"Instead of Disaster: Cinema After '311'" at Pitt, November 30.

The University of Pittsburgh's Film and Media Studies Program will host Akira Mizuta Lippit and his talk "Instead of Disaster: Cinema After '311'" on November 30.

Akira Mizuta Lippit is Vice Dean of Faculty in the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts, and the T.C. Wang Family Endowed Chair in Cinematic Arts in the Division of Cinema and Media Studies. He is also Professor of Comparative Literature and East Asian Languages and Cultures in the USC Dornsife College. His interests are in world cinemas, critical theory, Japanese film and culture, experimental film and video, and visual studies.

Lippit’s published work reflects these areas and includes four books, Ex-Cinema: From a Theory of Experimental Film and Video (2012); Atomic Light (Shadow Optics)(2005); Electric Animal: Toward a Rhetoric of Wildlife (2000); and his most recent book, Cinema without Reflection: Jacques Derrida's Echopoiesis and Narcissism Adrift (2016). At present, Lippit is completing a book on contemporary Japanese cinema, which explores the physical and metaphysical dimensions of the "world," and another on David Lynch’s baroque alphabetics.

The talk will start at 3:00 pm in 501 Cathedral of Learning (map) and is free and open to the public.

"Taste Makers: Chinese Restaurants and the Asian American identity," November 26 at City of Asylum.

via Saveur.

The City of Asylum will host a conversation on Chinese restaurants and the Asian American identity on November 26.

How is the growth of the Chinese community shaping Pittsburgh? Why has the Asian community grown so quickly among Pittsburgh’s universities, and what opportunities come with this growth? And how do the Trump Administration’s changes in immigration policies affect local businesses such as restaurants?

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter Melissa McCart follows up her Pulitzer Center research with a panel exploring how those originally from Taiwan and China are contributing to the changing dynamic of Pittsburgh.

On Nov. 26 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at City of Asylum, please join restaurateur Mike Chen of Everyday Noodles in Squirrel Hill; community crusader Marian Lien, executive director of the Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition and commissioner on the Governor’s Advisory Commission on Asian and Pacific American Affairs in Pennsylvania; and Chris Briem, a University of Pittsburgh regional economist and analyst of population trends for a discussion.

There will be beer, wine and Chinese snacks.

The event is free and open to the public but RSVP is required. The City of Asylum's Alphabet City is located at 40 N. West Ave. on the North Side (map).

"Storytime: Japanese and English" at Carnegie Library in East Liberty, November 20.

The next installment of the monthly program "Storytime: Japanese and English" will take place on September 18 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 and their parents or caregivers. For children age birth – 5 and their caregivers.

It runs from 11:00 to 11:30 am. The library is located at 130 S. Whitfield St. (map).

Thai Hana in Oakland closes, to rebrand as Hanami.

Thai Hana, which opened in Oakland in 2013 and has been one of the Allegheny County restaurants most cited for health violations, has recently closed and will rebrand as Hanami. It will be located at 3608 Fifth Ave. (map). The handwritten sign says the new place will offer sushi, pho, and Asian cuisine.

Thai Hana had 352 inspection violations, the seventh-most in Allegheny County since 2012 in spite of only opening in mid-2013.

Taiwanese catcher Jin-de Jhang (張進德) leaves Pirates organization.

via LineToday.

Taiwanese catcher Jin-de Jhang (張進德) has left the Pittsburgh Pirates organization via free agency, choosing to sign with the San Francisco Giants. Jhang signed with Pittsburgh in 2011 and made it as far as AAA Indianapolis, but was stuck behind several other players on the organization's depth chart. In 2013 the Post-Gazette wrote he was part of a "scouting revolution" for the Pirates.

1934 Chinese silent film The Goddess (神女) at Pitt, November 15.

The University of Pittsburgh's Film and Media Studies Program will present the 1934 Chinese silent film The Goddess (神女) on November 15.

The November Pittsburgh Film and Media Colloquium will feature a screening of the Chinese silent film The Goddess (directed by Wu Yonggang, 1934). Released by the Lianhua Film Company (United Photoplay), the film stars Ruan Lingyu in one of her final roles. This will be a special presentation featuring pipa artist and composer Min Xiao-Fen and guitarist Rez Abbasi, two New York-based artists who have created a score to accompany the screening of the film. The film will be introduced by Kun Qian, Associate Professor of Chinese Literature and Film.

The movie starts at 6:00 pm in the Frick Fine Arts Auditorium (map).

CantoMando at Pitt, November 10.

The University of Pittsburgh's Chinese American Student Association will host CandoMando on Novmeber 10.

Pitt CASA is proud to bring CantoMando to the University of Pittsburgh! CantoMando is a group of Chinese Americans who make comedic and relatable videos regarding the Chinese American experience. They have over amassed over 50 thousand subscribers on YouTube, and they're coming to speak at Pitt soon!

It runs from 7:00 to 9:00 pm in the William Pitt Union Lower Lounge (map).

1986 Hayao Miyazaki film Castle in the Sky (天空の城ラピュタ) in Pittsburgh, November 18 - 20.

The 1986 Hayao Miyazaki film Castle in the Sky (天空の城ラピュタ) will play in Pittsburgh on November 18, 19, and 20 as the final installment of this year's GKIDS Studio Ghibli Fest.

This high-flying adventure begins when Pazu, an engineer’s apprentice, spies a young girl, Sheeta, floating down from the sky, held aloft by a glowing pendant. Both Sheeta and Pazu are searching for the legendary floating castle, Laputa, and they vow to travel there together to unravel the mystery of the luminous crystal. But their quest won’t be easy, as soon they are being pursued by greedy air pirates, the military, and secret government agents, who all seek the power Sheeta alone can control.

The movie will play at the Southside Works Cinemas and at Pittsburgh-area Cinemark theaters in Monroeville, Monaca, North Hills, Pittsburgh Mills, and Robinson. The November 18 and 20 shows will be dubbed in English while the November 19 screenings will be in Japanese with English subtitles. Tickets are available online.

University of Pittsburgh hiring Asian Studies Librarian.

The University of Pittsburgh's University Library System is hiring an Asian Studies Librarian.

Reporting to the Head of the East Asia Division, the Asian Studies Librarian’s responsibilities and duties include but are not limited to:

• Assist the Head of the East Asia Division to set goals and priorities for the East Asian collection, and develops, coordinates and implements plan in furtherance of these goals.
• Assist the Head of the East Asia Division in discovering and acquiring unique Chinese and South Asia materials.
• Cultivate collaborative relationships and promotes the East Asian collection’s presence on campus & externally.
• Serve as a liaison for South Asia studies across campus, and work with ULS Technical Services Department to update the approval plan profile on Western language humanities and social science materials related to South Asia.
• Work with ULS departments on East and South Asian studies related digital scholarship. Initiate, participate and carry out special projects, and develop and maintain user tools such as finding aids and research guides to aid and enhance access.
• Provide in-person and virtual reference assistance to faculty, students, staff, alumni, and the general public to access and use all available Chinese and South Asia collection materials and information resources.
• Provide research consultation and instruction services for the Pitt faculty and students related to Chinese studies and South Asia, and create and maintain Chinese studies and South Asia studies LibGuides.

For more information, please refer to the job posting.

"Shakespeare in Tokyo" at Pittsburgh Shorts Festival 2018, November 16.

The Australian short film "Shakespeare in Tokyo" will play at the Pittsburgh Shorts Festival 2018 on November 16.

An Australian Shakespeare fan with Down Syndrome, sets off on a solo adventure to discover Tokyo in order to get away from his over-bearing older brother.

It plays as part of a 97-minute block on Friday, November 16 at the Kelly Strayhorn Theater in East Liberty (map) Tickets for the block are $12 general admission or $8 for students.