Thursday, October 17, 2019

"Why BTS? Why K-pop? Global Success and UK Reception," October 24 at Pitt.



The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center presents Dr. Haekyung Um and her talk "Why BTS? Why K-pop? Global Success and UK Reception" on October 24.
The international breakthrough of BTS is marked by their success in the USA and their albums, Love Yourself: Tear and Love Yourself: Answer, in May and September respectively. Their EP Mal of the Soul: Persona, released in April 2019, also topped both the UK Official Chart and teh US Billboard 200 Chart. The global, US, and UK reception of BTS in the past few years, has shed a light on how K-op has been evolving and how Asian pop music genres have been received by both the mainstream music industry and consumers in the west. This process has been taking place in the context of a fast-changing ecology of the creative industries, shaped by digital technology and social media, which in turn mobilize and above all, empower the fandom and audiences engaged in this music form.
The talk starts at 5:00 pm in 232 Cathedral of Learning (map) and is free and open to the public.

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

2019 Japanese animated film Human Lost (人間失格) in Pittsburgh, October 22 and 23.



The 2019 Japanese animated film Human Lost (人間失格) will play in Pittsburgh on October 22 and 23. From the distributor:
From the chief director of PSYCHO-PASS, director of Afro Samurai, and the studio that brought you Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters.

The year is 2036. A revolution in medical treatment has conquered death by means of internal nanomachines and the “Shell System”, yet only the richest can afford to partake.

Yozo Oba isn’t the richest. Troubled by strange dreams, he flippantly joins his friend’s biker gang on an ill-fated incursion to “The Inside”, where society’s elite lives. This instigates a journey of terrifying discovery that will change Yozo’s life forever.
It will play at the Southside Works Cinema and tickets are available online. The 22nd's screening will be in Japanese while the 23rd's will be dubbed in English.

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

2019 Takashi Miike film First Love (初恋) in Pittsburgh, October 18 - 24.



The 2019 Takashi Miike film First Love (初恋) will play in Pittsburgh from October 18 through 24. The distributor provides a brief summary:
The film is the prolific auteur, Takashi Miike, at his most fun and anarchic, a noir-tinged yakuza film blending genres in the story of a young boxer and a call girl, who fall passionately in love while getting innocently caught up in a drug-smuggling scheme over the course of one night in Tokyo.
It will play at the Regent Square Theater at 1035 S. Braddock Ave. (map) and tickets are now available online.

New Chinese movie The Captain (中国机长) in Pittsburgh, from October 18.



The 2019 Chinese film The Captain (中国机长) will play in Pittsburgh from October 18. The distributor writes of the film, based on the 2018 Sichuan Airlines Flight 8633 incident:
Director Andrew Lau's cinematic portrayal of the most miraculous emergency landing in the contemporary history of Chinese aviation.
It has been the top film in China the past two weekends and is currently the fifth-highest grossing film of the year there, despite not being released until September 30. It will play at the AMC Loews Waterfront and tickets are available on the theater's site. The theater is located at 300 West Waterfront Dr. in the Waterfront shopping complex in Homestead (map), across the Monongahela River from Greenfield, Squirrel Hill, and the rest of Pittsburgh.

Chinese film My People, My Country (我和我的祖国) to continue in Pittsburgh through October 23.



The 2019 Chinese film My People, My Country (我和我的祖国), which opened in Pittsburgh on October 1, will continue here through at least October 23. The Chinese government provides an overview:
The film production "My People, My Country" provides grand and ambitious scale narratives spanning seven decades of the People's Republic of China to capture historical moments, but through the unique perspectives of ordinary people.

The film, set to dominate China's 70th National Day holiday season, is a combination of seven short films by seven elite Chinese directors headed by award-winning veterans Chen Kaige and Huang Jianxin.

The film's focus is not about the historical moments themselves, but is through an ordinary people's perspective to portray those who were dedicated to or affected by the historical moments.
Despite just being released in China on September 30, it is the fourth highest-grossing film of the year there. It plays at the AMC Loews Waterfront and tickets are available online. The theater is located at 300 West Waterfront Dr. in the Waterfront shopping complex in Homestead (map), across the Monongahela River from Greenfield, Squirrel Hill, and the rest of Pittsburgh.

"Curative Violence: Rehabilitating Disability, Gender, And Sexuality In Modern Korea," November 1 at Pitt.



Eunjung Kim of Syracuse University will discuss her book Curative Violence: Rehabilitating Disability, Gender, And Sexuality In Modern Korea at the University of Pittsburgh on November 1.

Bong Joon-ho film Parastie (기생충) in Pittsburgh from November 1.



Tickets just went on sale for Pittsburgh screenings of the acclaimed 2019 Bong Joon-ho film Parastie (기생충), which will play locally from November 1.
Bong Joon Ho brings his singular mastery home to Korea in this pitch-black modern fairytale.

Meet the Park Family: the picture of aspirational wealth. And the Kim Family, rich in street smarts but not much else. Be it chance or fate, these two houses are brought together and the Kims sense a golden opportunity. Masterminded by college-aged Ki-woo, the Kim children expediently install themselves as tutor and art therapist, to the Parks. Soon, a symbiotic relationship forms between the two families. The Kims provide “indispensable” luxury services while the Parks obliviously bankroll their entire household. When a parasitic interloper threatens the Kims’ newfound comfort, a savage, underhanded battle for dominance breaks out, threatening to destroy the fragile ecosystem between the Kims and the Parks. By turns darkly hilarious and heart-wrenching, PARASITE showcases a modern master at the top of his game.
Parasite won the Palme d'Or at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. It will play at the Manor Theater in Squirrel Hill (map) from November 1 and tickets are available online.

Wang Lu's "Manifold" with Yangjin, October 19.



Alia Musica will present a performance of Wang Lu's "Manifold" on October 19 in Oakland.
Alia Musica partners with Yangjin in a special event of music for the pipa and various ensembles.

The concert includes a 12-player chamber version of Wang Lu's "Manifold," commissioned and premiered at the Festival of Firsts in Downtown Pittsburgh in 2018.

Plus music by HouYuan Wu, Zhanhao He, Vittorio Monti, Xing Liu, Chang Liu, and Astor Piazzola's Libertango.
Tickets are currently available online for $10. The performance runs from 7:00 to 9:00 pm at Bellefield Hall in Oakland (map).

SAP Ariba hiring bilingual Mandarin-English Procurement Operations Specialist for overnight call center position.

SAP Ariba is hiring a bilingual Mandarin-English Procurement Operations Specialist for an overnight call center position in Pittsburgh.
Hours: The shift is 8pm-4am EST Sunday evening through Friday morning

Must be bilingual in Mandarin and English.

ROLE DESCRIPTION:

The Customer Support Associate primary function is to effectively support Ariba applications for both internal and external customers. Support includes site navigation and system troubleshooting as well as interfacing with other Ariba teams to ensure world-class service. Assistants will provide complete satisfaction for all customer interactions.


EXPECTATIONS AND TASKS:

Responsibilities
  • Provide inbound and outbound (phone, email, web form, chat, community) application/ functional support and resolution to customers (external and internal) while presenting the company in a positive and fair manner with timely updates and knowledgeable answers
  • Collaborate, coordinate, and escalate on customer issues acting as a customer advocate while working with all departments
  • Maintaining the quality of the customer support organization (release readiness, process definition, training, service audits…)
  • Document transactions in CRM system
  • Create content for knowledge base systems

Monday, October 14, 2019

Japanese Tea Ceremony, November 3 at Blue Monkey Tea in Squirrel Hill.



Squirrel Hill's Blue Monkey Tea will host Yuko Eguchi Wright and a Japanese Tea Ceremony on November 3.
Tea ceremony, or Chado (The Way of Tea), is a traditional Japanese art involving the ritualistic preparation of tea. Influenced by the philosophy of Zen Buddhism, the core teaching of chado is to attain a spiritual state of selflessness and peacefulness through making and sharing tea while maintaining harmony and balance with nature. Join us to learn about the Japanese tea ceremony through tasting tea and sweets.

Yuko Eguchi is a native of Tokyo, Japan and holds a Ph.D. in ethnomusicology from the University of Pittsburgh. She received her tea master title and name, Soyu, in 2009 and the associate professor of tea title in 2013, certified by the head master of the Urasenke school. Yuko currently teaches at Pitt and has performed and lectured on Japanese traditional arts at various higher institutions. Visit her website: www.yukoeguchi.com
The event starts at 6:00 pm and the required tickets are $25. Blue Monkey Tea is located at 5872 Forbes Ave. (map).

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