Chiharu Shiota "Traces of Memory" exhibition still at Mattress Factory.

"Stairway", from Chiharu Shiota's official website.

An exhibition by Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota that was scheduled to run through May 31 will remain on display for the foreseeable future. "Traces of Memory" is at the Mattress Factory's new satellite gallery, located at 516 Sampsonia Way (map), a few houses down from the museum's main building and down the street from the City of Asylum. The museum's website summarizes the exhibit:

Central to the artist’s work are the themes of remembrance and oblivion, dreaming and sleeping, traces of the past and childhood and dealing with anxiety. Shiota explores the relationship between waking life and memories through hauntingly beautiful installations that incorporate everyday objects like shoes, pianos and hospital beds encased in webs of yarn. Stretched in multi-layers in a gallery space, Shiota weaves disorienting cocoons of black yarn that reflect the artist’s desire to ‘draw in the air’.

The site-specific installation of new works by Shiota will fill the eight rooms in the building at 516 Sampsonia Way—a 19th-century row home with a storied past—which is suited to the artist’s work. Its interior is cosmetically untouched; the raw condition of the building lends itself well to reflections on the past and the conjuring of memories.

July's Let's READ English book selection, The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida, July 11.

"Let's READ English" is a monthly book discussion group at the Carnegie Library in Oakland for English as a Second Language readers.

We will read one book each month and then meet to discuss the story, improve our vocabulary and practice our English reading and conversational skills. And have FUN!

July's selection is The Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice of a Thirteen-Year-Old Boy with Autism by Naoki Higashida. A summary from NPR:

A journey into the mind of a remarkable 13-year-old Japanese boy with severe autism shares firsthand insights into a variety of experiences associated with the disorder, from behavioral traits and misconceptions to perceptions about the world and social awareness. Translated by David Mitchell and KA Yoshida.

Further commentary in this 2013 New York Times review.

The next meeting is Friday, July 11, from 2:00 to 3:00 pm in the Large Print Room of the Carnegie Library in Oakland (map). Registration is required, and can be done so online at the event listing.

Taiwanese pitcher Liao makes debut with Pirates' farm team.

Earlier in the week, pitcher Jen-Lei Liao (廖任磊) made his debut with Pittsburgh's Gulf Coast League affiliate, "giving up," as Bucs Dugout reports, "a run on three hits in an inning and a third, while striking out two." The Pirates signed the 20-year-old pitcher in February. He's listed at 6'6" 260-ish pounds (198 cm, 120 kg), and he joins catcher Jin-De Jhang (張進德) and pitcher Yao-Hsun Yang (陽耀勳) as the Taiwanese players currently in the Pirates' system. In February the website Pirates Prospects profiled these three players and the Pirates' brief history of scouting in Taiwan.

University of Pittsburgh Chancellor Mark Nordenberg with the mayor of Pohang, Lee Kang-duk (이강덕) , on June 24. Nordenberg was in South Korea's steel capital giving talks at Pohang National University of Science & Technology on the 24th.

Pitt's Chancellor Nordenberg to speak about Pittsburgh, Pitt at Pohang University of Science and Technology, June 24.

Via POSTECH.

University of Pittsburgh Chancellor Mark Nordenberg will speak in Pohang, South Korea, on the 24th as part of this year's Advance Pohang Forum at the Pohang University of Science and Technology. He will give a lecture in the morning on "Pittsburgh and Pitt, The Rebirth of a Great American City" (피츠버그, 위대한 미국도시의 재탄생), and a lecture open to the public in the afternoon on "The Role of Research Universities in 21st Century America" (21세기 미국 연구중심대학의 역할).

Taiwanese inventors win 76 medals at INPEX 2014 in Pittsburgh.

Via the CNA and Yahoo! Taiwan.

At the 2014 Invention and New Product Exposition (INPEX), held at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center from June 18 through 20, Taiwanese inventors were again the big winners, earning 32 gold and 44 silver medals at the annual international invention trade show.

Green tea cake, from Sumi's Cakery.

Chinese, Korean shorts at the Pittsburgh Independent Film Festival this weekend.

The Pittsburgh Independent Film Festival begins today---sorry for the late notice, blame the local papers---and a few short films are of relevance to this website, including: one on "a group of renegade Chinese artists"; "Winter Shower" by Kyoungju Kim; and "Door God" by Yulin Liu. Steel Cinema has a full schedule and list of synopses. Movies are shown at the Ryan Event Center in McKees Rocks (map), and as the paper says, beware road construction if you go.

Ai Wei Wei: The Fake Case at Harris Theater, from June 27.

From the official website.

The 2014 documentary Ai Wei Wei: The Fake Case will play at the Harris Theater from June 27. A summary, from the distributor's website:

After 81 days of solitary detention world famous Chinese artist Ai Weiwei is put under house arrest. He suffers from sleeping disorder and memory loss, 18 cameras are monitoring his studio and home, police agents follow his every move, and heavy restrictions from the Kafkaesque Chinese authorities weigh him down. Picking up where Alison Klayman's Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry left off, AI WEIWEI THE FAKE CASE is more explicitly political, reflecting Ai's battle against the gigantic lawsuit thrust upon him by the Chinese government in an effort to silence him. Ai Weiwei is shaken, but during his year on probation he steadily finds new ways to provoke and challenge the mighty powers of the Chinese authorities in his fight for human rights and free expression.

The Fake Case made its US debut in New York on May 16. Times and dates for the Pittsburgh run have not yet been announced, but should be on the Pittsburgh Filmmakers site shortly. The Harris Theater is located at 809 Liberty Ave., downtown, in the Cultural District (map).

BonChon coming to Philadelphia.

Bonchon, a chain of Korean fried chicken places, is coming to Philadelphia, writes Philly.com.

[I]t's being built on the ground floor of a new apartment building at 1020 Cherry St. That is across the street from Simply Shabu, the hot-pot specialist.

BonChon will have a liquor license and is pegged for a September opening.

BonChon will open in the middle of Philadelphia's Chinatown; here's a map.