THE APPA Newsletter

November 2, 2004

 

Day of the Dead

http://www.olvera-street.com/dia_de_los_muertos.html

 

See This Weekend

 

MISSION STATEMENT:

Promote full utilization of the capabilities of the Enterprise's employees and champion the betterment of the company and community. Promote interest in Asian Pacific issues and culture and act as a bridge to all groups within our community.

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ed. by Douglas Ikemi

(dkikemi@pacbell.net)

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The internet site is at:

www.apa-pro.org    

Our own domain name, apa-pro.org, stands for Asian Pacific American Professionals. www.apa-pro.org/ gives you a menu of AP organization websites.

Back issues of the newsletter for all of 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003 are available on the website if you want to look up some past event.

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APPA Board Meeting Schedule for 2004:

Wednesday evening meetings open to the public will be at the Hilton Garden Inn, 2100 Mariposa Ave.(corner of Nash) at 6PM.

 

December 15

 

Detailed, updated calendar is available on the internet at www.apa-pro.org in Acrobat and Excel formats [I'll update it someday when I have some more time] Please send in information on cultural events and news items. Thanks to those who have.

 

Long range calendar items:

 

Chinatown Farmers Market Every Thursday, 3:00pm to 7:00pm Chinatown Business Improvement District http://www.ChinatownLA.com/  For Information (213)_ 680-0243 

 

Oct 13-Nov 17 Film Festival - Reel China: Six Nights of New Chinese Documentaries At UCLA every Wednesday, October 13 - November 17, 2004. The Critical Studies, Department of Film and Television at UCLA presents Reel China: Six Nights of New Chinese Documentaries. This screening series is part of the ongoing fall 2004 REEL CHINA: New Chinese Documentary Festival in New York and Boston. It is perhaps not until late 1980s when documentary filmmaking in China started to realize the medium's major raison d'etre as social expression and critique in the most grassroots way possible. The appearance of such new documentaries - termed as the "New Documentary Movement" (xin jilu yundong) in China - is the combined result of a number of factors: a general mixed sense of hope and loss amidst an era of dramatic change; greater freedom in the economic sector plus technological advancement in digital media that makes independent and amateur filmmaking increasingly possible, etc. This is a movement that does not have a conscious manifesto but has doubtless grown out of the collective psyche of China around the turn of the century.

PROGRAM:

 Nov.10   The Happy Life (2002, 90m, dir. JIANG Yue)

Dance with the Farm Workers (2001, 57m, dir. WU Wenguang)

Nov.17   Equilibrium (2000, 150m, dir. PENG Hui)

All films will be screened in DVD or VHS format with English subtitles

 Parking: Free on Loring Ave. (south of Sunset Blvd., east of Hilgard Ave. at Charing Cross Rd.) after 6 pm daily. $7 in Lot 3, adjacent to Melnitz Hall. Purchase parking at the Wyton Dr. entrance to UCLA (at Wyton Dr. and Hilgard Ave.) before 7pm, or at the Lot 3 gate after 7pm.

Organized by: Critical Studies, Department of Film and Television, UCLA

Thanks to: REC Foundation/Dept. of Cinema Studies, NYU

 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM, UCLA, 1422 Melnitz Hall, Los Angeles, CA 90095. Cost: Free

 

Sept 12- Jan 2, 2005 George Nakashima: Nature, Form & Spirit at the JANM. This exhibition will feature a range of George Nakashimas designs from the immediate post-World War II period until his death in 1990. Photographs, ephemera, and other archival materials pertaining to Nakashima will also be on display. Most of the objects come from the collection of the Nakashima family and will be supplemented with local loans. A video piece by John Terry Nakashima, a media producer and nephew of George, will be on view in the Terasaki Orientation Theater. George Nakashima: Nature, Form & Spirit is based on an exhibition organized by the Mingei International Museum in San Diego with Mira Nakashima, curatorial consultant. http://www.janm.org/exhibits/nakashima/

 

Oct 2 Jan 2, 2005 Exhibition - Rinko Kawauchi: AILA

At the UCR/California Museum of Photography. UCR/California Museum of Photography is pleased to present AILA, the first major solo debut for Rinko Kawauchi, a young photographer based out of Tokyo, Japan. UCR/California Museum of Photography, 3824 Main Street, Downtown Riverside, CA 92501. $1 for the general public and free to members, students and seniors. Hours: Tuesday through Saturday, 12 PM to 5 PM. For more information please contact Linda Theung, 951-827-5017

Email: linda.theung@email.ucr.edu

Website: www.cmp.ucr.edu/pr

 

Chanoma Film Festival 2004 presents nine various  Japanese heart-warming films from Kurosawas masterpiece  to modern animation. The festival will be held at Laemmles  Fairfax Cinema in West Hollywood, Laemmles One Colorado  Cinema in Pasadena, and Laguna Hills Mall Cinemas in Orange County.  These films were depicted from the familys view point and  give us a chance to re-think what a family is to us. Audiences  can enjoy the films regardless of their age. Our goal was to deliver  a further cultural exchange and mutual understanding of the Japanese  culture to the American and Japanese audience living in Los Angeles. Chanoma Film Festival 2004 will  present Japanese films from September through December one week  per month at West Hollywood. In addition, Japanese films will be  presented in Pasadena and Orange County for one week in October.

http://www.chanoma.org

Laemmle's Fairfax  Cinemas, Los Angeles

7907 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90048 Tel: 323-655-4010

 Website: http://www.laemmle.com/theatres/fairfax/fairfax.html

Revival of Chanoma Film Festival 2003 November 12 - November 18,  2004

Remembering the Cosmos Flower 1:00pm / 7:35 pm

 Sand Castle -Model Home Family- 3:15pm / 9:50pm

 Sukiyaki 5:30pm

Japanese Animations December 10 - December 16, 2004

 Catnapped! 1:00pm / 4:30pm / 8:00 pm

 The Day the Earth Moved 2:45 pm / 6:15pm / 9:45pm

Laemmle's  One Colorado Cinemas, Pasadena

42 Miller Alley, Pasadena, CA 91103 Tel: 626-744-1224

 Website: http://www.laemmle.com/theatres/onecolorado/onecolorado.html

 

Visual Communications presents ...

 PAST/FORWARD

 NOVEMBER 14, 2004, 7:30 PM

 at the Aratani/Japan America Theatre in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles

 Despite heated requests for the infamous celebration of Asian Pacific

 American chili and rice and cinema, Visual Communications has formally

 announced that it will not be having its community ChiliVisions event this

 summer.

 Originally scheduled for August, ChiliVisions has been replaced by

 Past/Forward, a fundraiser to benefit the Linda Mabalot Legacy Fund and

 Visual Communications' programs.

http://www.vconline.org/pastforward/nochili.html

 

Dec 11 Yamabiko Kai Theatrical Co. 1 & 7Pm, presents Tales of the Echo musical based on Japanese Folk Tales. Aratani/Japan America Theatre in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles. Tickets $22, $19 JACCC Members, $25 orchestra, $22 balcony.

 

The Van Nuys Japanese Garden needs volunteers on Sundays in work in the Shoin Tea House, 11AM-3PM, 1 or 2 Sundays each month. Volunteers needed to either prepare tea or serve. Gift shop volunteers also needed, Mon-Thu and Sunday, mornings or afternoons, 2-3 hour shifts. Contact: The Japanese Garden, Attn: Betty Ethridge, 6100 Woodley Ave., Van Nuys, CA 91406.

 

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This Weekend (and earlier)

 

Nov 4-Dec 11 Yasujiro Ozu Film Program at UCLA

The Wests canon of classic Japanese cinema is made up largely of the work of three giants: Kurosawa, Mizoguchi and Ozu.  While the films of Kurosawa (considered the most Western of the three) are regularly revived in Los Angeles, the films of Yasujiro Ozu (1903-1963) have been almost impossible to see on local screens in recent years.  In honor of his centenary, Shochiku (the studio for which Ozu made almost all of his films) has made Ozus films available to North American audiences, and the Archive, in conjunction with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, is proud to bring this retrospective to Los Angeles. Together, the screenings at the Archive and LACMA display the range of Ozus genius, from rollicking farce to heartbreaking subtlety.  The Archives screenings include several gems from his prewar period, including the uproarious I WAS BORN, BUT and the remarkable, Sternberg-inspired gangster film DRAGNET GIRL.  We open with LATE SPRING, the masterpiece that many (including Ozu fans Claire Denis, Hou and Wenders) count among the filmmakers finest.  And we close with the sublime AN AUTUMN AFTERNOON.

 *All films in this series are presented in Japanese with English subtitles.

Parking is available adjacent to the James Bridges Theater in Lot 3 for $7; there is free parking on Loring Ave. after 6:00 pm on weekdays and all day on weekends. 

*LACMA will screen (11) additional Ozu films Nov. 527.

7:30 PM - 9:30 PM, UCLA, James Bridges Theater, Melnitz Hall, Los Angeles, CA 90095

Advance tickets for all films screening at UCLA are available for $8 at www.cinema.ucla.edu. Tickets are also available at the theater one hour before showtime: $7 general admission; $5 students, seniors and UCLA Alumni Association members with ID. Tel: 310.206.FILM. www.cinema.ucla.edu

 

Nov 5 Performance - Violin Concert : Diganth - An Indian classical music concert by Dr. L. Subramaniam At the Harry and Yvonne Lenart Auditorium

UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History. SPICMACAY UCLA presents Diganth- an Indian classical music concert by the world renowned violin maestro Dr. L. Subramaniam accompanied by Mahesh Krishnamurthy on the mridangam. Dr. Subramaniam has his roots in Carnatic music ( South Indian classical music as opposed to the North Indian or Hindustani classical music). He is an acclaimed pioneer of East-West orchestral compositions. Dr. Subramaniam has written, conducted, and performed with the world's greatest orchestras and made recordings with legends like Stephane Grappelli, Yehudi Menuhin, Herbie Hancock, Jean-Pierre Rampal, Joe Sample, Stanley Clarke, George Duke and Larry Coryell.SPIC MACAY (Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture Amongst Youth) is a global society that endeavors to bring the brilliance of Indian classical music traditions, art and culture to young generations worldwide, especially to students in the academia. SPIC MACAY UCLA invites you to the open Carnatic violin concert Diganth the horizon of transition from roots to creative space. Experience the essence of Indian classical music, which allows a performer the space to improvise and play impromptu, extending the grammar by creative impulse, in the form of Carnatic music renditions by Dr. L. Subramaniam. 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM. The Harry and Yvonne Lenart Auditorium, UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History, Los Angeles, CA 90095. Cost: Free. For more information please contact Fowler Museum Tel: 310-825-4361, spcmacay@ucla.edu

www.studentgroups.ucla.edu/spicmacay

 

Nov 5 Screening - Seoul Train, AFI FEST 2004. Directed by Jim Butterworth, Lisa Sleeth, Aaron Lubarsky. USA/China/South Korea/55 min.

Featuring riveting footage of a secretive "underground railroad," SEOUL TRAIN is a gripping expos into the life and death struggles of North Koreans as they try to escape their homeland. Through personal stories and expert interviews, the film also delves into the complex geopolitics behind this growing humanitarian crisis. In Korean, English and Mandarin with English subtitles. Directors Jim Butterworth, Lisa Sleeth and Aaron Lubarsky will participate in a Q&A following both screenings. 7:30 PM - 9:30 PM. ArcLight Hollywood, 6360 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA . Cost: $7 - $ 11. Parking Information ArcLight is directly adjacent to a seven-level parking garage. Self-park entrances are off Ivar to the west, DeLongpre to the south and off Sunset, just east of the Cinerama Dome. ArcLight offers validation with purchase of a movie ticket - effective October 20, 2004, your first four hours are $1 with purchase of a regular cinema ticket, and only $2.50 with purchase of a film festival or other special event ticket. Parking is validated for 1 hour free with purchase in the caf bar or gift shop, with a maximum of 4 hours total validation. Regular rates apply after validation period with a maximum total charge of $6.00 per visit.  Tel: 1.866.AFIFEST. www.AFI.com

 

Nov 5 Performance - Kazuki: This is My Earth At the Aratani / Japan America Theatre. The Japanese American Cultural and Community Center (JACCC) and the Tokyo Gingado Theatrical Company present "Kazuki: This is My Earth." "Kazuki: This is My Earth" explores the dogged devotion of an artist fiercely committed to expressing his experiences in a Siberian detention camp on canvas, and the lessons, hardships and rewards that were garnered in the process. From the death of his daughter, to the world-wide acclaim for his artistry, this dramatic interpretation shows the young Yasuo and the old Yasuo face to face onstage as they debate and wrestle with the last dramatic forty years of Yasuo's life. Written and Directed by Yoshimasa Shinagawa.

8:00 PM - 10:00 PM. Japanese American Cultural & Community Center (JACCC) George & Sakaye Aratani Japan America Theatre, 244 South San Pedro Street, Los Angeles (Little Tokyo), CA 90012. Cost: $30 Adult, Orch and Balc; $20 JACCC Member, Orch and Balc; $15 Senior, Orch and Balc; $15 Student, Balcony Only. More info: call the Box Office at 213.680.3700. www.jaccc.org

 

Nov 6  Performance - Kazuki: This is My Earth At the Aratani / Japan America Theatre. The Japanese American Cultural and Community Center (JACCC) and the Tokyo Gingado Theatrical Company present "Kazuki: This is My Earth." There will be two performances, at 2 pm and 8 pm. "Kazuki: This is My Earth" explores the dogged devotion of an artist fiercely committed to expressing his experiences in a Siberian detention camp on canvas, and the lessons, hardships and rewards that were garnered in the process. From the death of his daughter, to the world-wide acclaim for his artistry, this dramatic interpretation shows the young Yasuo and the old Yasuo face to face onstage as they debate and wrestle with the last dramatic forty years of Yasuo's life. Written and Directed by Yoshimasa Shinagawa.Japanese American Cultural & Community Center (JACCC). George & Sakaye Aratani Japan America Theatre, 244 South San Pedro Street, Los Angeles (Little Tokyo), CA 90012. Cost: $30 Adult, Orch and Balc; $20 JACCC Member, Orch and Balc; $15 Senior, Orch and Balc; $15 Student, Balcony Only. More info: call the Box Office at 213.680.3700. www.jaccc.org

 

Nov 6  17th Annual Sammy Lee Lecture on Chinese Archaeology and Art. Yuanmingyuan: The Garden of Perfect Brightness - A Mirror for the Last Dynasty of China, presented by Che Bing CHIU, Professor at the Centre de recherche sur l'Extrme-Orient de Paris-Sorbonne. Dr. Che Bing CHIU's presentation on will begin at 2:00 p.m. and is free and open to the public. The lecture will be followed by a public reception from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m., where refreshments will be served. Yuanmingyuan, the Garden of Perfect Brightness in northwest Beijing, was simultaneously Chinas most famous garden and one about which little was known. It had hills, ponds, lakes, and palaces filled with treasures. Although ordinary Chinese heard about the beauty of the garden and its treasures, they could not enter it. With its burning by British and French troops in 1860, the garden became a myth in the full sense of the term. Construction of the garden began in 1709 and took more than 150 years to complete. It served six generations of Qing emperors. The Garden of Perfect Brightness became the symbol of the Chinese Empire and the real seat of the imperial power, since the Manchu sovereigns preferred to reside there rather than in the Forbidden City. By the time the Garden of Perfect Brightness was destroyed, it was the most important imperial garden of China and held an important library, a priceless art collection, and an open-air museum of architecture and landscape architecture. With its destruction, part of the history of China and part of the memory of mankind were irretrievably lost.

The Sammy Yukuan Lee lectures are sponsored at UCLA by the Asia Institute and funded by the Lee Family Foundation. The series was begun in 1982 in honor of the 80th birthday of Sammy Yukuan Lee, a noted collector and authority on Chinese art, particularly lacquers, textiles, and ceramics. Sammy Yukuan Lee is now in his 102nd year and remains active as an art collector. The lectures have been held annually in recent years and this year's event will be the 17th in the series. Parking is available in Parking Structure 4 on the UCLA campus for $7. Map and directions to UCLA. Reservations are not required for either parking or the lecture. 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM, UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History, Lenart Auditorium, Los Angeles, CA 90095. Free and open to the public. Campus parking is $7. Reception with refreshments to follow. For more information please contact Clayton Dube, (310) 825-0007. cdube@international.ucla.edu

 

Nov 7 Performance - Natori-Hiro Minyo Show At the Aratani / Japan America Theatre. The Japanese American Cultural and Community Center (JACCC) and Nippon Minyo Nishimura-Kai present "Natori-Hiro Minyo Show," a Japanese folk song show. Special guest artist, Fumio Otsuka from Japan is performing in this minyo show. 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM. Japanese American Cultural & Community Center (JACCC) George & Sakaye Aratani Japan America Theatre, 244 South San Pedro Street, Los Angeles (Little Tokyo), CA 90012. Cost: $35 General Admission. For more information please contact Nishimura-Kai Tel: 310-828-3510, www.jaccc.org

 

Nov 7 Da de los Muertos Festival -- Canoga Park (Sherman Way between Canoga Avenue and Vassar Ave) 10AM-5PM. This street festival celebrates the dead in their journey from death to celebrate life with loved ones. It showcases an art exhibit, an altar contest, a childrens pavilion, and an assortment of cuisine, arts and crafts. It also offers entertainment and a car altar exhibit. Information: (818) 346-4892. http://www.mainstreetcanogapark.org/

 

Nov 7 Screening and Discussion - Cinema Symposium 2: "Passionate Dreams and Realistic Journeys" VietNamese Language and Culture (VNLC) in collaboration with Vietnamese American Arts & Letters Association (VAALA) presents a panel discussion with showcase of film clips. PANEL DISCUSSION with showcase of film clips: 3:00 pm 5:00 pm

 Panelists:

Kieu Chinh (Actress/Joy Luck Club), Catherine Thuy Ai (Actress/Green Dragon), Long Nguyen (Actor/First Morning), Johnny (Minh Tri) Nguyen (Stunt&Actor/Spiderman 2 /First Morning), Krystal Lynn (Make-up artist/Spirits), Cooper Donaldson (Cinematographer/Spirits), Nghiem-Minh Nguyen-Vo (Director/Buffalo Boy), Ham Tran (Director/The Anniversary), Victor Vu (Director/Spirits).

 Moderated by AnThu Vuong & Jenni Trang Le

SPECIAL SCREENING of 4 short films followed by Q&A: 5:00 pm - 6:30 pm

"Montmartre Murder Mystery" by Huy Truong

"Color Blind" by Ethan Tran

"Tuesday After" by Quyen Tran

"Running in Tall Grasses" by Howard Vu

UCLA, Haines Hall 39, Los Angeles, CA 90095. Cost: Free. For more information please contact. VAALA and VNLC Tel: (714) 891-8172

vnlc@uclacsc.org www.VietFilmFest.com

 

November 6th & 7th, Aquarium of the Pacific Autumn Festival, Celebrating the cultures of Japan, China, Korea and Viet Nam. Some of the participants include:

Southern California Korean Dancing School,

Acrobatic Balancing Acts & Magic by Sha Sha Lui & Pedro Chan,

Art Nakane and his One Man Band

Angi Ma Wong - Feng Shui Demonstrations

Orgami Demonstrations by Michael Ujin Sanders

Japanese Dancing by Bando Mitsuhiro Kai

Cultural Storytelling by Actors of SAG Foundation, BookPals

Northern Shaolim Kung Fu Association - Chinese Lion Dance, Dragon Dance & Kung Fu & Weaponry and

Cultural Dive Presentations in the Blue Cavern

Kids Kraft Area with Fish Kites, Origami and Lantern Making

 

 

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Last Weekend(s)

Caught a little of the autumn festival at the Van Nuys Japanese Garden

 

 

Cultural history in the making: Asian American rapper Jin

http://www.mtv.com/news/yhif/jin/

 

 

 

LA Times: (The Times are requiring registration again, but you might as well sign up for the free on-line access to their articles. This week they may even be accessible without registration. Calendar articles are usually only accessible with a paid subscription.)

 

Nov 2 REGION & STATE

Vietnamese TV Show Put Back on Schedule

 The MTV-style series was canceled in October after viewers protested images of Ho Chi Minh and the flag of Vietnam.

By Mai Tran, Times Staff Writer

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-show2nov02,1,27544.story

 

Nov 1 Appendix rupture likelier in poor or minority children

From Reuters

http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-capsules1.2nov01,1,7164361.story

 

Oct 30 THE RACE FOR THE 68TH ASSEMBLY DISTRICT

Vietnamese-American is favored

By Deirdre Newman and Alicia Robinson, Daily Pilot

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/pilot/news/la-dpt-assemblyb30oct30,1,970708.story

 

Nov 2 Sisters Linked in the Lab

 Families are using DNA testing to establish if adopted children are 'bio sibs.' Ethicists and educators warn the results can be unsettling.

By Martha Groves, Times Staff Writer

http://www.latimes.com/news/yahoo/la-me-chinasibs2nov02,1,4080633.story

 

Oct 29 THE NATION

New Homes Sought for Detainees

From Reuters

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-gitmo29oct29,1,559074.story

 

Oct 28 Chinese delegation visits Glendale

 Eighteen leaders from China's fourth largest city seek advice police and from city officials.

By Robert Chacon, News-Press

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/glendale/news/la-gnp-delegation28oct28,1,2000918.story

 

Oct 26 OBITUARIES

Samuel Gravely Jr., 82; Navy's First Black Admiral

By Louie Estrada, Washington Post

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/state/la-me-gravely26oct26,1,1454685.story