George Takei to speak at Pitt, October 17; musical film Allegiance on October 15.

Via @georgehtakei

The University of Pittsburgh will host activist, actor, and author George Takei on October 17 as the keynote speaker of this year's International Education Week.

With a career spanning five decades, George Takei is known around the world for his founding role in the acclaimed television series Star Trek, in which he played Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the Starship Enterprise. But George Takei's story goes where few stories have gone before. From a childhood spent with his family wrongfully imprisoned in a Japanese American Internment Camp during WWII, to becoming one of the country's leading figures in the fight for social justice, LGBTQ rights, and marriage equality—George Takei remains a powerful voice on issues ranging from politics to pop culture.

On Sunday, October 15th, the film adaptation of the musical Allegiance will play at Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall and Museum. A symopsis of the film, from the musical's website:

Allegiance illuminates one of American history’s lesser known chapters as it tells the story of Sam Kimura (Takei), transported back nearly six decades to when his younger self (Telly Leung, Godspell, “Glee”) and his sister Kei (Tony Award®-winner Lea Salonga, Miss Saigon, Mulan) fought to stay connected to their heritage, their family and themselves after Japanese Americans were wrongfully imprisoned during World War II. An important story told with great resonance and intimacy, Allegiance explores the ties that bind us, the struggle to persevere and the overwhelming power of forgiveness and, most especially, love.

Both events will begin at 7:00 pm, and tickets are available via the International Week website.

Handa City Nihon Buyo workshop at Pitt, October 14.

"Eiko Hayashi, Nihon Buyô – danse du Kabuki (Musée Guimet)" by Jean-Pierre Dalbéra [Creative Commons].

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center and the Japan-America Society of Pennsylvania will host a Handa City Nihon Buyo workshop on October 14.

Join the Asian Studies Center and the Japan-America Society of Pennsylvania on Saturday, October 14 from 9:30-11:30 am for a Japanese dance workshop on Nihon Buyo (日本舞踊). Nihon Buyo is a form of dance that grew out of Kabuki theater movements. A presentation, followed by a short performance of Nihon Buyo will be given by dance master Shinojo Nishikawa and her troupe. At the end of the performance, participants will learn a Nihon Buyo based dance-fitness routine (please wear comfortable clothing if you would like to participate).

This workshop is free and open to the public.

(light refreshments will be served at 9:30 and the presentation will begin at 10:00)

The event will be held at the O'Hara Student Center in Oakland (map). Reservations are required by October 11 and those interested should email Patrick Hughes at hughespw at pitt.edu.

Pitt hiring bilingual Mandarin-English temporary liaison.

The University of Pittsburgh's Katz Graduate School of Business Center for Executive Education is hiring a bilingual Mandarin-English liaison for a temporary position.

The candidate will work closely with the Director of Operations to provide logistical support for the Shougang Executive Education program. The candidate will attend all academic sessions, all site visits and all meetings with the Shougang and WholeRen team. Where necessary, the candidate will provide verbal and written translation services.

Job Requirements
Fluent in Mandarin and English (spoken and written). Experience in business. MBA and work in educational programs a plus. Must be able to attend all academic sessions and site visits. Must be able to work independently.

The job pays $17 per hour and is 30 hours per week. Those interested should apply via PittSource.

Jackie Chan's The Foreigner in Pittsburgh, from October 12.

Jackie Chan's forthcoming movie The Foreigner will open in Pittsburgh, and throughout the US, on October 12. A plot summary, from the official site:

The film tells the story of humble London businessman Quan (Chan), whose long-buried past erupts in a revenge-fueled vendetta when the only person left for him to love -- his teenage daughter -- is taken from him in a senseless act of politically-motivated terrorism.

In his relentless search for the identity of the terrorists, Quan is forced into a cat- and-mouse conflict with a British government official (Brosnan), whose own past may hold clues to the identities of the elusive killers

The movie will play at the AMC Loews Waterfront theater, Southside Works Cinema, Phoenix Theaters Chartiers Valley in Bridgeville, and at several other locations in the area, with ticket and showtime information available online.

Bae Bae's Kitchen opens downtown.

via @baebaeskitchen.

Bae Bae's Kitchen, a new Korean-owned "Asian inspired" restaurant, opened Saturday at 951 Liberty Ave. (map) in the Cultural District. A menu is not available yet, but its social media says it specializes in organic, sustainable, and healthy cuisine.

"The Magic of K-Pop: A Cultural Consumption Perspective" at Pitt, October 20.

The University of Pittsburgh's Department of East Asian Languages & Literatures will host Dr. Yun-Oh Whang of the Katz Graduate School of Business and his talk "The Magic of K-Pop: A Cultural Consumption Perspective" on October 20.

The rise of Korean music (K-Pop) around the world in the last two decades has been a mystery to many industry experts. Some compares it to the explosion of British rock and roll in 1960s (“The British Invasion”), calling it “The Korean Wave (Han-Ryu)”. Even though it is not a part of the main stream music worldwide, it definitely deserves our attention as a cultural sensation. What is the magic ingredient of K-Pop for its worldwide popularity? How has a tiny country such as South Korea become a major exporter of a cultural product? We will first discuss the history of the rise of K-Pop and try to identify the answers to these questions. Our focus will be on K-Pop as a cultural product and examine the market forces including the consumers who adopted K-Pop as their music of choice.

The event starts at 12:00 noon in 4130 Posvar Hall (map) and is free and open to the public.

Japanese rock band Boris (ボリス) in Pittsburgh, October 27.

Japanese band Boris (ボリス) will play at Mr. Smalls Theater on October 27. Boris---which has tried to eschew labels but has been labelled heavy metal and experimental rock---is touring Europe and the US for its 25th Anniversary Tour. The Pittsburgh City-Paper summarized Boris ahead of a 2007 show here:

Three Japanese musicians merge into one pure vacuum of rock influence by absorbing every hyphenated, italicized and marginalized genre. Atsuo (drums), Wata (guitar) and Takeshi (bass) have fashioned a stellar compass of sounds since they first coalesced in 1992. Boris affords its members a sort of artistic invisibility, a singular tri-dentity capable of boundless experimentation. Last names are always withheld and song credits littered with intentional errors to further dissociate the music from its makers.

Tickets for the all-ages show are $18 to $20 online. Mr. Smalls Theatre is located at 400 Lincoln Ave. in Millvale (map).

Upcoming anime film Fate/stay night: Heaven's Feel 1. presage flower (劇場版 Fate / stay night [Heaven's Feel] 第一章「presage flower」) in Pittsburgh in November.

The upcoming anime film Fate/stay night: Heaven's Feel 1. presage flower (劇場版 Fate / stay night [Heaven's Feel] 第一章「presage flower」) will play at the Hollywood Theater in Dormont on November 18.

OCA Pittsburgh Free Medical and Dental Clinic (義診), October 23.

The Pittsburgh chapter of the Organization of Chinese Americans will host its annual Free Medical and Dental Clinic on October 23 at UPMC Montefiore Hospital in Oakland. Walkins are welcome, but registration is preferred. Please see the flyers above for clinic and registration information.

Japan-inspired crepes coming soon(er) to Squirrel Hill.

Photo on right via T-swirl Crêpe Facebook page.

New signage is up at 1714 Murray Ave. (map) for T-Swirl Crêpe, a chain of crepe restaurants with its first Pittsburgh location set to open in Squirrel Hill.

The story of T-swirl Crepe starts thousands of miles away on the shores of Japan. The Japanese Crepe borrows from a western concept and modernized it into new level of versatility that you can gobble on the go. Building on this new concept, T-swirl started to research and have perfected the 100% gluten free rice flour batter, to craft a crispy thin chewy layer that embraces all the decadent condiments. T-swirl is synonymous with using the finest ingredients to construct a trendy/artistic crepe that arrives to your hand with incredible speed. We have standardized the process to give you a consistently clean and delicious crepe.

"Coming Soon" signage first went up in May 2016, and the store was originally scheduled to open in July. And though the chain started in New York City, it has a Pittsburgh connection, as an NBC story on "undocumented entrepreneurs" found:

In 2007, Andy Lin moved out of New York, travelling to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to begin work at a hibachi restaurant where Jerry Lin was already employed, he said. Andy Lin proved a quick study, Jerry Lin recalled, earning the plaudits of the owner who asked him to partner to open another store two years later.

But despite earning more than $10,000 a month, Andy Lin said he began to feel his career plateauing after years of doing the same thing day in, day out.

That's when he noticed the frozen yogurt shop across from his restaurant in Pittsburgh and decided to take a chance, he said.

Hoping to ride the frozen-yogurt wave washing up in cities across the country, Andy Lin returned his share of the restaurant and left at the end of 2010, he said.