas.
The movie stars Haruka Ayase (Hotaru no Hikari, Cyborg She, Masami Nagasawa (The Crossing), Kaho and Suzu Hirose.

Showtimes have not yet been released. The Harris Theater is located at 809 Liberty Ave. in the downtown Pittsburgh Cultural District (map).

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Bubblepop for Girls Rock, July 22.



The next Bubblepop event is scheduled for July 22 at Brillobox in Lawrenceville. Bubblepop, explains its Facebook page,
is a dance party for K-Pop, J-Pop, Mando-pop and everything else fun and cute.
. . .
$5 donation gets you a sick dance party and helps girls attend Girls Rock camp in August
It starts at 10:00 pm, and the venue is at 4104 Penn Ave. (map).

Dragon Inn (龍門客棧), A Touch of Zen (俠女) at Row House Cinema in September.



The Row House Cinema recently announced two King Hu movies, 1967's Dragon Inn (龍門客棧) and 1971's A Touch of Zen (俠女) as part of its Kung Fu Cinema series from September 23 to 29.

Friday, June 24, 2016

Ki Ramen coming to Lawrenceville.

Ki Ramen is coming to 4401 Butler St. in Lawrenceville (map), the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes today. The liquor license belongs to Fumanchew, LLC.

It is one of several places serving ramen that have opened recently or will open in the near future: Umami in Lawrenceville, Tan Izakaya in Shadyside, Love Yogurt in Oakland, and Yuzu Kitchen downtown.

Thursday, June 23, 2016

The Secret World of Arrietty (借りぐらしのアリエッティ) at Row House Cinema, July 1 - 7.



The Row House Cinema will show the 2010 Studio Ghibli film The Secret World of Arrietty (借りぐらしのアリエッティ) from July 1 through July 7 as part of its Fantastical Adventures series.

Nakama again voted best Japanese/sushi restaurant in Pittsburgh by readers who don't know Japanese/sushi restaurants in Pittsburgh.

Nakama Japanese Steakhouse & Sushi Bar was again voted the best Japanese/sushi restaurant by readers of Pittsburgh Magazine. Nakama has been voted #1 each year by readers since 2009, and is also perennial winner of the Pittsburgh City-Paper readers' poll.

Also of relevance to this site: Sesame Inn was voted Best Chinese, Nicky's Thai Kitchen was voted Best Thai, and Pusadee's Garden was voted best Al Fresco (open air).

Tuesday, June 21, 2016

DJ Bamboo mixtape release party at Umami, June 25.



Pittsburgh-based DJ Bamboo is throwing a release party at Umami on June 25 for his Bento Boombox mixtape. The event runs from 10:00 pm to 2:00 am. Umami is located at 202 38th Street in Lawrenceville (map).

Pittsburgh native in the news for aiding Japan's refugees.

The Japan Times profiles Alex Easley---a Pittsburgher who moved to Japan 40 years ago to pursue a singing and modeling career---and his work with Japan's refugees.

Monday, June 20, 2016

"Storytime: Chinese and English" at Carnegie Library in Squirrel Hill, June 22.

The Carnegie Library in Squirrel Hill will host the next "Storytime: Chinese and English" on Wednesday, June 22 from 6:00 to 6:30 pm.
Celebrate our city’s diverse culture as we explore new words through songs, action rhymes and stories in both English and Chinese. For children birth-5 years and their caregivers.
The library is located at 5801 Forbes Ave. (map) and is accessible by buses 61A, 61B, 61C, 61D, 64, and 74.

Saturday, June 18, 2016

Chinese Knot Pendant Tutorial, June 19 at Carnegie Library Oakland.

Chinese Knots
"Chinese Knots" by Kirk Slang (Creative Commons)

The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Main Branch will hold a Chinese Knot Pendant Tutorial on Sunday, June 19, at 3:30 pm in the Large Print Room.

The library is located at 4400 Forbes Ave. in Oakland (map), and the large print room is located on the first floor, to the left, around the corner from the rest rooms.


Korean fried chicken and waffle cupcake with soju glaze, by Yummyholic for tonight's Squirrel Hill Night Market.

Friday, June 17, 2016

Documentary Human Harvest (活摘,大衛戰紅魔) at CMU, June 22.



The 2014 documentary Human Harvest (活摘,大衛戰紅魔) will play at Carnegie Mellon University on June 22. The documentary received a Peabody Award in 2014, and is summarized by the awards site:
Like a mystery novel with a devastating denouement, Leon Lee’s documentary starts with numbers that don’t add up and divines an unthinkable explanation. China had no organ-donation system until 2010, yet it’s now the one place in the world where a person can get a heart and lung transplant in less than a week. People flock there by the thousands, checkbooks in hand, to get new kidneys, lungs and livers. China insists executed prisoners are the source, but David Matas, David Kilgour and other human rights activists tell Lee that the country would have to be executing more than 10 times the number it officially reports to generate such a huge supply of compatible organs. Lee found sources inside China who say that the answer is that the harvesting of organs is the execution and that the victims are mostly prisoners of conscience, practitioners of Falun Gong, a persecuted spiritual movement whose goals include better health. Lee bolsters his case not only with interviews with doctors and nurses who describe taking organs from prisoners still alive but with simple telephone inquiries to Chinese hospitals where arranging a transplant seems only slightly more complicated than ordering takeout.
It will play from 7:30 pm at the Rangos Ballroom in the Jared L. Cohon University Center (campus map).

Thursday, June 16, 2016

"Storytime: Japanese and English" at Carnegie Library in East Liberty, June 21.

The next installment of the monthly program "Storytime: Japanese and English" will take place on June 21 at the Carnegie Library in East Liberty.
Celebrate our city's diverse culture as we explore new words through songs, action rhymes and stories in both English and Japanese. For children ages 2-5 and their parents or caregivers.
It runs from 11:00 to 11:30 am. The library is located at 130 S. Whitfield St. (map).

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

AMPD Group hiring bilingual Japanese-English graphic designer for "Japanese inspired bar/restaurant in Downtown Pittsburgh".



AMPD Group is hiring a bilingual Japanese-English graphic designer "to help create marketing materials for our Japanese inspired bar/restaurant in Downtown Pittsburgh".
We are currently looking to hire a Japanese bilingual Graphic Designer to fill a project-based position with our company located in Pittsburgh, PA. The chosen candidate will be working to help create marketing materials for our Japanese inspired bar/restaurant in Downtown Pittsburgh.

NAAAP Asian American Women in Entrepreneurship Speaker Series: Jasmine Cho, June 28.



The Pittsburgh chapter of the National Association of Asian American Professionals will host the first of its Asian American Women in Entrepreneurship Speaker Series on June 28 with Jasmine Cho of Yummyholic.
Join us on Tuesday, June 28 at 6:30pm at the Allegheny HYP Club as we spend the evening with rockstar entrepreneur, and all around awesome person Jasmine Cho. Learn about how she got started in the local entrepreneur scene, her background and her vision for the future as she takes her start-up, Yummyholic to the next level. It's going to be a fun night that promises to reveal many insights to Pittsburgh's booming start-up scene. If you are an entrepreneur, if you are looking for inspiration, or if you want to learn what it's like to be an Asian American female entrepreneur here in Pittsburgh, you don't want to miss this series! More details will become available as the event date approaches.

This event is free for all to attend.
Cash bar and light hors d'oeuvres will be available.
Please bring a friend!!
The Allegheny HYP Club is located at 619 William Penn Pl. downtown (map).

Monday, June 13, 2016

In Discussion: Alison Klayman, Director and Producer of Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry at Warhol Museum, June 17.



The Andy Warhol Museum will host Alison Klayman, director and producer of the 2012 documentary Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry on June 17 at 7:00 pm.
In conjunction with Andy Warhol | Ai Weiwei, join us for a discussion with Alison Klayman, director and producer of Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry; Jessica Beck, The Warhol’s associate curator of art; and Geralyn Huxley, The Warhol’s curator of film & video. Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry is the inside story of Ai Weiwei, a dissident for the digital age who inspires global audiences and blurs the boundaries of art and politics. Klayman gained unprecedented access to Ai while working as a journalist in China. Her detailed portrait provides a nuanced exploration of contemporary China and one of its most compelling public figures. Klayman was a Sundance Documentary Fellow and one of Filmmaker Magazine's "25 New Faces of Independent Film."

Thursday, June 9, 2016

Banh Mi & Ti coming to Lawrenceville.



The Pittsburgh Asian Network Facebook group shares news of Banh Mi & Ti coming soon to 4502 Butler St. in Lawrenceville (map), in what was formerly Jack + Jules. The title tells us a little about the menu: Vietnamese sandwiches and bubble tea.

Monday, June 6, 2016

Hi Sound KTV now open in Squirrel Hill.



Hi Sound KTV opened at 6316 Forbes Ave. (map) Squirrel Hill on June 1. As part of its Grand Opening, guests will receive a discount from now through July 15.

Signage went up in November at Forbes-Shady Plaza, and construction started last summer. The owners are the proprietors of "Dragon Chinese Restaurant" in Verona.

The area's first Asian-style karaoke place, K-Box, opened on South Craig St. in Oakland in September 2012. A few Korean restaurants in the area have karaoke, but do not offer the small, private rooms ubiquitous throughout East Asia.

Yoga + Circle of Animals / Zodiac Heads at Carnegie Museum of Art this summer.



The Carnegie Museum of Art will hold three yoga sessions in the Hall of Architecture, surrounded by Ai Weiwei's traveling exhibition Circle of Animals / Zodiac Heads, on June 26, July 31, and August 28. Registration is required and can be done online. The cost is $18 for members and $20 for non-members. Both Circle of Animals / Zodiac Heads and Andy Warhol | Ai Weiwei at The Warhol Museum run through August 28.

Cafe 33 Taiwanese Bistro coming to Squirrel Hill.



Cafe plus number in the name? Check. Bistro? Check. Garage door patio? Check. Signage went recently up for Cafe 33 Taiwanese Bistro, a new Taiwanese place coming to an old laundromat in Squirrel Hill. The restaurant, to be run by a former chef at Rose Tea Cafe, will open at 1711 Shady Ave. (map), behind the Starbucks.

Friday, June 3, 2016

Signage up for Zen Noodle House in Oakland.



Signage went up today for Zen Noodle House in Oakland, the "Asian Noodle Bar" which has had a "Coming Soon" sign since November 2014. It is located at 3531 Forbes Ave. (map) in what was last the Pittsburgh Pretzel Shop.

Thursday, June 2, 2016

1974 Japanese martial arts movie The Streetfighter (激突!殺人拳) at Row House Cinema, June 10 - 16.



The Row House Cinema will show the 1974 Japanese martial arts movie The Streetfighter (激突!殺人拳) as part of its Four Degrees of Tarantino film series from June 10 through June 16.

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry at The Warhol, June 3 through August 28.



The 2012 documentary Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry will play at The Warhol Museum daily from June 3 through August 3. The movie's official site summarizes:
Ai Weiwei is China's most famous international artist, and its most outspoken domestic critic. Against a backdrop of strict censorship and an unresponsive legal system, Ai expresses himself and organizes people through art and social media. In response, Chinese authorities have shut down his blog, beat him up, bulldozed his newly built studio, and held him in secret detention.

AI WEIWEI: NEVER SORRY is the inside story of a dissident for the digital age who inspires global audiences and blurs the boundaries of art and politics. First-time director Alison Klayman gained unprecedented access to Ai while working as a journalist in China. Her detailed portrait provides a nuanced exploration of contemporary China and one of its most compelling public figures.
The movie will play at 2:00 pm each day of the Andy Warhol | Ai Weiwei exhibition through August 28. The Warhol is located at 117 Sandusky St. on the Northside (map). It's open every day but Monday, and adult admission is $20.

"In Discussion: Ai Weiwei and Eric Shiner" in Oakland, June 2.

The Carnegie Music Hall will host "In Discussion: Ai Weiwei and Eric Shiner" with The Warhol director Eric Shiner on June 2.
The conversation explores themes in The Warhol’s upcoming exhibition Andy Warhol / Ai Weiwei, such as the influence of these two artists on modern and contemporary life, focusing on the parallels, intersections, and points of difference between their practices. This discussion is presented in conjunction with Andy Warhol / Ai Weiwei on view at The Warhol June 4–August 28, 2016, and with Ai Weiwei’s Circle of Animals / Zodiac Heads on view at Carnegie Museum of Art May 28–August 29, 2016.
The talk starts at 6:00 pm and costs $10. The Carnegie Music Hall is located at 4400 Forbes Ave. in Oakland (map).

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