Thursday, September 19, 2013

Photos of Conflict Kitchen's trip to Anyang.

Earlier this month Conflict Kitchen shared photos of their August trip to Anyang, South Korea, made in preparation for their North Korean menu this fall.


Naengmyeon (냉면), a specialty of Pyeongyang and of numerous South Korean cities, too.

Conflict Kitchen is "a take-out restaurant that only serves cuisine from countries with which the United States is in conflict" located in Schenley Plaza in Oakland.

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Follow along at home with "History of East Asia" and "History of Early China" classes.

Indiana University of Pennsylvania's Alan Baumler has a couple of syllabi online for two of his courses: "History of East Asia" and "History of Early China". As I pointed out last winter, unlike other "free" "classes" that are merely reading lists without the readings, Dr. Baumler's courses often provide the chapters and journal articles online for students. In previous terms he offered "Introduction to Asian Studies" and "Modern Japan" courses, though they are currently unavailable online.

Dr. Baumler is also a contributor to the Frog in a Well China blog, the most active and best-written of the Frog in a Well series.

Saturday, September 14, 2013


Via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes about an Asian-inspired garden in Reserve Township that won in the small garden category of the paper's Great Gardens Contest.
"Small spaces can be made to be very dramatic and beautiful and affordable to pull off," [homeowner Ed McHugh] said. "Many people do not have the luxury of having large, expansive spaces."

Saturday, September 7, 2013

Hong Kong movie Drug War at Harris Theater, from September 20.

Hong Kong Drug War

The Harris Theater (map) will show the 2012 Hong Kong movie Drug War (毒戰) from September 20. The Onion's AV Club wrote in a July review:
Drug War belongs to a subgenre that’s particular to [director Johnnie] To: crime movies that blend real-world details with oddball characters and narrative left turns, resulting in something that feels both realistic and heightened. Set in the mainland city of Jinhai, Drug War follows a group of narcotics agents who score a big break when they arrest Louis Koo, a Cantonese meth supplier. Faced with the possibility of the death penalty under China’s strict drug laws, Koo becomes an informant for the police, offering them an even bigger break in exchange for clemency: the chance to nab his boss.
The Pittsburgh Filmmakers website has information on showtimes, with the first screening at 8:00 on Friday and three additional showings through the weekend.

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Korean totem in Indiana, PA.

Sinobi---a Korean restaurant with Korean owners and a Japanese name---has this totem outside their location in the Indiana Mall foodcourt. The inscription, 제36회교정작품전시회, refers to an art and cultural artifact exhibition held in the Korean city of Suwon in 2007. This sort of totem (장승) is a common piece of art throughout Korea, historically found at a village's entrance but today frequently seen at festivals and folk museums.

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Pitt student 2nd-best Yu-Gi-Oh player in the world.

Pitt student David Keener placed 2nd in the World Yu-Gi-Oh Game Championships in August. The final match is available on YouTube:



Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Chinese grandparent bobbleheads and maneki neko in Greenfield.

Asian knick-knacks at Beautiful World Variety Store in Greenfield, in Squirrel Hill Plaza at the corner of Murray and Hazelwood Aves (map). It's worth a visit if you're in the area, and has a mix of household stuff and Asian accessories, like those pictured, though it's the kind of place where you'll find neat, random stuff but probably won't fare well with a shopping list.

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Monday, September 2, 2013

Documentary Somewhere Between at Pitt, September 16.

Somewhere Between Pittsburgh 2013

The documentary Somewhere Between, about Chinese adoptees in the United States, is finally coming to Pittsburgh with a September 16th screening at the University of Pittsburgh. Roger Ebert gave an overview of themes in a January 2013 review:
Four girls: each abandoned, each eventually adopted by an American family. Now they are teenagers in American suburbs, a world of minivans and school activities. Each is clearly confident enough to navigate her local terrain. Each is introspective about her roots, curious about her origins, though perhaps not so confident about meeting her birth family, should that possibility arise.

The movie explores the psychology of being immigrant in American society. The young women have that consciousness that minority status in America forces. Immigrants are simultaneously insiders and outsiders, always conscious of our identities. The sense of exile from all lands, living somewhere between this and that, is the norm. Many immigrants respond by trying to surrender everything that would be deemed “exotic,” whether it means overcompensation with language, makeup, or even surgery. These girls, however, seem exceptionally comfortable in their own skins. I suspect much of that has to do with the fact that their experience is an exponentially exaggerated version of the common immigrant experience. But, I suspect that just as much results from their adoptive parents' concerns in raising them. One mother learned Chinese, while all the parents seem to take their adoptive daughters back to China, almost annually.
Somewhere Between will be shown at 7:30 pm, September 16, in 1500 Posvar Hall (map) on the University of Pittsburgh campus. It's free, and include discussion from three speakers. See the flyer above for more on the screening, and the movie's official website for more on the documentary.
For a limited time, get 25% of Jeff Guerrero Ceramics offerings with the promo code 25OFF.



Stoneware mug.

Saturday, August 31, 2013

New list of songs for Oakland's K-Box.

K-Box, Pittsburgh's only Asian-style KTV / karaoke / カラオケ / 노래방 / singing room, released its updated song database, which now includes: 70,000 Chinese songs; 26,000 Japanese songs; 13,000 English songs; and 8,000 Korean songs. K-Box is located at 214 S. Craig Street (map) in Oakland, and hours and rates are listed online.

One big complaint when it opened was the limited selection of non-Chinese songs, but it added 8,000 Korean songs in May and in July asked its customers to suggest the Japanese songs that would be included in its library.

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