Vietnamese bistro Tan Lac Vien opening in Squirrel Hill.

Squirrel Hill will get a Vietnamese restaurant shortly when Tan Lac Vien opens on 2114 Murray Ave. (map).



On Thursday I talked with the realtor, who told me the owners also operate a Vietnamese place on Semple Street in Oakland---which would make Azn Bistro the most likely candidate---that the food is really good, and that they're fixing up the interior of what was most recently an Italian restaurant.

Update 11/11/12: Awning up yesterday, and hours posted on the door. looks to be opening soon.

Japanese film The Makioka Sisters in Pittsburgh, November 4.

A reminder that the 1983 Japanese film The Makioka Sisters (細雪, Sasame Yuki) will run on Sunday, November 4 as part of the Three Rivers Film Festival. The festival site's says:

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.

There is only one showing, at the Regent Square Theater (map), at 7:30 pm with tickets available both online and at the door. Here's an English-subtitled trailer:

Artist Masayo Kajimura at Pitt, November 5, 6.

From the "Mono no aware" trailer.

A screening and discussion with German-born artist Masayo Kajimura will take place at the University of Pittsburgh on Monday, November 5. The University Center for International Studies says:

A screening of works and a conversation with Masayo Kajimura, a Berlin-based video and installation artist. In her work Masayo creates a rich multi-layered flow of images that draw on settings and motifs from various global locations and cultural settings. Sharp insights and provocations underlie these evocative, lyrical, and associative projects.

It will run from 1:00 to 3:00 in room 602 of the Cathedral of Learning. The next day she will screen and discuss her short film "Mono no Aware":

Masayo Kajimura, a German-born artist of Japanese descent, will give a talk on her recent film "Mono no Aware." In this presentation, to be held in G 28, Benedum Hall at 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 6, she will screen a short work "Momo no Aware" and speak on her relationship on Japan and Japanese culture in the context of Asian diaspora. All are welcome to attend.

Pirates Asian-free again after releasing Takahashi.

On Wednesday the Pittsburgh Pirates released pitcher Hisanori Takahashi, claimed off waivers from the Los Angeles Angels in August. He pitched in 9 games with Pittsburgh from August 25 and started well, with six outs in his first 19 pitches, but imploded in his third and fifth appearances.

Takahashi was the third Japanese player in Pirates history: the first was a Masumi Kuwata, a former starting pitcher in Japan well-past his prime when he arrived here; the second was Aki Iwamura, an infielder who in local popular imagination somehow managed to be considered the worst player in one of the worst Pirates seasons.

The North Hills Art Center (map) is having a Chrysanthemum festival on November 3, with a tea ceremony and calligraphy workshop. Registration is required, and it costs $30 to attend both.

Traditional Chinese dance, martial arts at "Wellness Roadshow", November 4th.

The University of Pittsburgh Confucius Institute will host a "Wellness Roadshow" on Sunday, November 4th, at Bellefield Hall (map) from 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm. From the Asian Studies Center, once again:

The performance includes Chinese Lion Dance, Chinese Folk Dance, Chinese Martial Arts and various Chinese traditional instruments. It will be a great interactive opportunity to experience Chinese dance and kungfu as well as a wonderful cultural immersion experience!

Remember, too, on November 11th the Golden Dragon Acrobats will be performing at that same Bellefield Hall.

Korean Hines Ward biopic in the news, again.

Some Korean outlets reported on the 11th, and again this week, that the Korean movie on Hines Ward's life is a go. Osen wrote on October 25th that a movie about Korean-American "football star" Hines Ward's life story is being developed, and that Won Media and Ward have finalized contract and copyright details:

한국계 풋볼스타 하인스 워드의 일대기를 다룬 영화가 제작된다.

원 미디어 측은 25일 "하인스 워드와 판권 계약을 마쳤다"라고 전했다.

This movie will, the next paragraph says, cover his life from his earliest days through the start of his NFL career. It's set for a 2014 release date, and is operating with a 250 billion won (US$2.29 million) budget. Ward is half Korean, a point widely known in South Korea where he was heralded a national hero after Super Bowl 40, and was raised in the United States by his single, Korean mother.

Colloquium "Bottomhood is Powerful: Asian American Sexual Positionings", November 1st at University of Pittsburgh.

The Humanities Center at the University of Pittsburgh will present a colloquium by Bryn Mawr College's Nguyen Tan Hoang titled "Bottomhood is Powerful: Asian American Sexual Positionings" on November 1st, 12:30 to 2:00 pm in room 602 of the Cathedral of Learning. A short description accompanied the announcement by the University of Southern California two weeks ago:

Advancing the concept of “gay Asian bottomhood,” the talk examines the ways that anal erotics and bottom positioning refract the meanings of race, gender, sexuality, and nationality in American culture. I suggest that bottomhood simultaneously enables and constrains Asian American men in moving-image media. Gay male video pornography and sex
cruising websites constitute case studies. The talk will be supplemented by a short video screening.

Pittsburgh's version will feature responses by two faculty members as well as two short videos. Students, faculty, and staff in Humanities can access readings made available for the colloquium by visiting my.pitt.edu, clicking "My Resources," and choosing "Humanities Center". A brief excerpt from his manuscript abstract:

“A View from the Bottom: Asian American Masculinity and Sexual Representation” offers a new framework for oppositional politics through a reassessment of male effeminacy. Challenging the strategy of remasculinization employed by Asian American and gay male critics as a defense against feminization, the manuscript rewrites male effeminacy as socially and sexually enabling, thus refuting its characterization as a racially- and sexually-inflected injury.

Late notice, but the Women's Studies Center will present a screening of Hoang's short films on October 30th from 6:30 to 8:00 pm in G-24 of the Cathedral of Learning

as part of the Kelly Strayhorn Theater's My People queer of color film series. Stay after the video for a video Q&A with the video artist Nguyen Tan Hoang.

"Blocked on Weibo: Content Regulation in Chinese Social Media", November 1 at Pitt.

A few times a month the University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center hosts hour-long "Asia Over Lunch" brown bag lectures during a weekday lunch hour. On November 1st the topic is "Blocked on Weibo: Content Regulation in Chinese Social Media", by Jason Q. Ng, a graduate student in the East Asian Studies department. It will be held in 4130 Posvar Hall from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm. Here's the abstract:

Like most nations, China regulates the content that goes over its airwaves, runs through its printing presses, and is transmitted through its Internet. In July 2009, when tensions in the predominately Muslim population of China’s Xinjiang province escalated into violent riots, Chinese authorities turned off the Internet there. This inspired Jason Q. Ng to devise a computer script to test all 700,000 terms in Chinese Wikipedia to see which ones are routinely blocked on Sina Weibo, China’s most important social media site. Analyzing these censored words serves as a guide to sensitive topics in modern day China and also exposes the fascinating fissures between the idealized society that Chinese authorities dream of having and the actual one that Chinese netizens are creating each day.

And here's the presenter's tumblr site devoted to the topic.

"Everyday Noodles" coming to Squirrel Hill.

The six other Asian restaurants on Forbes Avenue in Squirrel Hill will face some competition when "Everyday Noodles" opens, which advertises "Traditional Handmade Noodles and Soup Dumplings".



It's on 5875 Forbes Ave. (map) and will occupy what was most recently Sirani Gallery. It's across the street from Rose Tea Cafe, and nearly across from Sakura, How Lee, and the Ramen Bar opening shortly.



Speaking of Ramen Bar, I'll hopefully have an update soon. The paper is off the windows, staff have been in at nights, and there is a large mural of a Tokyo street scene on one wall.