Kung Fu Killer (一個人的武林) at Parkway Theater, July 21.

July's installment of "Asian Movie Madness" at the Parkway Theater in McKees Rocks is Kung Fu Killer (一個人的武林). Wikipedia provides a summary of the 2015 movie, which is now commonly known as Kung Fu Jungle in English:

Hahou Mo, a martial arts expert and police self-defense instructor (Donnie Yen) is incarcerated for involuntary manslaughter during a fight with an opponent. Three years later, a vicious killer (Wang Baoqiang) emerges and starts killing retired martial arts masters that Hahou knows. With his own personal agenda, Hahou reveals he knows the killer's next intended victims and offers to aid Inspector Luk Yuen-Sum (Charlie Young) in capturing the killer with his martial arts skills and knowledge in exchange for his freedom.

The movie starts at 7:00 pm and is free, as are all Asian Movie Madness films, which are held on the third Thursday of the month. The theater is located at 644 Broadway Ave. in McKees Rocks (map), a few miles west of the North Side.

Documentary The Look of Silence coming to Pittsburgh in August.

The Parkway Theater in McKees Rocks announced on the 29th that the 2014 documentary The Look of Silence, on the Indonesian killings of 1965 and 1966, will play there and in Regent Square on August 28. A synopsis, from the film's website:

Through [director Joshua] Oppenheimer's footage of the perpetrators of the 1965 Indonesian genocide, a family of survivors discovers how their son was murdered, as well as the identities of the killers. The documentary focuses on the youngest son, an optometrist named Adi, who decides to break the suffocating spell of submission and terror by doing something unimaginable in a society where the murderers remain in power: he confronts the men who killed his brother and, while testing their eyesight, asks them to accept responsibility for their actions. This unprecedented film initiates and bears witness to the collapse of fifty years of silence.

Ticket information has not yet been released.

Japanese movie Jellyfish Eyes (めめめのくらげ) at Hollywood Theater, July 15

The Hollywood Theater in Dormont announced today that it will show the 2013 Japanese movie Jellyfish Eyes (めめめのくらげ) on July 15 at 7:30 pm. A summary, from Chicago Reader:

It takes place in a small town where all the kids have fantastic-looking pets that they command with electronic devices, unaware that the pets have been created by a sinister organization as part of a mind-control plot. The creatures—which range from a human-sized frog to a sprite with a big metal box for a head—provide a worthy showcase for Murakami's prodigious visual imagination; not coincidentally, the principal theme is how imagination can play a constructive role in child development, as the kids learn to stop pitting the creatures against each other and use them collaboratively.

Additional background on the artist and the movie is available in a 2013 Wall Street Journal interview. Tickets range from $5 to $8 and are available online. The theater is located at 1449 Potomac Ave. in Dormont (map), and is accessible by Pittsburgh's subway/LRT at a block south of Potomac Station.

"Rebel Flags in Korea: Confederate Banners Fly Anywhere!!!"

African-American publications in the 1950s noted the prominence of confederate flags flown by American soldiers in South Korea during the Korean War. The Pittsburgh Courier, on September 29, 1951, wrote on the phenomenon in an article "Rebel Flags in Korea: Confederate Banners Fly Anywhere!!!". An excerpt:

The Confederate flag which is receiving widespread use in this country is also used in Korea, it was learned this week.

A platoon of the United States First Calvary Division, consisting of a large number of Southerners, flew the Stars and Bars in Korea.

By a special act of Congress, the Fifth Maryland Regiment flies the Confederate flag with the Stars and Stripes. It is also the official insignia of the "Dixie" Division of the National Guard which draws its personnel from the North and South.

Moving closer to Bruster's ice cream in South Korea.

In May 2013 we read about Bruster's plans to further expand overseas to markets like South Korea and Saudi Arabia. A Monday press release offers more details about the plans to open locations in Seoul and Busan:

A 10-unit development agreement for its first Asian shops has been signed with Lee & Brusters, Inc.

Site selection for two locations is underway in Seoul and Busan. The first Bruster’s will open in late 2015 or early 2016.

“I became familiar with Bruster’s amazing ice cream when I was living in Atlanta,” said Hye Young Lee, CEO of Lee & Brusters, Inc., which was created to develop Bruster’s in South Korea. “Bruster’s premium, freshly made ice cream will be a huge success, as it is far superior to the factory produced, deep frozen product sold by other chains.”

To quote from the May 2013 post, with updated figures:

If Bruster's does open in Korea, its ice cream will complete most fiercely with Baskin Robbins (1,148 locations) and Cold Stone Creamery (27 locations), two popular western chains there. Red Mango (47 locations) and Smoothie King (162 locations) are two others covering similar territory. Surprisingly, self-serve yogurt places like Razzy Fresh or Sweet Berry---where customers choose their own flavors of soft-serve and add their own toppings---haven't taken off.

It's interesting to note, though, how things have changed in the last two years: Cold Stone and Red Mango locations have decreased by nearly half, while Baskin Robbins has added another 103 stores since May 2013.

And even more bubble tea in Oakland: 3501 Forbes Ave.

On yesterday's Facebook post about Fuku Tea, a reader tells of another bubble tea place under construction a few blocks away at 3501 Forbes Ave. (map). The coffee, tea, and dessert restaurant, which is now hiring, will open on the ground floor of the Oxford Building in what was most recently a uniform store.

Fuku Tea coming to Oakland.

Signage went up today for a new bubble tea place, Fuku Tea, in Oakland. It's located at 3800 Forbes Ave. (map), in what most recently was a jewelry store in a university-owned building called Sennott Square. The website is registered to the owner of Sushi Fuku, who in 2012 asked about franchising a New York bubble tea place.

Sports Seoul looks at Jung-ho Kang, his English study, and his apartment.

South Korean news site 스포츠서울 briefly profile Jung-ho Kang today, his life in Pittsburgh so far, and his apartment.





What does he do on his days off? Study English with a personal tutor:

쉬는 날에도 빼놓지 않고 하는 것이 있다. 바로 영어공부다. 강정호는 피츠버그와 계약을 맺을 때, 계약서에 영어공부에 대한 내용도 삽입했다. 구단은 연간 6만 달러(6700만원)의 영어 학습비를 지원한다. 현재 강정호는 영어 과외를 받고 있다. 과외교사는 현지 남성으로서 장소에 구애받지 않고 강정호에게 영어회화를 가르치고 있다. 강정호는 지난 13일 필라델피아 전을 앞두고 홈구장 PNC파크에서 약 한 시간 동안 영어 공부 삼매경에 빠지기도 했다. 현재 강정호는 영어로 간단한 문장을 만들 수 있다. ‘절친’인 션 로드리게스와는 영어로 장난을 치기도 한다. 강정호는 “영어를 많이 쓰려고 한다. 아직까지도 현지 생활이 조금 어렵긴 한데, 그래도 버틸 만 하다”고 말했다.

Chinese Vice Premier Liu visits Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto and Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong, via NetEase.

Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong visited Pittsburgh on Friday and met with mayor Bill Peduto, writes the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong met Friday with Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto, commencing her three-city visit to the United States.

Ms. Liu’s visit with Mr. Peduto included a gift exchange and a closed-door discussion.

Flanked by at least 10 members of her delegation, Ms. Liu followed Mr. Peduto as he showed her around the City Council chambers and gave a brief summary of local history, telling her how Pittsburgh evolved from an industrial giant to the tech-med-education center it is today.

A press release from the mayor's office on Friday, June 19, details the purpose of the visit and the recent partnerships between Pittsburgh institutions and China.

Studio Ghibli film When Marnie Was There (思い出のマーニー ) at Regent Square Theater through June 25.

The 2014 Japanese movie When Marnie Was There (思い出のマーニー ), which opened in Pittsburgh on June 12, will play at Regent Square Theater through June 25. The group summarizes what some believe may be the last Studio Ghibli film:

The newest animated film from Studio Ghibli tells the enchanted story of Anna, a teenage girl who feels disconnected from her peers. Her foster mother frets about Anna’s asthma attacks and sends her to spend the summer with her grandparents in Hokkaido, a sleepy town by the sea. Anna keeps to herself – until she makes friends with the mysterious Marnie, who may or may not be real. Beautifully rendered, the lush, hand-crafted paintings give this modern tale the look and feel of classic animation at its best.

Showtimes are available online; the first screening is Friday at 8:00 pm. The 8:00 pm screenings will be in Japanese with English subtitles, but the 3:00 pm and 5:30 pm shows will be dubbed in English. The Regent Square Theater is located at 1035 S. Braddock Ave. (map).