One Japanese, one Thai film at 2012 Three Rivers Film Festival in November.

The lineup for Pittsburgh's 2012 Three Rivers Film Festival, released today, features two movies from Asia: Japan's The Makioka Sisters and Thailand's Mekong Hotel. At first glance I thought those pickings pretty slim, but last year's festival had just two Asian films, too.

The Makioka Sisters (細雪 Sasame Yuki) is a series of movies based on a well-known book, and the one playing here is the third and final installment. From the film festival website:

Presented in a new, restored 35mm print, this rich, lyrical film centers on the lives of four sisters who have taken on their family’s kimono manufacturing business. Shot in rich, vivid colors, and set in the years leading up to the Pacific War, it's a graceful study of a family at a turning point in history – a poignant evocation of changing times and fading customs. The two oldest sisters are married and according to tradition, the rebellious youngest sister cannot wed until the third, who's terribly shy, finds a husband. Don't miss this gorgeous film on the big screen.

The English-subtitled trailer from the 1983 film:



It will play at the Regent Square Theater on Sunday, November 4th at 7:30 pm, with tickets available both online and at the door.

On November 8th and 10th is a 59-minute film out of Thailand, Mekong Hotel:

Recently featured in Toronto Film Festival's “wavelength” sidebar of experimental art films, it is the gifted director's follow-up to Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives. This unique film explores the theme of reincarnation as it shifts between fact and fiction in a calming rhythm of ebb and flow. In a hotel situated along the Mekong River, on the border of Thailand and Laos, a filmmaker rehearses a movie expressing the bonds between a vampire-like mother and daughter.

Both screenings are at the Harris Theater, downtown, with tickets available both online and in person.

The Three Rivers Film Festival runs from November 2 through November 17, with the 62 domestic and international movies showing at three theaters: the Harris Theater downtown (map), the Melwood Screening Room in Oakland (map), and the Regent Square Theater in that East End neighborhood (map).

"The Melodrama of Mobility, Continued: South Korea's Fragile Cosmopolitan" talk by Dr. Nancy Abelmann, October 26.

Dr. Nancy Abelmann will be giving a talk on Friday, October 26, at the University of Pittsburgh titled "The Melodrama of Mobility, Continued: South Korea's Fragile Cosmopolitans". The summary of her talk, from the Asian Studies Center:

In this talk I think about the changing aesthetics of desire and social mobility. I consider the porous boundary between the radically normative and potentially transgressive in South Korea today. I tune into the adult lives of the now adult children of women featured in my earlier work on South Korea’s developmentalist mothers; as well as memoirs written by early study abroad mothers. I also take up several cultural texts, including blockbuster novel, Please Take Care of My Mother; and the 2004 film, My Mother the Mermaid.

That's rather vague, though you can read some of her previous work on her webpage. I would be interested to read the source materials, the memoirs written by early study abroad mothers, as well as finding some treatment of how the fathers---left behind to work in Korea while their families go abroad, and often neglected in scholarship---cope with the demands this quest for social mobility places on them.

The title of the talk is in reference to her 2003 book The Melodrama of Mobility, and you can learn more about it at the library or through this 2004 review from Anthropology Quarterly (.pdf).

The talk will be held at Posvar Hall (map) from 4:00 to 5:30.

Information session at Pitt on teaching English in East Asia, October 24.

If you are in Pittsburgh and would like to learn more about teaching English in East Asia (Japan, Korea, China), the University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will hold an information session on October 24th from 4:30 to 7:00 pm. From the Asian Studies Center Facebook page:

The Asian Studies Center and the Consulate General of Japan in NYC will be hosting a “Teach in Asia” and “Japan Exchange and Teaching Program” information session on Wednesday, October 24th, from 4:30-7:00 PM in 4130 Wesley W. Posvar Hall. Anyone interested in applying to teach English in China, South Korea, or Japan, or work in local government in Japan is welcome to attend – the session is free and requires no registration.

Teach in Asia Information Session – China, South Korea, and Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program
Wednesday, October 24th from 4:30 pm - 7:00 pm
4130 Wesley W. Posvar Hall, University of Pittsburgh


4:30 – 5:15: Teach in China and South Korea information session
5:15 – 6:00: JET (Japan Exchange and Teaching) Program information session
6:00-7:00: JET Program alumni panel Q&A

Students and local residents who are interested in teaching English in Asia are welcome to attend this information session! The session begins with information on teaching in China and South Korea through various opportunities, including the TaLK and EPiK programs, and continues with the official JET Program information kit and alumni panel. Stop by for a short time or stay for the entire session – we will answer your questions and help you decide which option is right for you and how to get started!

The JET program attracts a lot of Pitt students and can be quite competitive---and perplexing for those who don't get in---but it's only one of many avenues for teaching in Japan. There are dozens of job boards for teaching in Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan, and elsewhere in Asia, and there are open positions in just about every capacity: kindergardens, pubilc schools, private schools, cram schools, adult conversation schools, colleges, companies, and summer camps, to name eight. Those looking outside of Tokyo or Seoul will face less competition and less race- and age-based discrimination.

There are likewise several resources for learning about teaching in Asia, though this panel looks particularly useful. There are thousands of blogs (use Google for a few and peruse the sidebars for the rest) and several big messageboards (Waygook.org for Korea, Gaijinpot for Japan, Forumosa for Taiwan) to give perspective on daily life, adjustment issues, visa questions, classroom management, and, yes, a lot of gripes. Blogs and messageboards tend to be generally negative, largely because their authors are young, abroad for the first time, encountering prejudice and discrimination (implied and institutionalised both) for the first time, and coming to grips with how others see them and their respective countries. The outpouring of negativity might be a Western thing, too, stemming from the idea we've cultivated that everyone is special and everyone is entitled to an opinion, and opinions are meant to be voiced, whether they're mature thoughts or not.

But there are certainly challenges in and around the classroom, too. People who go abroad to teach and gain experience, or those who already have advanced training, may grow cynical to find they are more in the edutainer / pronunciation machine / English monkey business. Likewise, coming to terms with what "native speaker" means in these countries is a challenge, too, for schools and coworkers often have certain expectations of how a native English speaker should act, how he or she should look, and how he or she should relate to their new country. Nonetheless it behooves new and prospective teachers to remain open, curious, and mindful of the reasons why they got interested in teaching and in Asia in the first place.

Nakama voted Best Japanese in Pittsburgh by City-Paper readers again.

The Pittsburgh City-Paper this week released its "Best of Pittsburgh 2012" readers' poll results, with Nakama Japanese Steakhouse being voted the Best Japanese restaurant in the city. Same as 2008, 2009, and 2011.

Table-side cooking from animated — and at times knife-wielding — chefs is the draw, but so are the extensive sushi and cocktail menus.

Tamari was voted best sushi, Nicky's Thai Kitchen the best Thai place, and Sesame Inn best Chinese, to round out the Asian selections. Nakama benefits from being in a neighborhood that's a destination for food and drink, and that people are going out not just for the food is evidenced by "cocktails" getting mentioned in the write-ups for top Japanese and Chinese restaurants. Among Japanese, though, the most popular Japanese places are Chaya in Squirrel Hill and Teppanyaki Kyoto in Highland Park (here's a write-up from June), and are definitely worth visits if you can find parking.

More 7-Elevens coming to PA.

Raise your hand if you knew 7-Eleven is a Japanese company. Japan Today writes:

7-Eleven Inc announced Monday two acquisitions, expanding its U.S. store portfolio. The company has closed deals with EZ Energy USA, Inc to purchase 67 retail locations in the Cleveland, Ohio, and Pittsburgh, Pa, markets and with its licensee, Handee Marts Inc, to acquire 58 7-Eleven convenience stores in those same markets as well as locations in northern West Virginia and western Maryland.

. . .

The EZ Energy purchase includes Easy Trip and BP convenience stores and the wholesale fuel-supply business that supports 20 of EZ Energy’s dealer-operators. EZ Energy locations offer mostly BP- and Marathon-branded gasoline.

Handee Marts has 38 stores offering gasoline under a variety of brands, including Exxon, Gulf, BP, Valero and Sunoco.

That report plagiarizes the 7-Eleven press release almost completely; the latter continues:

7-Eleven Inc. will add its proprietary retail information system and technology for enhanced product-ordering capabilities. The retailer's 7-Select private brand and other well-known proprietary products like 7-Eleven coffee, Slurpee(r) and Big Gulp(r) drinks, grill products plus standard convenience-store items will be offered. The company will soon offer money orders and accept food stamps.

The additional service and menu items are necessary to complete with Sheetz and Get-Go, the two local convenience stores that come close to approximating what you'll find at Japanese combini.

Peace Banners: Japan + Pittsburgh at Children's Museum, October 20 - 21.

From the Remembering Hiroshima, Imagining Peace Facebook page comes news of an event next weekend at the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh (map):

Create a giant collaborative banner about peace, just like children have done all over Asia with visiting artist and teacher Dr. Ronni Alexander from Hiroshima, Japan. Learn about Dr. Alexander's inspiring art therapy work with Japanese children after the 2011 tsunami in Japan and see an exhibition of peace banners those children have made. Do it yourself as we create a peace banner from Pittsburgh, representing peace, hope and international friendship!

Click here to learn more about Dr. Alexander's international peace work with children and her beloved character, Popoki the Cat. Since 2008, the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh has worked with Dr. Alexander and the local group Remembering Hiroshima, Imagining Peace to increase understanding between people in Pittsburgh and Japan and to encourage a shared vision of a peaceful future through age-appropriate programs for families.

The banner-making will take place from 1:30 to 2:00 pm on the 20th and 21st. The museum hosted "Experience the Arts of the Silk Road" this afternoon, though I didn't hear about it until a few minutes ago. So, um, I hope you had a good time.

On a somewhat-related topic, remember Squirrel Hill's Taylor Allderdice High School will host 24 students from Hitachi Dai Ni High School on November 7 through 10 as part of the Kizuna Project, "to share the real stories of their lives . . . at a presentation about their experiences and recovery efforts in the area" heavily damaged by the March 11, 2011 tsunami and earthquake.

Rose Tea Cafe coming to Oakland.

Signage has gone up on 414 S. Craig St. (map) in one of the last remaining empty storefronts there for what will be a new Rose Tea Cafe. Rose Tea Cafe currently has a location in Squirrel Hill on Forbes Ave., and is a good, authentic Taiwanese restaurant that will be a welcome addition to that side of Oakland. I first read about the new restaurant in July, and heard about it on the bus some time before that, so it's been a while in the making, or building.

Remington and the Curse of the Zombadings at Silk Scream Asian Horror Film Fest, October 25 and 26.

This year's installment of the Silk Scream Asian Horror Film Fest will show Remington and the Curse of the Zombadings, a 2011 film out of the Philippines. The Silk Scream website calls it "An amalgam of high camp, satire, and horror", and the website for the Seattle International Film Festival---where it played this spring---summarizes:

Remington has found his first love in his new neighbor, Hannah. She’s not equally entranced—at least not until he starts to compliment her mother, tell better jokes, and wear clothing that’s way more hip. Is it his attempts to impress her, or something more sinister that’s beyond his control? For when Remington was a child, he insulted a drag queen in a graveyard. In response, a powerful spell was cast: that Remington would someday turn into a homosexual! Meanwhile, the town's most fabulous gays are turning up dead, covered in mysterious green goo. If Remington doesn't escape the effects of the curse, he may be the killer's next target. And of course, there are the Zombadings, the most fabulous zombies you've ever seen! This unlikely satire pokes fun at homophobia, camp and the zombie horror genre while telling a touching story friendship and family.

Bit of an odd movie for a horror film fest, considering the more frightening selections from South Korea (Night Fishing and Tale of Two Sisters) and China (The Matrimony) shown the past two years. But with zombies all the rage four years agonow, I guess they felt campiness a safe choice.

The movies start at 7:00 pm both days and play at Point Park University's GRW Auditorium on 414 Wood St. downtown (map). Tickets are $10 for general admission, $5 for students.

Camp Konnichiwa at Oakland's Carnegie Library this fall.

For the kids:



Camp Konnichiwa at the Carnegie Library Oakland branch this fall, for five Saturday mornings (October 13, 20, 27, and November 3 and 10) from 10:30 to 11:00 am.

This program offers fun content that helps children to learn Japanese. Konnichiwa is a popular greeting in Japanese. Please join this five week camp!

Registration can be done by phone or by the form on the library's website.

Pitt Night Market (匹大夜市), October 20 postponed.

Update [10/8, 22:09] The Night Market has been postponed until the Spring 2013 term.

The Chinese American Student Association at Pitt brings news of this fall's annual Pitt Night Market on Saturday, October 20th from 3 to 10 pm in room 548 of the William Pitt Union.

Time to bring back the infamous NIGHT MARKET!

Culturally dominant in Chinese cities, night markets are a pivotal aspect of urban life in Taiwan and China. Tonight we will be bringing you a glimpse of just what its like to be at a night market. There will be free games and prizes, as well as traditional night market foods and drinks (i.e. scallion pancake, bubble milk tea, etc). Better not miss it!

10月20日2012年 (六)
匹大夜市
地點: WPU 548
時間: 15:00 – 22:00

夜市是在中國大陸與台灣的都市生活不得不有的一個不分。今晚我們要讓大家感受到一點點夜市的氣氛。會有免費的遊戲與獎品更會有經點小吃飲料（蔥油餅，珍珠奶茶，等等）。千萬不能錯過的活動喔！

No word yet on the availability of stinky tofu, but this will definitely be awesome. Though Pittsburgh hypes the Strip District as something of a market---and it's a fine destination in its own right---the city doesn't have anything that matches the activity, the variety, and the mass of humanity of Asian cities a Taiwanese or Chinese night market.


Taiwan night market, by luces. Hard to find photographs under a Creative Commons license, but you can browse more in this Flickr group.

Japanese short Tsuyako part of Pittsburgh LGBT Film Festival, October 15.

The 23-minute short Tsuyako will play as part of Real Q: Pittsburgh LGBT Film Festival, which runs from October 12 - 21. Tsuyako will be part of the Women's Shorts block on October 15, and starts at 7:30, and is the only Asian film included. A synopsis from the festival's site:

Inspired by a discovery concerning her late grandmother, writer/director Mitsuyo Miyazaki has crafted this magnificent little film about a woman choosing between love and duty in the years immediately following World War II. It is screened in Japanese with English subtitles.

"Tokyo-Ebisu" in Pittsburgh, October 5 and 6.

The Melwood Screening Room in Oakland (map) will be showing the Ann Arbor Film Festival tour for free on Friday, October 5, and Saturday, October 6. One Japanese short film is part of "Program B", which starts on Friday at 9:15 pm and Saturday at 7:30 pm. "Tokyo-Ebisu" is a 10-minute film by Tomonari Nishikawa that, in his words,

shows the views from the platforms of 10 stations in Yamanote Line, from Tokyo Station to Ebisu Station clockwise. The in-camera visual effects and the layered soundtrack may exaggerate the sense of the actual locations, while suggesting the equipments that were used for capturing the audio and visual.

Golden Dragon Acrobats at Pitt, November 11.

The Golden Dragon Acrobats will be performing at the University of Pittsburgh's Bellefield Auditorium (map) on November 11 at 7:30 pm. Tickets are free to those with a Pitt ID card, or $5 for general admission. From the Chinese American Student Association at Pitt:

After being on hiatus from PITT’s campus for almost half a century, the Golden Dragon Acrobats are back! The two hour long theatrical performance has stunned audiences from across the world. Having performed at the Nation’s Capital multiple times, the Golden Dragon Acrobats from China travel around the world, presenting their magnificent acts, such as “Thousand Hand Goddess” or “Contortion”. The event is sure to leave you amazed at this art form that has been apart of over 2000 years of Chinese cultural history. Surely a great event for all ages.

Vietnamese-language film Three Seasons at Butler's Maridon Museum, October 5.

As part of its Vietnamese Film Series, Butler's Maridon Museum (map) will show the 1999 Vietnamese-language film Three Seasons on Friday, October 5th, at 6:30 pm. Wikipedia says Three Seasons

is an American Vietnamese language film filmed in Vietnam about the past, present, and future of Ho Chi Minh City in the early days of Doi Moi. It is a poetic film that tries to paint a picture of the urban culture undergoing westernization. The movie takes place in Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon. As the characters try to come to terms with the invasion of capitalism, neon signs, grand 5-star hotels, and Coca-Cola signs, their paths begin to merge.

It looks like the most intesting of the three Maridon is showing this fall.

Upcoming Appalasia concerts, October 5 and 6.

Appalasia, a local band that "combines the influences of Appalachian and Asian music traditions with original composition and inspired improvisation to create their unique musical voice", will be playing several concerts next weekend. From their Facebook page:

Friday, October 5, noon - 1:00 p.m.
Calliope Emerging Legends Series
@ The Cup & Chaucer
Ground Floor, Hillman Library
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA 15260

Saturday, October 6, 11:05 a.m. - noon, 88.3 WRCT, The Saturday Light Brigate radio program

Saturday, October 6, 7:30 p.m., opening for The Travelers, Calliope Concert serires, Carnegie Lecture Hall (Oakland)

Hillman Library in Oakland (map) is accessible via a number of buses from downtown and the East End (Squirrel Hill, Shadyside, Greenfield), including: 61A, 61B, 61C, 61D, 64, and 67. Appalasia is also playing the Aspinwall "Fall in the Wall" Street Fair October 13th at 1:00 pm.

Japanese rock band Dazzle Vision to play Pittsburgh's Tekkoshocon.

Very advance notice, but Japanese rock band Dazzle Vision will play Pittsburgh's Tekkoshocon on April 6, 2013. Dazzle Vision is, according to a skimpy press release plagiarized from Wikipedia,

popular in the Japanese indies scene for their hard rock sound and Maiko’s alternating melodic/death-voice vocals[.]

Tekkoshocon is a Japanese anime and pop-culture festival in Pittsburgh each spring, popular among fans and people-watchers alike. Here's a taste of Dazzle Vision's latest album:

"Chuseok in the Park" with Korea Focus in Sewickley, September 30.

Korea Focus, a local group "in support of Korean-American adoptive families and individuals", is celebrating "Chuseok in the Park" on September 30 in Sewickley (map). From their Facebook page:

Please join us for the 2nd Annual
Chuseok in the Park!

Sunday, September 30, noon-dusk
War Memorial Park
Shelter One (Up on the Hill)
Blackburn Road
Sewickley PA 15143

Chuseok is one of the year’s most important traditional Korean holidays. It is celebrated on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month. Chuseok is often referred to as Korean Thanksgiving Day. It’s a celebration of the harvest and thanksgiving for the bounty of the earth.

In addition to enjoying the awesome playgrounds and wooden walking trails at War Memorial Park, we'll be celebrating with traditional Korean and American food and drinks, music, arts and crafts. Join us for the day or stop by for tea and songpyeon (a special type of sweet rice cakes). We'll be there, rain or shine. And if it is cold enough, we'll make good use of the fireplace!

Contact information available at the link.

Chinese American Students Association at Pitt presents Mid-Autumn Festival, September 29.

Saturday, September 29, the Chinese American Student Association at Pitt will hold a Mid-Autumn Festival at the O'Hara Student Center in Oakland. From the group's website:

September 29th, 2012 (Saturday)
CASA’s Annual Mid-Autumn Festival
Location: O’Hara Student Center
Time: 5:30pm – 9:30pm

Be sure to come to this month’s biggest event! CASA will be hosting our annual Mid-Autumn Festival, filled with FREE Chinese Food and festivities! Moon cakes, lanterns, calligraphy, etc. will be just some of the wonderful delights you will see at the festival. So come with an empty stomach and open mind, and indulge yourself into the celebration of the Mid-Autumn Festival!

9月29日2012年(六)
中秋節晚會
地點: O’Hara 學生中心
時間: 17:30 – 21:30

沒辦法回家想慶祝，就得來參加這個月最矚目的活動～CASA週年中秋節晚會！活動會從滿了免費晚餐，月餅，燈籠，書法，等等。記得要空著肚子來喔！

The group should also get credit for being one of the only around that has an updated, user-friendly website.

"Ramen Bar" coming to Squirrel Hill.

Construction is underway at "ウー Ramen Bar", a new ramen place in Pittsburgh's Squirrel Hill. The sign went up recently on 5860 Forbes Ave. (map), most recently a short-lived pasta place. It'll be interesting to see what this becomes: an authentic Japanese- or Chinese-style place, or a generic Asian soup kitchen. I'm hoping for the former. The katakana is pronounced uu.



Now Pittsburghers interested in decent Japanese-style ramen have to travel to Yama in Morgantown, WV. Given all the Asian students, and Asian-food lovers, in Pittsburgh's East End, the absence of certain staples is surprising. We got Asian-style karaoke/KTV/노래방 this week, so maybe real ramen isn't far behind.

[11/30/12 update: Now open]

"The Labor of Cute: Net Idols, Cute Culture, and the Social Factory in Contemporary Japan" lecture at University of Pittsburgh, October 17.

On October 17 from 4:30 to 6:30, Dr. Gabrielle Lukacs will lecture on "The Labor of Cute: Net Idols, Cute Culture, and the Social Factory in Contemporary Japan". The lecture will be in the English Nationality Room of the Cathedral of Learning, with a reception to follow.

Dr. Lukacs is an assistant professor in the Anthropology department, and this particular lecture has been going around for a year. In 2010 Dr. Lukacs presented on similar topics, "The Net Idols: Cute Culture, Social Factory, and Neoliberal Governmentality in New Millennial Japan" at Pitt:

In this presentation, I analyze a recent Japanese phenomenon, what is called the net idols—young women who produce their own websites featuring personal photos and diaries. Many net idols earn an income from maintaining these websites, thus I understand them as new labor subjectivities that have evolved in late 1990s Japan in response to the deregulation of labor markets and unprecedented developments in new information technologies. Mastering cute looks and embracing cute behavior are key to the popularity of net idols. While the culture of cute has drawn considerable scholarly attention in recent years, it has been dominantly understood as a form of resistance to work-oriented adult society, a retreat to childhood—a space within which young women find redemption indulging in infantile play and passive behavior. By contrast, I draw on the Italian autonomists’ theory of the social factory to analyze the net idols’ production of cute culture as symptomatic of the ways in which the meanings, forms, and conditions of work have changed as intangible commodities (such as cute) have become the new center of economic gravity in the wake of growing economic volatility. Equally important, by analyzing the net idol phenomenon I also aim to theorize an emerging form of rationality (the foundational logic of neoliberal governmentality) within which individuals accept and even celebrate the end of job security as a marker of a shift from the postwar order of “working to find pleasure” to the neoliberal imperative to “find pleasure in work.”

Japanese earthquake and tsunami survivors to visit Pittsburgh Allderdice High School this November.

The Japanese American Society of Pennsylvania writes about the Kizuna Project in Pittsburgh this fall:

Twenty four Japanese students from Hitachi Dai Ni High School in Japan will be visiting Pittsburgh’s Allderdice High school from Nov 7- 10 as part of the high school students volunteers exchange program called the Kizuna project. Hitachi city suffered from the Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami.
Allderdice students visited Hitachi Dai Ni School for two weeks, helped the city as volunteers and learned about the earthquake affected area and their people this summer. In exchange Japanese students will visit Allderdice to share the real stories of their lives with at a presentation about their experiences and recovery efforts in the area. The presentation is open to the public and begins at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, November 8, 2012. Pittsburgh Taiko will be participating in the presentation.

A neat old picture of Korean missionaries and the Salvation Army in Pittsburgh, 1926, from the Pittsburgh City Photographer Collection:

Korean Missionary Party, of the Salvation Army, visiting Charles H. Kline, Mayor of Pittsburgh.

Chinese-language lecture at Pitt, 9/16, on how overseas students and scholars contribute(d) to social change in Taiwan.

From the Chinese Students & Scholars Association at the University of Pittsburgh is this announcement for a Chinese-language lecture at the Hillman Library on September 16: "Taiwan Case - How Overseas Students and Scholars Contributed to the Social Transition There-of", part of the lecture series "The World we are Facing, its Backdrop and Prospects".

Asian-style karaoke / KTV finally coming to Pittsburgh September 16.

From KTV@Pittsburgh Facebook page.

Way back in February we read about Asian-style KTV (karaoke) coming to Oakland, but were frustrated about no updates, and no updates in English, since. Now, it looks like KBOX will finally open on September 16th, on 214 S. Craig St (map). Given the large number of Asian, and Asiaphile, students at Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh, the absence of a proper Asian-style karaoke place was puzzling. The KTV@Pittsburgh Facebook page has some updates and pictures of their soft opens. It should do very well.

The difference between this and carry okee night at the roadhouse down by the interstate is that at an Asian place, in Asia, you rent a small room with your friends and sing privately, as opposed to singing to the whole dining room---like at most bars and Pittsburgh's Green Pepper, unfortunately---whether they want to listen to you or not.

Japanese band Mono at Mr. Small's, September 11.

Japanese ambient band Mono will be at Mr. Small's Fun House in Millvale (map) on September 11 at 8 pm. Mr. Smalls says of Mono: "Within the rage of distortion and bombardment of feedback, you are just as likely to experience sadness and beauty." And Wikipedia summarizes:

The band's style of music is influenced by the genres of experimental rock and shoegazing, as well as by both the classical and contemporary classical periods of classical music, and also by noise and minimalism. Mono's sound is characterised by the lead and rhythm guitars of Goto and Yoda respectively, both of whom make extensive use of reverb, distortion and delay effects. The band's live performances are noted for their intensity, both in the playing and in the dynamics.

Here's something from their latest studio album:

Vietnamese film series at Butler's Maridon Museum starts September 7.

The Maridon Museum, an Asian art museum in Butler county (map) and one of those neat "oh we have one of those here?" surprises, will run a Vietnamese film series this fall consisting of three award-winning Vietnamese-language movies. The first is 1993's The Scent of Green Papaya on September 7 at 6:30. On October 5 is 1999's Three Seasons, and on October 26 is 2007's Owl and the Sparrow. More details available from the Maridon Museum website (.pdf).

Free Chinese, Japanese, Korean classes in Pittsburgh's Carnegie Libraries.

Several universities in Pittsburgh offer language classes, and if you have the time and initiative you can enroll in them as a non-degree-seeking student. For more informal introductions and practice in languages, though, the Carnegie Library has free classes throughout the month. In addition to Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, Oakland's branch has French, German, Spanish, and English as a Second Language meetings. Check the library's events page for details, changes, cancellations, or new additions.

Chinese

* The Chinese Conversation Club meets two Thursday evenings a month in the Oakland branch's Large Print Room. The next meeting is September 6, 6:00 - 7:00 pm.

Japanese

* Japanese For Beginners meets two Mondays a month in the Oakland branch's Classroom A. The next meeting is September 10, 6:30 - 7:30 pm.
* Japanese II meets two Tuesdays a month in the Oakland branch's Classroom A, and "is geared toward those who already have a basic understanding of Japanese and are interested in increasing proficiency. Ability to read and write hiragana is required to take this class." The next meeting is September 11, 6:30 - 7:30 pm.
* The Japanese Conversation Club meets two Tuesdays a month in the Oakland branch's Large Print Room. This is geared for high-intermediate to advanced learners. The next meeting is September 4, 6:00 - 7:00 pm.

Korean

* Korean for Beginners meets each Saturday afternoon in the Oakland branch's Large Print Room. The focus is on learning to read and write the Korean script, and mastering some basic vocabulary and phrases. The next meeting is September 8, 1:00 - 2:30 pm.
* Korean II meets each Saturday in the Oakland branch's Large Print Room. The next meeting is September 8 from 11:00 - 12:30 pm.
* Korean Study Group for Intermediates meets on Saturdays at the Squirrel Hill branch. The next meeting is September 8 from 11:00 - 12:30 pm.

There are a few other programs in the area. A recent addition to the "Learn" page is Aspinwall's Cooper-Siegel Community Library, which offers a beginners' Japanese class each Wednesday, in addition to Arabic, French, and Spanish classes throughout the week.

Korean movie The Way Home in Oakland, September 2.

The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh in Oakland will be showing the 2002 Korean movie The Way Home (집으로) on September 2nd. It's from 2:00 to 4:00 pm in Classroom A, and it's free.

The best part of the Wikipedia page?

Many critics praised the style of the movie as well as the acting of the inexperienced Kim Eul-boon who at 78, had not only never acted before, but never even seen a film.

Hisanori Takahashi debuts with Pittsburgh.

Via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Pitcher Hisanori Takahashi debuted with the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday, getting three outs on six pitches. An excerpt from his blog post yesterday:

チームに合流しましたニコニコ

早速、投げましたよグッド！

1イニングを投げて無失点に抑えました。

Takahashi was claimed off waivers from the Los Angeles Angels on Friday. Here's another picture of Takahashi in his new uniform, via his blog:



His blog is worth a read. He updates frequently and makes extensive use of emoticons. If he continues to pitch well I'd like to see Pittsburgh keep him for next year, but that isn't usually the case with their veteran pitchers or late-season additions.

Pirates claim Japanese pitcher Hisanori Takahashi.

The Pittsburgh Pirates claimed left-handed pitcher Hisanori Takahashi off waivers from the Los Angeles Angels. Takahashi is 37-years-old, played his Japanese ball with the Yomiuri Giants, and has been in the Major Leagues since 2010.

The Pirates have had practically no success with Japanese players in the past, and only two have played---Masumi Kuwata and Aki Iwamura---for their big-league roster. Though the Pirates briefly had a Japanese relif pitcher in their system last winter, Takahashi will be the first Japanese player on the team since 2010.

Kuwata was the most intriguing, and spent part of 2007 with the Pirates. He was signed as a 39-year-old and after a successful career in Japan, but followed a path typical of Pirates acquisitions over the past two decades. The timeline on his Baseball Reference wiki page:

"1987-1994: The Glory Years," "1995-1996: Injury," "1997-2002: Post-Injury," "2003-2006: Further decline," "To the USA."

Nonetheless he was treated with respect by the Pirates at his retirement during spring training in 2008:

Kuwata, a baseball superstar in his native Japan, formally announced his retirement after the Pirates' 7-4 victory against the Detroit Tigers this afternoon, a game in which manager John Russell asked him to pitch one final time as a show of respect. But he declined.

"He told us he's pitched thousands of innings, that we should use that time to look at pitchers for our future," Russell said. "He's a class act, a true professional and a great human being. We wish him the best of luck in everything he does."

The ritual at the mound was meant to symbolize a farewell to the game. And, although Kuwata's impact in Pittsburgh was negligible, some in the assembled Japanese media were saying that this farewell would top their nation's news for the day.

"He's a legend in our country," said reporter Yasuko Yanagita, who broke the story of Kuwata's retirement for the Hochi Shimbun sports daily. "Everyone will want to know about this, and everyone will be surprised."

Japanese-language play "Hot Pepper, Air Conditioner, and the Farewell Speech" in East Liberty, September 28-29.

Belgian premiere, via Utopia Parkway.

Interesting news about "Hot Pepper, Air Conditioner, and the Farewell Speech", a Japanese-language play coming to the Kelly-Strayhorn Theater on September 28 and 29. A summary, from the theater's website:

Hot Pepper captures the malaise of young low-level office workers in three quirky scenes set in an office break room. In the sharp and visually vibrant world of write-director Toshiki Okada, twenty-something co-workers wrestle with issues as mundane as selecting a restaurant for lunch or the temperature of the office. Okada mixes dark humor, absurdity, and a disctint musical backdrop by John Coltrane, Stereolab and John Cage to capture the empty and ungrounded nature of Generation Y. Characterized by a seemingly insubstantial narrative accompanied by exaggerated gestures-turned-choreography, the groundbreaking works of chelfitsch (Five Days in March and Enjoy) have drawn global recognition, making them a leading theater company in Japan and abroad. In Japanese with English supertitles.

Very good news, if a couple years late---the play opened in North America in 2009 in New York, Columbus, Minneapolis, Seattle, Vancouver, and St. Louis---because this type of thing would always skip right over Pittsburgh. The theater is at 5941 Penn Avenue (map), accessible (for now) by city bus 71B.

Japanese film Battle Royale in Dormont, August 17 - 21.

One of the most popular, and most controversial, Japanese films in recent memory will be playing at Dormont's Hollywood Theater (map) this month. Here's how imdb summarizes Battle Royale:

In the future, the Japanese government captures a class of ninth-grade students and forces them to kill each other under the revolutionary "Battle Royale" act.

And an excerpt of the Wikipedia summary of controversies:

The film was labeled "crude and tasteless" by members of Japanese parliament and other government officials after the film was screened for them before its general release. The film created a debate over government action on media violence. At one point, director Kinji Fukasaku allegedly gave a press statement directed at the age group of the film's characters, saying "you can sneak in, and I encourage you to do so." Many conservative politicians used the film to blame popular culture for a youth crime wave. Ilya Garger of TIME magazine said that Battle Royale received "free publicity" and received "box-office success usually reserved for cartoons and TV-drama spin-offs." The Japanese reaction to the film in the early 2000s has been compared to the British outrage over A Clockwork Orange in the early 1970s. Critics note the relation of Battle Royale to the increasingly extreme trend in Asian cinema and its similarity to reality television.

For eleven years, the film was never officially released in the United States or Canada, except for screenings at various film festivals. The film was screened to a test audience in the U.S. during the early 2000s, not long after the Columbine High School massacre, resulting in a negative reaction to the film's content.

The movie, released in 2000, didn't make it to Pittsburgh until this past April. It will run August 17th through 20th at 9:15 pm, and Tuesday the 21st at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $7.

Vietnamese food at the McKeesport International Village Festival? Chicken on a stick, egg roll, shrimp fried rice. Chinese food at the McKeesport International Village Festival? Chicken on a stick, egg roll, shrimp fried rice. (2012 menu)

Tribune-Review visits Highland Park's Teppanyaki Kyoto.

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review visited Highland Park's Teppanyaki Kyoto, one of the best-kept secrets around. The write-up is rather minimal, though the writer gets it right in the first line:

There’s more to Japanese food than sushi and steak, not that you’d know from the menus of most local Japanese restaurants.

Teppanyaki Kyoto is highly-favored among local Japanese, and by serving foods you're most likely to eat in Japan is one of the most authentic, though steak and sushi places like Ichiban Steakhouse and Nakama are routinely, inexplicably voted the best Japanese in the city. If you go with a small group, I'd recommend each person ordering something different so you can try the all the varieties of okonomiyaki. My personal favorite is the hiroshimayaki.

The Pittsburgh City-Paper had a more extensive review, which I noted in June:

[P]erhaps more surprising than Pittsburghers' taste for tuna tartare is that it has taken us so long to discover the rest of Japanese cuisine. Sure, we all know about sweet teriyaki sauce on beef and salmon steaks, most of us learned to boil ramen noodles in college, and some have probably tried Japan's other staple noodles, soba and udon. Then there are hibachi restaurants, which merge an authentic Japanese cooking style — the griddle — with an inauthentic theater of juggled cleavers and sizzling meat. But these do not give a full picture of Japanese cuisine any more than pasta and pizza sums up Italian. In all the derring-do surrounding eating raw fish, we have all but ignored the deserving hot, hearty fare of an island nation as rocky and rugged as Western Pennsylvania.

Into this void, steps Teppanyaki Kyoto. Kyoto, of course, is the ancient imperial capital, whose name evokes the traditional Japan of tatami mats, temples and cherry blossoms, while a teppan is a flat iron griddle, and yaki means grilled or fried. In a small, serene storefront on Highland Park's revitalizing Bryant Street, Kyoto offers something like a Japanese version of a diner. There is a counter for watching food cook at the open teppan, and a menu comprised of humble yet delicious foods drawn from the menus of the lunch counters, train stations and family kitchens of Japan.

The restaurant is located on 5808 Bryant St. (map), a short drive from the Pittsburgh Zoo. The area looks a lot better today than it does on Google Maps. Their Facebook page is pretty active, with menu updates, pictures, and news.

Japanese film I Wish in Dormont, August 10 - 14.

Japanese movie I Wish (奇跡), which played at the Melwood Screening Room in June, will run at Dormont's Hollywood Theater (map) from August 10th through 14th. The Pittsburgh Filmmakers site summarizes:

The adventure begins with 12-year-old Koichi, whose parents are divorced, and who desperately wants to reunite his family. We see his sullen gaze on the active volcano that touches everything in his new town where he lives with his mother. His younger brother lives with his father. When he learns that a new bullet train line will open, linking the two towns, he starts to believe that a miracle will take place the moment the trains first pass each other at top speed. Features wonderful, natural performances from the kids.

The movie is okay, not exactly "a gem of world cinema", but it's not every day that Pittsburgh gets an Asian movie in its theaters. Tickets are $7, and the showtime is 7:00 pm on Friday the 10th, 9:15 pm Saturday through Monday, and 8:00 pm on Tuesday the 14th.

Remembering Hiroshima's "miracle of terror" in Pittsburgh.

As I wrote on July 30, the group Remembering Hiroshima, Imagining Peace is marking the anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, with shadow-making at various spots around the city. These chalk outlines are to represent the casualties of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings and the effect a nuclear blast has on the people it instantly vaporizes. Unfortunately, the Saturday afternoon event at Southside Works was rained out, so I visited "The Unkillable Human" sculpture on the Northshore Heritage Trail.



Beween the permanent installation there, two outlines were made with bungee cords, with yellow roses placed in the center. The sculpture by Frederick Franck is located basically across the street from Warhola Recycling on Chesboro St. (map). A marker there reads:

At Hiroshima Franck was confronted with the shadow of a human being burned into a concrete wall by the atomic bomb.

The indestructible spirit rises from the ashes.

The Shadow Project's website has information about shadow-making events tomorrow, August 6. This year's events aren't well-received by everyone, as one local stooge noted on the Post-Gazette's August 1st write-up:

If they wouldn't have attacked the US they would have not been bombed! Let us NOT lose sight of that fact!

Here's how the Pittsburgh Press editorialized the bombing of Hiroshima on August 7, 1945:

We read the fantastic figures--power equal to 20,000 tons of TNT, 2000 times the destructive force of the British blockbuster--and our lay minds simply can't comprehend the atomic bomb.

Yet this miracle of terror has been wrought by the human mind. The brains of many scientists, working together, have loosened atomic energy, and the brains of industrial engineers have put it to work. Surely this marks a new epoch, comparable to the first use of metal, the discovery of the wheel principle, the invention of gunpowder, the use of electricity.

How lucky we are that our scientists and the British jointly won this race against the Germans. If the Nazis' long research had produced this bomb first, where would civilization be and where would we be today?

Now it can speed victory over Japan. By so doing, it will save countless numbers of American lives. If the mad militarists of Tokyo had any doubts of the outcome before, the great blast that descended from the skies upon their country last Sunday must have seemed to them the proof of doom.

Now they know what President Truman meant when he said the only alternative to unconditional surrender was prompt and complete destruction of Japan--annihilation literally.

And here's the cartoon that sat atop page 10, using the monkey-like depiction that characterized the Japanese during the war:



Right below that cartoon is a letter to the editor from A.W. Pfalzgraf of the American Legion, which in turn quotes from a letter from Pittsburgh's Cpl. William Wingerson, deploring the discrimination against Japanese-Americans and Japanese-American veterans occuring domestically. It reads, in part:

It is very disillusioning to read of such incidents as the enclosed articles portray (cases of civilian action against Japanese-Americans in this country)---disillusioning and disappointing.

Is this the 'democracy' for which we have been fighting?
. . .
The 100th Battalion did a damn good job, and its members deserve the same honor and respect that is every soldier's due. It must be very demoralizing to think of going home to face desecrated graves, evictions, abuse, threats, etc.

My suggested solution is that the [American] Legion back up and fight for our Japanese-Americans nationally.

More on contemporary local Japanese-American residents a little later this month, hopefully. For now, as I noted last week, in past years (2008, 2011) there have been other pacifist events to commemorate the bombings, although no details have been released just yet for 2012, maybe because local universities are still on summer break.

Linda Fang at 2012 Three Rivers Storytelling Festival, August 11.

Northland Public Library in McCandless township (map) will host the 2012 Three Rivers Storytelling Festival on August 10 and 11, which will include China's Linda Fang on Saturday. The McKnight Journal has a profile:

Kimbap, tteokbokki cooking class at Dasonii, August 26.

Dasonii Korean Bistro in Robinson township (map) will hold its monthly Korean cooking class on Sunday, August 26, at 12 pm.

It is only $15.00 per person. We are going to have Ddukbogi and Gimbap for lunch and you will take home Gimbap for your family or your dinnner. Please call us or write e-mail to me. We had 17 people were attanded on last Kimchi class. Class will be limited to 20 people.

Previous cooking classes include kimchi, naengmyeon, mandu, and bibimbap. As I said last month, the "cooking" is a bit of a misnomer, as it's more of an introduction to and preparation of certain Korean dishes because many of the ingredients are already cooked, mixed, and ready. Nonetheless it's a great start-up social club in a city that doesn't have too many, and the owners of Dasonii have been generous enough to open their restaurant on Sundays to accommodate it.

Also rare in Pittsburgh is a kimbap + tteokbokki combo for $15 or less, a set that would cost about $2.50 in Korea. Dasonii and Green Pepper each charge $10 for their tteokbokki, and kimbap goes for as much as $8 or $9 around town.

Documentary Nuclear Savage: The Islands of Secret Project 4.1, August 5, and 2012 Shadow Project remembering Hiroshima.

The Melwood Screening Room in Oakland (map) will show the 2011 documentary Nuclear Savage: The Islands of Secret Project 4.1M on Sunday, August 5, at 6:00 pm. A Huffington Post review summarizes:

Nuclear Savage is the story of what we did to the Marshall Islanders throughout the Cold War with our nuclear testing program. Not only did we expose many thousands of them to ghastly -- often lethal -- levels of radiation with 67 nuclear blasts, with glaring evidence that at least some of the exposure was intentional, done for the purpose of studying the effects of radiation on human guinea pigs; not only did we wreck the Marshall Islanders' way of life and pristine paradise, creating a nation of internal refugees confined to a Western-style slum on the island of Ebeye; not only did we cower, as a nation, from any real responsibility for what our fallout did to these people, settling our genocidal debt to them with $150 million "for all claims, past, present and future"; but also, throughout our dealing with them as nuclear conquistadors, we displayed a racism so profound, so cold-blooded, its exposure must forever shatter the myth of American exceptionalism.

The screening, says the website,

will be preceded by shadow-making and followed by live exchange via skype with peace activists from Kobe, Japan.

One of the co-sponsors of the evening is the local Remembering Hiroshima Pittsburgh group, which will organize shadow-making around the city leading up to the August 6th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Not shadow puppets, as I first read it, but chalk outlines to represent the casualties of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings and the effect a nuclear blast has on the people it instantly vaporizes.


Hamilton, ON, 2011, via The Hamilton Spectator.

In previous autumns (2009, 2011) Pittsburgh has held a lot of other pacifist events to mark the bombings, although no details are out yet about 2012 (summers are very slow at local universities). These programs are small but very encouraging, as the US does not currently have a significant peace movement, or an appetite for honest reflection about its fascination with war. More troubling is how unpopular and even dangerous it is to speak out against war, current militaristic attitudes, or banal militarism in "for the troops" marketing and public rhetoric that honor those who continue to shape the world with weapons.

McKeesport International Village Festival, August 14 - 16th.

The 53rd annual McKeesport International Village Festival will take place from August 14th through 16th, in the city slightly southeast of Pittsburgh. The festival's Facebook page has some information about what to expect:

Did you know that this year's festival is poised to be better than ever? It's true! Festival organizers are in the process of enhancing the annual three day ethnic celebration so that it will reflect more of its cultural roots. Games, slides and other carnival-type attractions are being downplayed this year. In addition, those in attendance will now have access to a brand new series of educational demonstrations that focus on heritage and traditions of the different nationalities. This is definitely one summer event that you and your family won't want to miss.

And the festival's website says:

Each year, you’ll find more than a dozen booths selling freshly-made ethnic foods from around the world, continuous live entertainment, live music for dancing, crafts, community information and games. New this year are short educational sessions about world cultures, presented by the same organizations whose food booths—each representing a different nationality or culture—have been a Pittsburgh-area tradition for more than a half-century.

International Village is entirely run by volunteers, including many of the ethnic churches, temples and social organizations in the McKeesport region. It annually draws more than 20,000 people to McKeesport’s historic Renziehausen Park, home to many other attractions, including an extensive walking/fitness trail, a heritage museum and Pennsylvania’s second-largest rose garden.

Admission is $2, not including food, and the festival will be held at Renzie Park (map). Several Pittsburgh buses go to McKeesport (60, 61C, P76, for example), but it's still a hike from the bus stops to the park.

Strangely, the festival's poster shows a North Korean flag.



Though Korean isn't listed among the participating cultures on the festival's website, presumably all of the Koreans visiting will be from South Korea. It would be interesting to show a little about the culture of North Korea, but the poster would be more representative of the region's Koreans if it depicted the southern flag. While Korean visitors next month probably won't pitch a fit like that seen a few days ago at the Olympics over the wrong Korean flag, it's a careless mistake that will, at least, make people scratch their heads. I'm no graphic designer, but here's a quick fix that's on the right track:

3D-origami class at Carnegie Library Oakland, August 7.

The Carnegie Library of Oakland will host a 3D origami class on August 7th, as a Hands-on Workshop.

Join us for HOW, a series of hands-on workshops for adults and teens. Learn from skilled craftspeople. Dig in and try things out in a creative, supportive environment. Join us for one or all of these free programs. Materials provided.

Sasha’s unique 3D origami arts are far more ornate than traditional origami pieces and make great looking decorations.

Registration is required, and you can do so on the event's listing at the library website. That library has origami classes periodically, and will have more on Saturday, August 18th: a beginners' class at noon, an advanced class at 1:30, and a kids' class at 4:30. Browse the CLP events page for details on these and other upcoming activities.

Kimchi class at Dasonii Korean Bistro, July 29th.

The meetup.com Korean Language Study Group will meet on Sunday at Dasonii Korean Bistro in Robinson Township (map) for another Korean cooking class, this time making kimchi.

Kimchi is one of most famous Korean traditional food and we'll learn how to prepare and make kimchi during the class this day.
. . .
The cost of this class is $20 and it includes the class, 1/2 gallon Kimchi and Kimchi Chigae lunch.

There is limited space available---earlier there was a waiting list, and now there is one spot open---and you'll need to RSVP on the meetup.com page. Past events included mandu (dumplings) and bibimbap, although the "cooking" is a bit of a misnomer, as it's more of an introduction to and preparation of certain Korean dishes. Nonetheless it's a great start-up social club in Pittsburgh, and the owners of Dasonii have been generous enough to open their restaurant on Sundays to accommodate it.

Gwangju students visit Pittsburgh.

Via the GPLC GNUE Summer Institute Facebook page.

Twenty students from the Gwangju National University of Education are currently in Pittsburgh as part of a training and cultural-immersion program assisted by the Greater Pittsburgh Literacy Council. As the Gwangju Ilbo reported on Tuesday (copied entirely from a university press release):

광주교육대학교(총장 박남기)의 는 초등학교 예비교사 80명이 여름방학을 이용해 미국 캘리포니아와 뉴욕에 소재한 대학교, 그리고 말레이시아와 베트남 교육대학교에서 약 1개월 동안 세계문화와 학교교육, 그리고 영어연수 프로그램에 참여한다.

지난 2009년 겨울방학부터 광주교대와 미국의 대학교가 함께 마련한 미국문화와 학교교육, 영어연수 프로그램은 8월 7일까지 약 1개월 동안 미국 캘리포니아주립대학교와 롱아일랜드대학교, 그리고 피츠버그 언어교육기관에서 진행된다.

To summarize, 80 elementary education students from Gwangju National University of Education are spending their summer breaks participating in month-long training programs in California and New York, and in education universities in Malaysia and Vietnam, to learn about world culture, methodology, and to undergo English-language training. The press release, titled "초등학교 예비교사 글로벌시대 준비한다" (Elementary education teachers preparing for global era") and not directly linkable, continues:

또한 미국 피츠버그 언어교육기관에서는 오전 영어교과 수업을 비롯해 학교 기숙사가 아닌 홈스테이를 통한 미국사회의 다양한 직업세계와 세계 각국의 문화를 직접 체험하게 된다.

If you can read Korean and if you can view Hansoft Word Processor files---two big ifs---you can look through the reports written by previous' years' participants.


Thank you, Geun-ae.

Overseas training programs are a regular part of university education programs in South Korea, and veteran English teachers routinely undergo intensive training programs both in and out of the country. It's just not every day that they come to Pittsburgh. And it's not every year that they can root for the Pirates. I'd like to see the mainstream media pay attention to this and other educational and cultural exchanges that occur in the city, for this is really how relationships across borders are built. But I guess if it doesn't have UPMC, PNC, or Dollar Bank sponsorship in this town, it doesn't exist.

WVU reaches out to Asia.

In Malaysia in 2010, via WVU Today.

The Charleston Daily Mail has news out of Morgantown about five West Virginia University representatives currently on a recruiting trip to Japan, Thailand, and Malaysia:

Vietnamese restaurant "Miss Saigon88 Cafe" coming to Oakland.

Pittsburgh is getting a new Vietnamese restaurant, on 256 N. Craig St. in North Oakland (map). The area a few blocks south, in and around the University of Pittsburgh, already has a ton of Asian fast food places, but nothing Vietnamese. This location is the little sister of Saigon 88, a pan-Asian restaurant in the South Hills (menu) that will operate the new cafe.

Based on the awning, it looks to have a lot of bases covered with "Pho Noodles Soup & Sushi Bar * Vietnamese * Japanese * Chinese * Thai". If it's a place to get a decent Vietnamese hoagie in the area, I just might have to rent the 2nd floor apartment.


The exterior on July 19th.

Signs first went up a few weeks ago, but there is still a good deal of work to be done in the interior of what used to be a popular bar and sandwich place that closed last year. The inside is still under construction, but I estimate it should be ready for the fall term.

"Sullivan and Son", bicultural Ko-Am sitcom set in Pittsburgh, premiers tonight.

Two Korean flags, a Steeler's football, and a WDVE sticker. Via SullivanandSonTBS on Youtube.

Most television shows are at best just placeholders for advertisements, but given the focus of this site it's probably worth mentioning that "Sullivan and Son" premiers tonight at 10 pm on TBS. It's a sitcom set in Pittsburgh, starring Korean-American and native Pittsburgher Steve Byrne, with the dad from "Wonder Years" and Korean-American actress Jodi Long as his parents. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette had a preview over the weekend. I won't pretend to be interested in the details, but the last paragraph caught my eye:

"Sullivan & Son" makes a game effort to get regional details right and mostly succeeds with a WDVE sticker on the jukebox, characters clad in Penguins gear and even an accurate Allegheny County Health Department logo in episode two. But the miscues also stand out, like when a cop refers to "the 79," inspired, no doubt by Southern Californians' tendency to put "the" before any Interstate number ("the 405," "the 10," etc.).

One way to stay engaged in dull shows and movies is to spot the inaccuracies and anachronisms. One common error, for example, is that pieces set decades ago often slip up and use modern money.


In 2008's 님은먼곳에, set in Vietnam in 1971, he's trying to bribe a driver with a five-dollar bill printed in 2001.

And what made the 2007 show "The Kill Point" tough to watch, other than the plot and the actors, was that nobody had a Pittsburgh accent in a show shot and set in downtown Pittsburgh. A quick look around "Sullivan show's YouTube channel doesn't reveal any authentic accents here, either. It doesn't look terribly interesting or funny, either, but at least it's better than "K-town", the web-only Koreatown version of "Jersey Shore".