2019 Takashi Miike film First Love (初恋) to continue in Pittsburgh through November 3.

It was announced today the 2019 Takashi Miike film First Love (初恋), which opened in Pittsburgh on October 18, will continue here through October 31. The distributor provides a brief summary:

The film is the prolific auteur, Takashi Miike, at his most fun and anarchic, a noir-tinged yakuza film blending genres in the story of a young boxer and a call girl, who fall passionately in love while getting innocently caught up in a drug-smuggling scheme over the course of one night in Tokyo.

It will play at the Regent Square Theater at 1035 S. Braddock Ave. (map) and tickets are now available online.

Calligraphy with Shuho Kondo, November 10 at Phipps.

via @kondo.shuho

Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens will present Calligraphy with Shuho Kondo on November 10, part of its Fall Flower Show: Japanese Inspirations exhibition.

Shuho Kondo, acclaimed calligrapher, will present her work at Phipps on the final day of Fall Flower Show: Japanese Inspirations. Experience the beautiful brush strokes of Kondo's calligraphy accompanied by live music in a special one-time-only performance in Phipps' Special Events Hall.

Timeline of Events:

• Performance by AT Studio Senior Flute Ensemble | 3 p.m.
• Welcome | 3:10 p.m.
• Performance by musicians from Carnegie Mellon University | 3:15 p.m.
• Introduction to Shuho Kondo | 3:20 p.m.
• Shuho Kondo calligraphy presentation | 3:35 p.m.
• Meet and greet with Shuho Kondo | 3:45 p.m.

The event is free with Phipps admission, though RSVP is required and can be completed online. Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens is located at 1 Schenley Drive in Oakland (map).

"The Cloud of Doubt: Making Sense of the Sensible in Postwar Chinese Cinema," November 7 at Pitt.

The University of Pittsburgh's Film Studies program will present Dr. Weihong Bao and her talk "The Cloud of Doubt: Making Sense of the Sensible in Postwar Chinese Cinema" on November 7. It starts at 5:30 pm in 602 Cathedral of Learning (map) and is free and open to the public.

Know Your Rights Informational Session 了解你的權利 - 說明會, November 4 in Squirrel Hill.

The Pittsburgh chapter of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance will present "Know Your Rights Informational Session 了解你的權利 - 說明會" on November 4 in Squirrel Hill.

It is important for everyone to know what rights we have when encountering ICE or other law enforcement in the streets, at home, and in the workplace. This information session is geared toward immigrant communities and allies. Learn what your rights are and what you can do to protect yourself or your co-workers, neighbors and local immigrants.

This is a free public event. The session will be provided in English and Mandarin Chinese.

Together we can build a safer community!

Set the Scene: Hidden Fortress (隠し砦の三悪人), November 6 at Row House Cinema.

The Row House Cinema in Lawrenceville will host the University of Pittsburgh's Kirsten Strayer for Set the Scene, a closer look at the 1960 film Hidden Fortress (隠し砦の三悪人), on November 6. The movie plays as part of the theater's Samurai Films Series, which runs from November 1 through 7.

George Lucas’ inspiration for Star Wars, this action-packed film tells the story of two Japanese peasants who scheme to help a general and his princess smuggle gold across enemy lines. Undercover, the royals and peasants sneak across hostile territory, unsure if they can trust one another. From director Akira Kurosawa staring Toshiro Mifune.

The event starts at 8:45 pm and tickets are available online. The single-screen theater is located at 4115 Butler Street in Lawrenceville (map).

2019 Makoto Shinkai film Weathering With You (天気の子) in Pittsburgh, January 15.

The Southside Works Cinema has announced it will show the 2019 Japanese film Weathering With You (天気の子) next January. From the distributor:

GKIDS proudly presents the highly-anticipated new film from director Makoto Shinkai and producer Genki Kawamura, the creative team behind the critically-acclaimed, global smash hit Your Name. The summer of his high school freshman year, Hodaka runs away from his remote island home to Tokyo, and quickly finds himself pushed to his financial and personal limits. The weather is unusually gloomy and rainy every day, as if to suggest his future. He lives his days in isolation, but finally finds work as a writer for a mysterious occult magazine. Then one day, Hodaka meets Hina on a busy street corner. This bright and strong-willed girl possesses a strange and wonderful ability: the power to stop the rain and clear the sky…

Tickets and other theater information will not be available until November 15.

Free Chinese, Japanese, Korean classes in Pittsburgh in November.

by sama093 (Creative Commons)


The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh will continue to offer free Chinese, Japanese, and Korean classes at some of its branches this November. Check out the class information below in addition to its language resources on the shelves and online.

As the library notes: these classes are free; registration is not required; no materials are needed and nothing needs to be bought; new participants are welcome at any time; classes are for adults (unless otherwise noted) but well-behaved young people are welcome to join as well.

Magician David Feng at Pitt, November 2.

The University of Pittsburgh's Chinese American Student Association will host magician David Feng on November 2.

David Feng is a magician and mentalist based in New York City. He has performed for numerous artists and celebrities, including kpop star Jay Park, Actress Annie Leblanc, Singers Jacob Sartorius, Masego, Comedians Laura Clery, Fatboy SSE, Rapper Goldlink, DJ Krewella, Cash Cash, Alison Wonderland, and the list goes on. Because of David’s work and achievement in magic, he has been invited to speak at several TED talks. In early 2019, David performed at the international television show Asia’s Got Talents and over 3 million people on Youtube and Facebook have watched his video. David has started actively using Instagram early 2018 under his username mr.d.feng, and has garnered over 100k followers since then.

Come on out for an evening filled with magic, followed by a lecture about David's pursuit of a non-traditional career path, and meet and greet!

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

"Dialect and the Making of Modern China," November 7 at Pitt.

The University of Pittsburgh's Department of History and the Asian Studies Center will present Dr. Gina Tam and her talk "Dialect and the Making of Modern China" on November 7.

Taking aim at the conventional narrative that standard, national languages transform 'peasants' into citizens, Gina Anne Tam centers the history of the Chinese nation and national identity on fangyan - languages like Shanghainese, Cantonese, and dozens of others that are categorically different from the Chinese national language, Mandarin. She traces how linguists, policy-makers, bureaucrats and workaday educators framed fangyan as non-standard 'variants' of the Chinese language, while simultaneously highlighting, on the other hand, the 1920s folksong collectors, communist-period playwrights, contemporary hip-hop artists and popular protestors who argued that fangyan were more authentic and representative of China's national culture and its history. These intertwined visions of the Chinese nation - one spoken in one voice, one spoken in many - interacted and shaped one another, and in the process, shaped the basis for national identity itself.

It runs from 4:00 to 5:30 pm in 3703 Posvar Hall (map) and is free and open to the public.

Leonard Suryajaya's Novi, Dear at Silver Eye Center for Photography, October 31 - January 11; opening reception on 31st features artist talk.

Leonard Suryajaya's exhibition Novi, Dear will be on display at the Silver Eye Center for Photography from October 31 through January 11.

Leonard Suryajaya uses photography to test the boundaries of intimacy, community, and family. In elaborately staged photographs bursting with patterns and colors, Suryajaya creates absurd and affectionate tableaux featuring his family, strangers, and friends. The results are photographs that are tender and critical, bound up as they are with the struggles of familial authority and self identity. Suryajaya’s work is rooted in this upbringing as an Indonesian citizen of Chinese descent, as a Buddhist educated in Christian schools in a Muslim-majority country, and as someone who departed from his family and his culture’s definitions of love and family. His dazzling photography explore the tensions of everyday interaction, culturally-coded objects, and in the disruptions stirred by queer relations.

The opening is at 7:00 pm on the 31st and features a talk with the artist; the reception is free and open to the public, though registration is required. Silver Eye Center for Photography is located at 4808 Penn Ave. in Bloomfield (map).

KPDC Fall 2019 Showcase: Uprising, November 17 at Carnegie Mellon University.

Carnegie Mellon University's K-Pop Dance Club will present its Fall 2019 Showcase: Uprising on November 17.

******** FREE ADMISSION ********
✨💎✨💎✨💎✨💎✨💎✨💎✨💎✨💎✨
Join KPDC at our 2019 Fall Showcase on Sunday, November 17th from 8:00 pm to 10:00 pm in UC Rangos! Come see what our talented dancers have been working on this semester, along with a guest performance by KASA. Doors open at 7:45 pm.

The Rangos Auditorium is located in the Cohon University Center on Forbes Ave. (map).

Pittsburgh Chinese School hiring teachers.

The Pittsburgh Chinese School, which meets on Sundays at Taylor Allderdice High School in Squirrel Hill, is hiring teachers.

匹兹堡中文学校诚聘有爱心和责任心，有教学经验, 并有工作许可的有关人士加入教师队伍。

岗位要求:
1、热爱中国文化，并有热情将中国的文化广泛传播。
2、喜欢孩子，有爱心、耐心，责任心，有亲和力。
3、普通话发音标准清晰，语言表达能力强。
4、有基本的英语表达沟通能力。
5、有中文教学经验，尤其是有中小学教学经验者优先。
6、有教育或中文相关学历者优先。
7、文艺课教师有相关学历或工作经验者优先。

2018 Chinese film An Elephant Sitting Still (大象席地而坐) in Pittsburgh, November 17.

The 2018 Chinese film An Elephant Sitting Still (大象席地而坐) will play in Pittsburgh on November 17 as part of this year's Three Rivers Film Festival. The film's official site provides a synopsis:

Under the gloomy sky of a small town in northern China, different protagonists’ lives are intertwined in this furious tale of nihilistic rage. While protecting his friend from a dangerous school bully, 16-year-old WEI Bu pushes the tormentor down a staircase. WEI escapes the scene and later learns that the bully is hospitalized and gravely injured. WEI’s neighbor, the 60-year-old WANG Jin, is estranged from his family and, with nothing to lose, decides to join him. Later the pair is joined by HUANG Ling, WEI’s classmate. She is bedeviled by a destructive affair with a married school official. Together, this unlikely and desperate trio, decide their only hope is to flee as the bully’s gangster brother, enraged parents, and vindictive school authorities all go on a cold-blooded hunt for WEI across town. As WEI threads his way through the urban wilderness, he begins to come to terms with his own lost life. In the end, he boards a long-distance bus with HUANG and WANG toward a city in Manchuria, where it is a rumored that a circus elephant is said to be sitting still, seeming oblivious to pain and tribulations of the world at large.

It will play at the Regent Square Theater at 1:00 pm, though tickets are not yet available.

Jin and V (of BTS) cup-sleeve event, December 14 at Ineffable Ca Phe.

A Singular Epiphany will hold a cup-sleeve event on December 14 to commemorate the December birthdays of BTS members Seokjin (Jin) and Taehyung (V). It will be held at Ineffable Ca Phe in Lawrenceville (map) from 11:30 am to 6:00 pm and those interested in a sleeve will need to purchase a beverage.

Japanese Tea Ceremony, November 3 at Blue Monkey Tea in Squirrel Hill.

Squirrel Hill's Blue Monkey Tea will host Yuko Eguchi Wright and a Japanese Tea Ceremony on November 3.

Tea ceremony, or Chado (The Way of Tea), is a traditional Japanese art involving the ritualistic preparation of tea. Influenced by the philosophy of Zen Buddhism, the core teaching of chado is to attain a spiritual state of selflessness and peacefulness through making and sharing tea while maintaining harmony and balance with nature. Join us to learn about the Japanese tea ceremony through tasting tea and sweets.

Yuko Eguchi is a native of Tokyo, Japan and holds a Ph.D. in ethnomusicology from the University of Pittsburgh. She received her tea master title and name, Soyu, in 2009 and the associate professor of tea title in 2013, certified by the head master of the Urasenke school. Yuko currently teaches at Pitt and has performed and lectured on Japanese traditional arts at various higher institutions. Visit her website: www.yukoeguchi.com

The event starts at 6:00 pm and the required tickets are $25. Blue Monkey Tea is located at 5872 Forbes Ave. (map).

Films from Korea, Japan, China, and Thailand at Pittsburgh Shorts Festival, November 1 through 7.

Films telling stories from Korea, Japan, China, and Thailand are among the dozens playing at the 2019 Pittsburgh Shorts Festival from November 1 through 7.

FORUM Accent and Dialect Discrimination: From Northern Japan to Western Pennsylvania, November 10 in Shadyside.

By Tokyo Times (Creative Commons)

The First Unitarian Church of Pittsburgh will host "FORUM Accent and Dialect Discrimination: From Northern Japan to Western Pennsylvania" on November 10. It runs from 9:00 to 10:30 am at 605 Morewood Ave. (map) in Shadyside and is free and open to the public.

1954 film Godzilla (ゴジラ) at Phipps Conservatory, November 8.

Phipps Conservatory will show the 1954 film Godzilla (ゴジラ) on November 8 as part of its Fall Flower Show: Japanese Inspirations. From the distributor:

Godzilla (a.k.a. Gojira) is the roaring granddaddy of all monster movies. It’s also a remarkably humane and melancholy drama, made in Japan at a time when the country was reeling from nuclear attack and H-bomb testing in the Pacific. Its rampaging radioactive beast, the poignant embodiment of an entire population’s fears, became a beloved international icon of destruction, spawning almost thirty sequels.

It will play from 7:00 to 9:00 pm in Japanese with English subtitles and will have an introduction from Stephen Wludarski of the University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center. Those interested must register online and are required to purchase admission to Phipps. Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens is located at 1 Schenley Drive in Oakland (map).

Samurai Films at Row House Cinema, November 1 - 7.

The Row House Cinema will run a Samurai Films series from November 1 through 7. The series is comprised of 1966's Sword of Doom (大菩薩峠), 1960's The Hidden Fortress (隠し砦の三悪人), 2002's The Twilight Samurai (たそがれ清兵衛), 1973's Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance (子連れ狼 子を貸し腕貸しつかまつる), and 1954's The Seven Samurai (七人の侍). Summaries, showtimes, and tickets are available online. Special events associated with the series include The Seven Samurai (with Bento Boxes) on November 3 and Setting the Scene: The Hidden Fortress on November 6.

The single-screen theater is located at 4115 Butler Street in Lawrenceville (map).

"Confusion, Misunderstanding and Mutilated Testimony: How Hou Hsiao-hsien Uses Cinema Aesthetics to Illustrate Taiwan's Political History" at Pitt, October 31.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will host Dr. Christopher Lupke and his talk "Confusion, Misunderstanding and Mutilated Testimony: How Hou Hsiao-hsien Uses Cinema Aesthetics to Illustrate Taiwan's Political History" on October 31. It starts at 4:00 pm in the Alcoa Room of Barco Law School (map).

Author Grace Lin in Pittsburgh, November 3.

Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures will host children's author Grace Lin on November 3.

Grace Lin is the award-winning and bestselling author and illustrator of A Big Mooncake for Little Star, a gorgeous Caldecott Honor-winning picture book for young readers. Grace is also the author of When the Sea Turned to Silver, Starry River of the Sky, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, The Year of the Dog, The Year of the Rat, Dumpling Days, and Ling & Ting, as well as picture books such as The Ugly Vegetables and Dim Sum for Everyone! Her newest book A Big Bed for Little Snow is due to be released in October 2019.

The event starts at 2:30 pm at the Carnegie Library Lecture Hall in Oakland (map) and will be followed by a book signing. Tickets are available online.

"Your Future In Asia: The Japan Exchange & Teaching (JET) Program," October 29 at Pitt.

An information session for prospective JET applicants will be held on October 29 at the University of Pittsburgh.

Are you graduating soon? Wondering what your next adventure could be? Learn about the Japan Exchange & Teaching (JET) Program. It is a great opportunity for college graduates to work in Japan as an Assistant Language Teacher (ALT) or Coordinators for International Relations (CIR).

The presentation begins at 5:00 pm in 4130 Posvar Hall (map) and is free and open to the public.

2006 Japanese movie Honey and Clover (ハチミツとクローバー) at CMU, November 7.

The 2006 Japanese movie Honey and Clover (ハチミツとクローバー) will play at Carnegie Mellon University on November 7 as part of the Modern Language Resource Center Film Series.

This film is adapted from the anime series about five art school students who navigate the emotional peaks and valleys of university life. Three male students all live in the same apartment building, and, when two of them fall for the same girl, their friendship is tested. Both Takemoto (Shô Sakurai) and Morita (Yusuke Iseya) long for Hagu (Yû Aoi), a new student at the school. Takemoto attempts to play it cool, while Morita tries a bit too hard to get her attention.

It starts at 7:00 pm in 225C Porter Hall (map).

2018 Japanese animated film Mirai (未来のミライ) at Phipps Conservatory, November 1.

The 2018 Japanese animated film Mirai (未来のミライ) will play at Phipps Conservatory on November 1 as part of its Fall Flower Show: Japanese Inspirations. A synopsis, from the distributor:

From acclaimed director Mamoru Hosoda (Summer Wars, Wolf Children) and Japan’s Studio Chizu comes MIRAI, a daringly original story of love passed down through generations. When four-year-old Kun meets his new baby sister, his world is turned upside down. Named Mirai (meaning “future”), the baby quickly wins the hearts of Kun’s entire family. As his mother returns to work, and his father struggles to run the household, Kun becomes increasingly jealous of baby Mirai... until one day he storms off into the garden, where he encounters strange guests from the past and future – including his sister Mirai, as a teenager. Together, Kun and teenage Mirai go on a journey through time and space, uncovering their family’s incredible story. But why did Mirai come from the future?

An official selection at Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, and the epic capstone of director Mamoru Hosoda’s career, Mirai is a sumptuous, magical, and emotionally soaring adventure about the ties that bring families together and make us who we are.

It will play from 7:00 to 9:00 pm dubbed in English; it will also include an introduction by Kirsten Strayer of the University of Pittsburgh. Those interested must register online and are required to purchase admission to Phipps. Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens is located at 1 Schenley Drive in Oakland (map).

2019 Takashi Miike film First Love (初恋) to continue in Pittsburgh through October 31.

It was announced today the 2019 Takashi Miike film First Love (初恋), which opened in Pittsburgh on October 18, will continue here through October 31. The distributor provides a brief summary:

The film is the prolific auteur, Takashi Miike, at his most fun and anarchic, a noir-tinged yakuza film blending genres in the story of a young boxer and a call girl, who fall passionately in love while getting innocently caught up in a drug-smuggling scheme over the course of one night in Tokyo.

It will play at the Regent Square Theater at 1035 S. Braddock Ave. (map) and tickets are now available online.

Bong Joon-ho film Parasite (기생충) in Pittsburgh from November 1.

The acclaimed 2019 Bong Joon-ho film Parasite (기생충) will play in two Pittsburgh-area theaters from November 1. Tickets went on sale on October 15 for screenings at the Squirrel Hill Manor Theater, and showtimes were recently added to the AMC Loews Waterfront.

Bong Joon Ho brings his singular mastery home to Korea in this pitch-black modern fairytale.

Meet the Park Family: the picture of aspirational wealth. And the Kim Family, rich in street smarts but not much else. Be it chance or fate, these two houses are brought together and the Kims sense a golden opportunity. Masterminded by college-aged Ki-woo, the Kim children expediently install themselves as tutor and art therapist, to the Parks. Soon, a symbiotic relationship forms between the two families. The Kims provide “indispensable” luxury services while the Parks obliviously bankroll their entire household. When a parasitic interloper threatens the Kims’ newfound comfort, a savage, underhanded battle for dominance breaks out, threatening to destroy the fragile ecosystem between the Kims and the Parks. By turns darkly hilarious and heart-wrenching, PARASITE showcases a modern master at the top of his game.

Parasite won the Palme d'Or at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. Tickets for the shows from November 1 through (at least) November 6 at the AMC Loews Waterfront and through November 7 at the Manor Theater are available online.

BTS World Tour film Love Yourself: Speak Yourself [The Final] in Pittsburgh for live-streaming event, October 27.

The final installment of the BTS concert film series Love Yourself: Speak Yourself [The Final] will play in Pittsburgh on October 27. It will be simulcast live throughout the US and Singapore, Thailand, Japan, and South Korea. The three-and-a-half-hour concert will play locally at the Southside Works Cinema and the Cinemark in Robinson, and tickets for the 8:00 pm movie are available online.

The concert movie BTS World Tour: Love Yourself in Seoul was released in Pittsburgh in January 2019, and their film Bring the Soul: The Movie played here through the summer.

New Chinese movie The Captain (中国机长) stays in Pittsburgh through (at least) October 30.

The 2019 Chinese film The Captain (中国机长), which opened Pittsburgh on October 18, will continue here through at least October 30. The distributor writes of the film, based on the 2018 Sichuan Airlines Flight 8633 incident:

Director Andrew Lau's cinematic portrayal of the most miraculous emergency landing in the contemporary history of Chinese aviation.

It has been the top film in China its first three weekends and is currently the fifth-highest grossing film of the year there, despite not being released until September 30. It will play at the AMC Loews Waterfront and tickets are available on the theater's site. The theater is located at 300 West Waterfront Dr. in the Waterfront shopping complex in Homestead (map), across the Monongahela River from Greenfield, Squirrel Hill, and the rest of Pittsburgh.

2019 Chinese documentary Our Time Machine (时光机) in Pittsburgh, November 11 and 16.

The Chinese documentary Our Time Machine (时光机) will play in Pittsburgh on November 11 and 16 as part of the Three Rivers Film Festival.

When artist Maleonn realizes that his father suffers from Alzheimer’s disease, he creates “Papa’s Time Machine”–a magical, autobiographical stage performance featuring life-size mechanical puppets. Through the production of this play, the two men confront their mortality before time runs out and memories are lost forever.

It plays at the Harris Theater at 6:00 pm on November 11 and at 4:00 pm on November 16, though tickets are not yet available.

Justin Chon film Ms. Purple in Pittsburgh, November 9 and 14.

The 2019 American film Ms. Purple will play in Pittsburgh on November 9 and 14 as part of the Three Rivers Film Festival. The Sundance Institute provides a summary:

In the dark karaoke rooms of Los Angeles’s Koreatown stripmalls, Kasie works as a doumi girl, a young hostess paid to cater to rich businessmen’s capricious whims. As she struggles to hide her sorrow through soju- and MDMA-fueled nights, her mind is focused on one thing: earning enough tips to continue providing for her bedridden father. When her father’s caretaker unexpectedly quits, Kasie seeks help from her estranged brother, and the siblings are forced to reconnect and reconcile the suppressed trauma that lead to their separation.

Writer/director Justin Chon returns to the Sundance Film Festival (after winning a 2017 NEXT Audience Award for Gook) with another emotionally powerful love letter to Los Angeles. With a lavish sense of atmosphere and authenticity, Ms. Purple charts the lives of internally writhing individuals trapped by the expectations of their own family. Tiffany Chu perfectly embodies Kasie’s distress and anxiety as she grapples with the self-imposed burden of honoring her immigrant father until the day he dies.

It will play at the Regent Square Theater from 4:00 pm on November 9th and at 7:00 pm on November 14, though tickets are not yet available.

"Why BTS? Why K-pop? Global Success and UK Reception," October 24 at Pitt.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center presents Dr. Haekyung Um and her talk "Why BTS? Why K-pop? Global Success and UK Reception" on October 24.

The international breakthrough of BTS is marked by their success in the USA and their albums, Love Yourself: Tear and Love Yourself: Answer, in May and September respectively. Their EP Mal of the Soul: Persona, released in April 2019, also topped both the UK Official Chart and teh US Billboard 200 Chart. The global, US, and UK reception of BTS in the past few years, has shed a light on how K-op has been evolving and how Asian pop music genres have been received by both the mainstream music industry and consumers in the west. This process has been taking place in the context of a fast-changing ecology of the creative industries, shaped by digital technology and social media, which in turn mobilize and above all, empower the fandom and audiences engaged in this music form.

The talk starts at 5:00 pm in 232 Cathedral of Learning (map) and is free and open to the public.

2020人口普查 - 自己的認同自己報, November 3 in Squirrel Hill.

Cafe Philo @ Pittsburgh will host an information session in Squirrel Hill ahead of the 2020 census: 2020人口普查 - 自己的認同自己報.. The Mandarin-language session will inform attendees how to complete the census form and address confusion some Taiwanese may have about the "Pacific Islander" designation.

【 2020人口普查-自己的認同自己報
Census 2020 - Be Counted! 】

美國人口普查是什麼？
我只是來念書而已，我需要填嗎？
人口普查的資料跟我有什麼關係？
為什麼要填我是台灣人？

沒有台灣這一格...
那台灣是個太平洋中的小島，
所以我是太平洋島民Pacific Islander沒錯吧？(不是!!)

Spirited Away (千と千尋の神隠し) in Pittsburgh, October 27, 28, and 30.

The 2001 Hayao Miyazaki film Spirited Away (千と千尋の神隠し) will play in Pittsburgh on October 27, 28, and 30 as part of this year's GKIDS Studio Ghibli Fest.

Winner of the Academy Award® for Best Animated Feature, Hayao Miyazaki’s wondrous fantasy adventure is a dazzling masterpiece from one of the most celebrated filmmakers in the history of animation.

Chihiro’s family is moving to a new house, but when they stop on the way to explore an abandoned village, her parents undergo a mysterious transformation and Chihiro is whisked into a world of fantastic spirits ruled over by the sorceress Yubaba. Put to work in a magical bathhouse for spirits and demons, Chihiro must use all her wits to survive in this strange new place, find a way to free her parents and return to the normal world. Overflowing with imaginative creatures and thrilling storytelling, Spirited Away became a worldwide smash hit, and is one of the most critically-acclaimed films of all time.

It plays locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront and the Cinemark theaters in McCandless, Monroeville, Robinson, and Pittsburgh Mills. Tickets are available online. The October 28 shows are in Japanese with English subtitles while the October 27 and 30 shows are dubbed in English.

Taiwanese film Yi Yi (一一) at Pitt, November 1.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will present the 2000 Taiwanese film Yi Yi (一一) on November 1. From the distributor:

The extraordinary, internationally embraced Yi Yi (A One and a Two . . .), directed by the late Taiwanese master Edward Yang, follows a middle-class family in Taipei over the course of one year, beginning with a wedding and ending with a funeral. Whether chronicling middle-age father NJ’s tentative flirtations with an old flame or precocious young son Yang-Yang’s attempts at capturing reality with his beloved camera, the filmmaker deftly imbues every gorgeous frame with a compassionate clarity. Warm, sprawling, and dazzling, this intimate epic is one of the undisputed masterworks of the new century.

It will play in 3911 Posvar Hall (map) and is free and open to the public.

1988 film Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack (機動戦士ガンダム 逆襲のシャア) in Pittsburgh, December 5.

As part of the 40th anniversary celebration for the Gundam franchise, the 1988 movie Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack (機動戦士ガンダム 逆襲のシャア) will return to theaters on December 5. From the distributor:

Celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Gundam franchise when Char's Counterattack returns to theatres!

Amuro and Char, two best mobile suit (robotic weapons) pilots who fought together against Titans after the Jion's independency war, must face each other in a fateful duel where the Neo-Jion, led by Char, attempts to drop a gigantic meteor and its nuclear weapons to Earth in order to cause Nuclear Winter to wipe out the Earth inhabitants.

Gundam fans won’t want to miss out on this exclusive one-night-only event, featuring a special interview with franchise creator Yoshiyuki Tomino!

It will play locally, in Japanese with English subtitles, at the Southside Works Cinema and the Cinemark theaters in Monroeville, Robinson, and Pittsburgh Mills. Tickets are available online.

"Authentic Chinese Cuisine at Home" culinary arts classes with Itha Cao of The Hungry Cao, three Saturdays at Phipps from October 26.

via @thehungrycao

Itha Cao of The Hungry Cao will host a series of three culinary arts classes on "Authentic Chinese Cuisine at Home," Saturdays at Phipps Conservatory from October 26.

Join Itha Cao in exploring flavors, dishes and traditions native to Chinese cuisine. Learn a variety of techniques for stir fry, dumplings and more.

Oct. 26: Cooking Fearlessly with Tofu: Learn the different forms that tofu comes in - dried, marinated, block, fried, and frozen - and cook delicious, flavorful vegan salads to stir fries.

Nov. 9: Healing Noodle Soups & Stews: Learn how to cook wheat and glass noodles in vegan and bone broths with seasonal vegetables - perfect for a cold day!

Nov. 23: Chinese Dumplings: Learn how to mince, fold, boil, and fry dumplings from start to finish, including pork and napa cabbage and zucchini and egg varieties.

The cost for the set of three is $140 for Phipps members and $160 for non-members---each individual class is $50 and $55, respectively---and each session runs from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm. Space is limited and registration can be completed online. Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens is located at 1 Schenley Drive in Oakland (map).

Crazy Rich Asians at CMU, October 24.

The Chinese Studies program at Carnegie Mellon University will present the movie Crazy Rich Asians on Thursday, October 24, as part of the Modern Language Resource Center's Film Series. The distributor writes:

"Crazy Rich Asians” follows native New Yorker Rachel Chu (Constance Wu) as she accompanies her longtime boyfriend, Nick Young (Henry Golding), to his best friend’s wedding in Singapore. Excited about visiting Asia for the first time but nervous about meeting Nick’s family, Rachel is unprepared to learn that Nick has neglected to mention a few key details about his life. It turns out that he is not only the scion of one of the country’s wealthiest families but also one of its most sought-after bachelors. Being on Nick’s arm puts a target on Rachel’s back, with jealous socialites and, worse, Nick’s own disapproving mother (Michelle Yeoh) taking aim. And it soon becomes clear that while money can’t buy love, it can definitely complicate things.​

It starts at 7:00 pm in 225C Porter Hall (map).

Vanity license plate seen in Highland Park.

Bunkasai festival with Pitt's Japanese Student Association, October 26.

The University of Pittsburgh's Japanese Student Association will hold its annual Bunkasai cultural festival on October 26.

JSA will be hosting our biggest event of the year, the Culture Festival, on Saturday October 26th in WPU Assembly Room ✨🎊

Stop by with your friends to enjoy free food* 😋, performances by fellow students 💃, and more❣️

Attractions that open at 11AM: Super Smash bros, kendama, henna, Japanese language practice, fortune telling, and more!

Performances start at 1PM: First Class Bhangra and Pitt FRESA will be performing there along with some other fellow students, so be sure to come out and support them! 🤗

Hope to see you all there 🥳

*You can get access to free food once you visit our various booths with the attractions mentioned above!

Pittsburgh Magazine: "The Fight to Recognize Pittsburgh’s Lost Chinatown."

The November 2019 issue of Pittsburgh Magazine takes a look at the fight to recognize Pittsburgh's former Chinatown as a historically-significant neighborhood.

“Unlike any other immigrant group that came through Pittsburgh, with the Chinese, you can’t find anything — unless you go digging for it — to show that they really were here,” says Marian Mei-Ling Lien, president of the Pittsburgh chapter of the Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA), one of the oldest Asian-American and Pacific Islander advocacy groups.

Lien wants people to know something about Pittsburgh’s Chinatown and early Chinese population. The Pittsburgh chapter is applying — for the fourth time — to earn a state historical marker for Pittsburgh’s Chinatown from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.

Read more online or in the November 2019 issue.

2019 Japanese film We are Little Zombies (ウィーアーリトルゾンビーズ) in Pittsburgh, November 13 and 17.

The 2019 Japanese film We are Little Zombies (ウィーアーリトルゾンビーズ) will play in Pittsburgh on November 13 and 17 as part of the 2019 Three Rivers Film Festival. A Variety review writes of it:

No pulsating, psychedelic, pop-punk phantasmagoria ought to be as moving and smart as “We Are Little Zombies.” But Makoto Nagahisa’s explosively ingenious and energetic debut (imagine it as the spiritual offspring of Richard Lester and a Harajuku Girl) holds the high score for visual and narrative invention, as well as boasting [insert gigantic-beating-heart GIF] and braaaains, too. The gonzo adventures of four poker-faced Japanese 13-year-olds who bond over their mutual lack of emotion following sudden orphanhood, it reimagines the old “stages of grief” thing as a progression through 13 erratic levels of a video game, complete with mini-games and side quests. And if its manic, 8-bit aesthetic seems hyperactively inappropriate for such a somber scenario — like it does grief wrong — that too, can be interpreted as a generous insight into the mourning process: Who among us, upon being bereaved, has ever believed they’re doing grief right?

It will play at the Regent Square Theater on November 13 and 17, though tickets are not yet available.

2018 Korean film House of Hummingbird (벌새) at resurrected Three Rivers Film Festival, November 9 and 12.

The 2018 Korean film House of Hummingbird (벌새) will play in Pittsburgh on November 9 and 12 as part of the Three Rivers Film Festival. The Tribeca Film Festival writes:

Set in 1994 in Seoul, House Of Hummingbird is a touching coming-of-age drama centered around the quiet, unexceptional eighth-grader Eunhee (Ji-hu Park). Struggling to make passing grades and subject to non-stop screaming at home, she spends her time finding meaning in the love and friendships of her peers, in shoplifting, and in karaoke bars. It’s in her cram school professor (Sae-byeok Kim), however, that Eunheen finds the answers that she seeks, as the two form an unlikely friendship.

In her feature debut, Bora Kim puts Korean culture and mores on display, gently criticizing the reduced role where women are pressured to exist. The film’s measured pace allows it to examine the many moments between despair, contrasting the joy of adolescence with its miseries. Bora Kim presents an honest and poignant take on youth, filled with warm cinematography from Gook-hyun and introduces a powerhouse performance from the young Ji-hu Park. An assured debut, House of Hummingbird cements Kim’s place as an upcoming auteur to follow.

It will play at the Harris Theater at 8:30 pm on November 9 and at 6:00 pm on the 12th, though tickets are not yet available.

2019 movie One Piece: Stampede (ワンピーススタンピード) in Pittsburgh from October 24.

Tickets for the 2019 movie One Piece: Stampede (ワンピーススタンピード) went on sale today; it will play in Pittsburgh, and across the US, from October 24. From the distributor:

The world’s boldest buccaneers set sail for the great Pirate Festival, where the Straw Hats join a mad-dash race to find Gol D. Roger’s treasure. There’s just one little problem. An old member of Roger’s crew has a sinister score to settle. All bets are off when the most iconic pirates of One Piece history band together for a swashbuckling showdown, the likes of which have never been seen!

It will play at the AMC Loews Waterfront and the Cinemark in Monroeville, and tickets are available online. The screenings on October 24, 29, and 31 are in Japanese with English subtitles, and the October 26 and 30 screenings are dubbed in English.