Friday, August 9, 2013

1967 Korean film Yonggary, 1968 Japanese film Genocide in Dormont tomorrow.

Yonggary poster 1967

On August 10, Dormont's Hollywood Theater is hosting "13 Hours of Sci-Fi", which will show 10 classic science-fiction movies from the 1950s, 1960s, and 1980s. Among them are two old Asian monster movies: Korea's Yonggary (용가리) and Japan's Genocide.

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

WPXI's website looks at protests in Seoul.



The website for WPXI, Pittsburgh's NBC affiliate, found room between its advertisements to host a Reuters video on candlelight protests in Seoul, a post that attracted the attention of some Korean Twitter users.
South Korean protesters held a candlelight vigil against the government's ruling party on Saturday, after allegations surfaced earlier this year that the country's spy agency had meddled in the 2012 presidential elections. South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party, has accused the ruling Saenuri Party of failing to conduct a proper parliamentary investigation into the country's National Intelligence Service (NIS).
The original post from 소셜네트워크(SNS) 핫이슈, which says that a local NBC affiliate in the US reported on the candlelight protests in Seoul, ended up with 238 retweets. We are sorry to report, though, that news of this, or any other protest in downtown Seoul, failed to actually make Pittsburgh's local news.

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Pittsburgh City Council issues proclamation to "commend and recognize" Remembering Hiroshima, Imagining Peace.

Pittsburgh Remembering Hiroshima Proclamation 2013

Yesterday, ahead of the 68th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Pittsburgh City Council issued a proclamation to "commend and recognize the important work of Remembering Hiroshima, Imagining Peace". The group received similar proclamations in its honor in 2008, 2010, and 2012.

Saturday, August 3, 2013

Yen's gourmet facade to go.


Via Google Maps.

The distinctive Chinese characters across the street from East Liberty's Target will meet the wrecking ball, according to plans that will have part of the block replaced with a new six-story building. The façade currently belongs to Yen's Gourmet Chinese Restaurant, a space that may soon look like this:


Thursday, August 1, 2013

Teen Anime Club meetings in Oakland, East Liberty, Carrick, August 3.

Hey keen teens, the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh branches in Oakland (map), East Liberty (map), and Carrick (map) will host Teen Anime Club meetings on Saturday, August 3. The Oakland branch hypes:
We've got the anime you want to watch and a mountain of pocky to keep your spirits running high. Whether you jump at shonen or shojo is more your beat, check out the fun at the Teen Anime Club!
The East Liberty meeting runs from 2 to 4, the Carrick one from 3 to 4, and the Oakland one from 3 to 5. More information available on the respective pages; registration is required for the East Liberty meeting.

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

"Remembering Hiroshima, Imagining Peace: Activism in Japan and the US", August 5.



The Pittsburgh group "Remembering Hiroshima, Imagining Peace" will host a presentation in Oakland on August 5 by Joyce Wagner of Iraq Veterans Against the War
on the dangers of both nuclear weapons and nuclear energy in light of the proposed repeal on (sic) Article 9 of Japan's peace constitution and the on-going consequences of the meltdown at the Fukushiima Daichi plant.
Click the flyer above to enlarge. The presentation will be held at the Friends Meeting House, 4836 Ellsworth Ave. in Oakland (map), and will be followed by a Skype conversation with peace activists in Kobe. "Remembering Hiroshima, Imagining Peace" has long held events to locally mark the anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945.

Monday, July 29, 2013

1974 Japanese movie The Street Fighter in Dormont, August 7 and 11.



Dormont's The Hollywood Theater will show the 1974 Japanese martial arts movie The Street Fighter (激突!殺人拳) on Wednesday, August 7, and Sunday, August 11. A brief comment on the X-rated film, from LoveHKFilm.com:
Simply put, Terry Tsurugi (Sonny Chiba) is one mean bastard. If you don't keep your promises, watch out. Tsurugi's the kind of guy who'd not only splatter your brains on the pavement for your betrayal, but also be more than happy to make out with your sister right before selling her into a life of prostitution. Really.
Wikipedia says it was "the first film to receive an X-rating in the United States solely for violence".

The movie starts at 7:30 pm on Wednesday and 7:00 pm on Sunday, and tickets are $7. And if you'd like to take the subway to the theater, it's a little more than a block southeast of Potomac Station.

Sunday, July 28, 2013

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Japanese Nationality Room turns 14.



The Japanese Nationality Room in the University of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning was dedicated on July 25, 1999. Located in room 317 on the Cathedral's third floor, the room is modeled after a traditional 18th-century minka. Wikipedia provides a good overview of the room's interior---which was largely built in Japan, disassembled, and rebuilt in Pittsburgh---while the 24-page program from the dedication ceremony, scanned and preserved by the university's Documenting Pitt archive, covers the ceremony as well as information on the budget, donors, and other contributors. At the time, it says, the total expenditure was $507,047.64, roughly 80% being building and building-related expenses.

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

KBox looking for suggestions for Japanese songs to carry.

In May we read about KBox, the Asian-style karaoke place on Oakland's Craig Street, adding 8,000 new Korean songs to the 13,000 English-language and over 70,000 Chinese songs available. Today a reader on Facebook passed along news that they are soliciting suggestions for new Japanese songs to add. You can view a selection of songs via this link and can pass along your comments or suggestions to KBox via Facebook or email (Pittsburgh.ktv at gmail). The file is massive, with over 25,000 songs, so you might have some luck simply choosing popular songs and passing along your suggestions.

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