Pittsburgh Taiko beginner workshop, September 19.

The Pittsburgh Taiko Fall 2015 Beginners' Workshop is scheduled for Saturday, September 19 from 3:00 to 5:00 pm.

Interested in learning how to play taiko? Come participate in our Beginners Workshops!

Over the course of 2 hours, you will learn basic movements and techniques used to play taiko.

Drumsticks will be provided, as will earplugs (although you’re welcome to bring your own if you have some).

The introduction to Japanese drumming (taiko), is held at the Winchester Thurston City Campus Lower School on Morewood Ave. in Shadyside (map). Registration is free and can be done online.

"Storytime: Chinese and English" at Carnegie Library in Squirrel Hill, September 14; "Let's Learn Chinese" for children every Thursday in Oakland.

The Carnegie Library in Squirrel Hill will host "Storytime: Chinese and English" on Monday, September 14.

Celebrate the city's diverse culture as we explore new words through songs, action rhymes and stories in both English and Chinese. For children birth--5 years and their parents or caregivers.

The event runs from 1:30 to 2:00 pm. The library is located at 5801 Forbes Ave. (map) and is accessible by buses 61A, 61B, 61C, 61D, 64, and 74.

The Carnegie Library in Oakland hosts "Kasper Hwa presents Let's learn Chinese" every Thursday evening from 6:30 to 7:00 pm, with the next meeting on September 10.

Experience Chinese language and culture through books, storytelling, songs, games and more!

The programs are led by Kasper Hwa, who earned a Master's of Education from Pitt this spring. They are held in the Children's Room, and the library is located at 4400 Forbes Ave. (map), accessible by over a dozen different buses that service Oakland.

T-ara's Hyomin practicing for PNC Park first pitch.

Hyomin, of K-pop group T-ara, has been practicing her windup ahead of throwing out the first pitch in Pittsburgh on Sunday, September 13. Last week she warmed up with Sang-Woo Cho of the Nexen Heroes, pictured above. She's leaving from Incheon International Airport in the 11th, the papers say.

It's not the first time she's thrown a first pitch. In 2011, she had a decent delivery at an LG Twins game:

"Cultures of China" in Oakland, September 8.

The Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall will host "Cultures of China" tonight, September 8. The Post-Gazette has a profile today:

The feast of traditional arts includes Peking opera, a stylized form of Chinese theater from the 18th Century that incorporates dance, singing, music, mime and acrobatics, performed by artists Baoliang Li and Huiqing Yuan. Chinese folk dances will be performed by the Jinan singing and dancing troupe, and traditional Chinese instruments will be played by Shandong Qishu with a solo by Zhongxian Yao.

. . .

The artists chosen for the Cultures of China gala will stop in five cities this year, having arrived from Chicago, the kickoff city. After their Pittsburgh performance they will go on to Boston, Houston and New York.

In the six years the Overseas Affairs Office of the State Council has chosen artists, this year is the first time the group has performed in Pittsburgh.

The event is a precursor to the first Pittsburgh Chinese Cultural Festival, scheduled for September 19 in Oakland. Tuesday's performance starts at 7:00 pm at the Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall at 4141 Fifth Ave. (map). Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for students, and $5 for children.

"Storytime: Japanese and English" at Carnegie Library in East Liberty, September 15.

The next installment of the monthly program "Storytime: Japanese and English" will take place on September 15 at the Carnegie Library in East Liberty.

Celebrate our city's diverse culture as we explore new words through songs, action rhymes and stories in both English and Japanese. For children ages 2-5 and their parents or caregivers.

It runs from 11:00 to 11:30 am. The library is located at 130 S. Whitfield St. (map).

Love Live! The School Idol Movie at Hollywood Theater in Dormont, September 13.

The Japanese anime movie Love Live! The School Idol Movie will play at the Hollywood Theater in Dormont on September 13. A plot summary from the distributors:

Although u’s, the defending champions of the school idol tournament, plans to dissolve their group after the graduation of their senior members, they receive news that leads them to holding a concert event! The 9 girls continue to learn and grow in this new and unfamiliar world. What is the last thing that these girls can do as school idols? With the clock ticking, what kind of meaning will the u’s members find in performing the most exciting live performance?

Tickets are on sale now for $15 for the 7:00 pm show. The screening will be in Japanese with English subtitles. 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.

Screenings of Japanese documentaries Mental (精神), Peace, and Campaign (選挙)—with filmmaker Q-and-A sessions—at University of Pittsburgh, September 10 and 11.

Three Japanese documentaries by Kazuhiro Soda——Mental (精神), Peace, and Campaign (選挙)——will screen at the University of Pittsburgh on September 10 and September 11. Soda will be present for Q-and-A sessions on both days in an "ASIA on SCREEN" event presented by the University of Pittsburgh Asian Studies Center and Film Studies Program.

A brief synopsis of 2008's Mental, via the documentary's official site:

[Mental] is a documentary that observes the complex world of an outpatient mental health clinic Chorale Okayama in Japan, interwoven with patients, doctors, staff, volunteers, and home-helpers.

People with various mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, panic disorder, and personality disorder visit Chorale Okayama to see Dr. Masatomo Yamamoto. They are men and women of all ages, with diverse backgrounds and various attitudes to their own illnesses.

There is an elite businessman who worked too hard and was diagnosed with "burn-out syndrome." There is a woman who has suffered from an eating disorder since somebody said to her
that her legs were too fat. There is a mother who ended up killing her own newborn baby. Because of their illnesses, some attempt suicide repeatedly, and others actually kill themselves (As of today, two of the patients in the film have committed suicide). Some have been dealing with their illnesses for decades, and have developed their own philosophy, religious faith, or artistic expressions. Some hide their illnesses even from their family members and friends, while others give lectures to reduce prejudice and misunderstanding about mental illness.

Mental begins at 7:00 pm on Thursday, September 10, at the Frick Fine Arts Auditorium (campus map). A Q-and-A with Soda will follow.

2010's Peace, according to the documentary's official site,

is a visual-essay-like observational documentary, which contemplates these questions by observing the daily lives of people and cats in Okayama city, Japan, where life and death, acceptance and rejection are intermingled.

Three people and stray cats are the main characters.

Toshio Kashiwagi runs an affordable taxi service for the disabled and the elderly, having retired as a principal at a special school. Meanwhile, he feeds a group of stray cats everyday. However, there is a growing tension in the cats’ peaceful community because a male “thief cat,” an outsider, is trying to invade it.

Toshio’s wife, Hiroko Kashiwagi, runs a non-profit organization, which sends home helpers to houses of the elderly and the disabled. But, her organization is facing financial difficulties because of budget cuts from the government. At home, she has been grumbling about the way Toshio feeds his cats.

As a professional caregiver herself, Hiroko regularly visits 91-year-old Shiro Hashimoto to help his daily routines. Living in a mice and tick infected small apartment, Hashimoto is spending his final days thinking about his own death. His memories of being drafted to World War II come back to him while dealing with Hiroko.

And the synopsis for 2010's Campaign, via the film's official site:

Can a candidate with no political experience and no charisma win an election if he is backed by the political giant Prime Minister Koizumi and his Liberal Democratic Party? This cinema-verite documentary closely follows a heated election campaign in Kawasaki, Japan, revealing the true nature of "democracy."

In the fall of 2005, 40-year-old, self-employed Kazuhiko "Yama-san" Yamauchi's peaceful, humdrum life was turned upside-down. Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) had suddenly chosen him as its official candidate to run for a vacant seat on the Kawasaki city council. Yama-san had zero experience in politics, no charisma, no supporters, no constituency, and no time to prepare for the impending election.

Peace will begin at 2:00 pm and Campaign at 5:30 on Friday the 11th. Both movies, along with the 4:00 reception and the Q-and-A session, will be held in Lawrence Hall room 121 (campus map). The event is free and open to the public.

Free Chinese, Japanese, Korean classes at Carnegie Library in Oakland.

The start of the new school year is a good time to remind readers of the free Chinese, Japanese, and Korean classes held at the Carnegie Library in Oakland (map). Depending on the class and the particular volunteer teacher, the sessions range from a period of casual free talking to more rigorous class with workbooks and chalk-and-talk instruction on grammar and usage.

Here's a look at what's coming up, in order of proficiency level:

* Chinese for Beginners (next meeting: September 13). Held the second and fourth Sunday of the month from 3:30 to 4:30 in the Large Print Room.
* Chinese II (next meeting: September 6). Held the first and third Sunday of the month from 3:30 to 4:30 in the Large Print Room.
* Chinese Conversation Club (next meeting: September 10). Held the second and fourth Thursday of each month from 6:00 to 7:00 in the Large Print Room. For intermediate and advanced learners.

* Japanese for Beginners (next meeting: September 14). Second and fourth Monday of the month from 6:30 to 7:30 in Classroom A.
* Japanese II (next meeting: September 8). Second and fourth Tuesday of the month from 6:30 to 7:30 in Classroom A. "Japanese II is geared toward those who already have a basic understanding of Japanese and are interested in increasing proficiency," says the library website. "Ability to read and write hiragana is required to take this class."
* Japanese Conversation Club (next meeting: September 15). Held on the first and third Tuesday of the month from 6:00 to 7:00 in the Large Print Room. For intermediate and advanced learners.

* Korean for Beginners (next meeting: September 5). Every Saturday from 1:00 to 2:30 in the Large Print Room. Focuses on reading Hangeul and producing basic phrases.
* Korean II (next meeting: September 5). Every Saturday from 11:00 to 12:30 in the Large Print Room.

Students may join the class at any time of the year, though registration is now required for many of the classes. This can be done online by clicking on the class and submitting your name and email address. For more information about the courses, and to register for one, visit the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh homepage, click events, and search for Chinese, Japanese, or Korean.

Korean comedian Mi Youn Kim hanging out in Pittsburgh.

The Korean papers wrote about Korean comedian and actress Mi Youn Kim (김미연) and her trip to PNC Park on Monday the 31st. She received a ticket from rookie shortstop Jungho Kang, she wrote on Twitter.

김미연은 지난달 31일(한국시간) 자신의 트위터에 “피츠버그 PNC 파크”라며 “강정호 야구 선수가 준 티켓으로 응원 열심히 했습니다. 멋집니다. 파이팅!”이라는 글과 함께 한 장의 사진을 게재했다.

Kim is not a household name, but has appeared in a couple of movies and a handful of television programs since debuting in 2002. She took a break from acting after the 2014 movie Fantasy (화상), and currently studies at Point Park University. For the past few months on Twitter and Instagram she's documented her life in Pittsburgh and photographed herself at local landmarks like Mt. Washington, Point State Park, and Eat n' Park.


via @kim_mi_youn_mimi

헐, T-ara's Hyomin to throw first pitch in Pittsburgh at September 13 Pirates game.

With Pittsburgh rookie infielder Jung-ho Kang, via 효민's Instagram on August 31.

Hyomin, the lead singer of the K-pop group T-ara, will throw out the first pitch at PNC Park on September 13, Korean outlets have reported today. The Pirates will play the Milwaukee Brewers in the 1:35 Sunday afternoon game.