THE APPA Newsletter
April 5, 2005
National Library Week
www.ala.org/ala/pio/factsheets/nationallibrary.htm
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, 2003, and 2004 are available on the
website if you want to look up some past event.
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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
Feb 6-May 1 Japan after Perry:
Views of Yokohama and Meiji Japan The opening of Yokohama to trade with the United States and
Europe in 1859 ended more than two centuries of Japanese isolation and
transformed the rural fishing village into a thriving international port.
Curated by Ann Yonemura, Senior Associate Curator of Japanese Art of the Freer
Gallery of Art and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, this exhibition documents
this early history of JapanÕs gateway to the world, artists produced colorful
woodblock prints of city scenes, urbane residents, and harbor views, capturing
this tumultuous era of JapanÕs transformation into a modern industrial state
and international power. Organized by the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery of the
Smithsonian Institution, Japan After Perry: Views of Yokohama and Meiji Japan
showcases 24 woodblock prints from the collection gift of Ambassador and Mrs.
William and Florence Leonhart. The presentation at the Japanese American
National Museum commemorates 150 years of U.S.-Japan relations. http://www.janm.org/events/2005/02/
March 17-June 19 The Art
of the Japanese Sword: The Yoshihara Tradition exhibit at the Pacific Asia
Museum
April 14 Gasa-Gasa Girl: A Mas Arai Mystery by Naomi Hirahara at
the JANM, www.janm.org. 7:30PM. Naomi Hirahara follows up her acclaimed first
mystery novel Summer of the Big Bachi with another Mas Arai adventure. The
story follows Mas AraiÌâåÕs daughter, Mari, who from the time she was a child
was completely gasa-gasa (never sitting still, always on the go). Mas, a
gardener and Hiroshima survivor haunted by his past, never had much time for
his family. Now, Mari is asking for his help and Mas finds himself in New York
City and in the middle of a murder mystery. A light reception with the author
will precede the program and book signing at 6:30 PM.
April
16,17 Monterey Park Cherry Blossom Festival, http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-santaclarita17feb17,1,4180718.story
April 16, 17 Avaz International Dance Theatre "The Golden Mask of Guran" premiere.
Location: Aratani/Japan America
Theatre. Avaz International Dance Theatre combines contemporary
movement with Iranian classical
and folk dance traditions to tell the
story of The Golden Mask of Guran, a mix of historical reality, fairy
tale and myth from Ferdowsi's
Shah-nameh, the epic history of pre-Islamic Persia. Presented by Avaz
International Dance Theatre; choreography and costume design by Jamal and
original music composed by Ahmad
Pejman. Tickets: $50 VIP with Reception on Saturday, April 16. $35 General
Admission, $32 JACCC Members. 8PM on the 16th, 3PM the 17th.
More info on tickets: call the Box Office at 213.680.3700
April 16 Lecture - Swordplay: Making and Breaking the Japanese
Sword At Pacific Asia Museum
This lecture, with Professor Bruce Coats of Scripps College,
Claremont, will examine the fabrication of Japanese swords and the Shinto
rituals involved in their production. This program is part of the April Teacher
Program and is sponsored by the Freeman Foundation. Free with museum admission.
Time: 1:30 PM - 2:30 PM
Pacific Asia Museum
46 N Robles Ave
Pasadena, CA 91101
Cost: $ 7 adults, $ 5 students
http://www.pacificasiamuseum.org/calendar/jsword.htm
April 16, 17 Avaz International Dance Theatre , "The Golden Mask of Guran"
premiere. Location: Aratani/Japan America
Theatre
Avaz International Dance Theatre combines contemporary
movement with Iranian classical
and folk dance traditions to tell the
story of The Golden Mask of Guran, a mix of historical reality, fairy
tale and myth from Ferdowsi's
Shah-nameh, the epic history of pre-Islamic Persia. Presented by Avaz International Dance Theatre; choreography
and costume design by Jamal and original music composed by Ahmad Pejman. 8PM on
the 16th, 3PM on the 17th.
Tickets:
$50 VIP with Reception
on Saturday, April 16
$35 General Admission
$32 JACCC Members
More info on tickets:
call the Box Office at 213.680.3700
April 16-17 Torrance Bunka-Sai 11AM-5PM at the Torrance Cultural
Arts Center, 3330 Civic Center Dr., 310-781-7150. Dance and music performances,
tea ceremonies, calligraphy, food vendors
April 23 Pandit Shivkumar
Sharma and Zakir Hussain, santoor and tabla
Location: Aratanai/Japan America Theatre. Featuring two of the greatest artists on their
respective instruments. Pandit Shivkumar
Sharma is the leading exponent of the santoor - the oldest
known stringed instrument in India - and Ustad Zakir Hussain is an international phenomenon and undoubtedly the
most popular tabla maestro. This
concert is a joint presentation of
Sangam Entertainment Group,
Ektaa Center, SWAR and Artwallah.
For information visit
www.ektaacenter.org. Tickets: $75 VIP tickets, $48, $28
More info on tickets: call the Box Office at 213.680.3700
April 23 3rd Annual Hollywood Bowl Korean Music
Festival, 323-692-2055
April
24 The Boat to
Heaven "Shoro
Nagashi" (2003) 1 hr.
49 min.
Location: Aratani/Japan America Theatre, Directed by Mitsutoshi
Tanaka
Based on "Shoro Nagashi," an autobiographical novel written by Masashi Sada, well known Japanese folk
singer/songwriter around the end
of WWII. A bittersweet love story, the film celebrates the pain of life and death. Proceeds
will support the scholarships and
grants awarded by the Aurora Foundation which is dedicated to foster goodwill between the people of the US and Japan.
Screening times: 12noon
and 4pm The screening times have been changed from previously published.
Tickets: $10 General Admission, $9 JACCC, Aurora Club Members, Students,
Seniors (60+) More info on tickets: call the Box Office at 213.680.3700
April 24 Books and Conversations Restless Wave: My Life in Two Worlds: A
Memoir by Ayako Ishigaki, by Yi-Chun Tricia Lin and Greg Robinson 2PM at the JANM,
www.janm.org.
Ayako
Ishigaki (1903Ð1996) had a remarkable career as a journalist, biographer,
television personality, and activist. She chronicled her extraordinary life in
a stirring and exquisitely written book spanning decades, countries, and
cultures. Restless Wave has been reissued with an afterword by Yi-Chun Tricia
Lin and Greg Robinson that sheds additional light on IshigakiÕs life and work,
much of which took place in Little Tokyo. Lin and Robinson will discuss this
pioneering book and the woman who wrote it.
April
29 Puffy Ami Yumi at the Wiltern Theatre, 3790 Wilshire Blvd., 9PM. $27.50,
213-388-1400
April 28-May 5 VC
FilmFest 2005: The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival
At the Directors Guild of America, David Henry Hwang Theatre, and
Aratani/Japan America Theatre
VC FILMFEST: The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film & Festival
presents its 21st edition as the premier presenter of the best and brightest of emerging and veteran
Asian American, Asian Pacific Islander and Asian International cinema,
anime, documentaries and drama. Highlights of the 2005 edition include
over 100 new and exciting film and video works by Asian and Asian Pacific
American filmmakers. A Festival Retro series, Asian American and Asian
International cinema spotlights, and Showcase program: VC Digital Posse 2005
are just some of the highlights on tap for VC FILMFEST 2005. Special panels and
nvited guests will be on hand to participate in the Festival. Closing Night
will be highlighted by the presentation of the Festival Golden Reel Award and
the Linda Mabalot New Directors/New Visions Award. Complete program information
will be available April 2005.
the Directors Guild of America
David Henry Hwang Theatre
Aratani/Japan America Theatre
Los Angeles, CA
Cost: $10 General Admission
Tel: (213)680-4462 x68
April 29-May 22 Tea Written by Velina Hasu Houston
Five
Japanese war brides are thrust into rural Kansas alongside their American GI
husbands. Their fate in their adopted land is the heart of ÒTea,Ó an insightful,
lyrical and autobiographical play. Their deeply moving and previously
untold stories come to life with thoughtfulness and humor as the women gather
together over tea in 1968 to share the poignant drama of their courtship, their
arrival in America, their early mistakes with American customs and their
growing American families.
Director
Peggy Shannon
Featuring
Takayo
Fischer
Dian Kobayashi
Jeanne Sakata
Diana Tanaka
Patricia Ayame Thomson
A
Fascinating Chapter of American History
Tea
runs Thursday, Friday, Saturday at 8:00 pm and Sunday at 2:00 pm, April 26
through May 22. Tickets are $32.00 and $37.00 on Thursdays, and $37.00 and
$42.00 on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, except opening night which is $50.00
and $60.00 and includes a reception with the actors following the
performance. Preview performances take place at 8:00 pm on Tuesday, April
26; Wednesday, April 27; and Thursday, April 28. Preview tickets are
$29.00.
International
City Theatre is located in the Long Beach Performing Arts Center at 300 E.
Ocean Boulevard in Long Beach. For reservations and information, call the
ICT Box Office at (562) 436-4610 or Buy Tickets now. http://www.ictlongbeach.com/
April 30 ÐJuly 7 Toyo Miyatake: View from GlassEye
Location: George J. Doizaki Gallery
April 30th -Reception 1-4pm
Most famously noted for his chronicling of the Japanese American
internment at Manzanar, Toyo Miyatake's photography encompasses a remarkable variety of subjects.
Coinciding with the 110th anniversary of Miyatake's birth, this exhibition
features scenes of life in the
Manzanar camp, images of dancer Ito Michio, 1932 Olympic sports photography,
and a selection of Miyatake's portraits.
Gallery Hours:
Tues through Friday:
12noon ~ 5pm
Saturday and Sunday:
11 am ~ 4pm
Closed: Monday and
Holidays
Admission Free
For more information contact the Visual Arts Department at
(213) 628-2725, ext.
127 or email: kosaka@jaccc.org
March 5 - May 14, Project Room II: KOTA EZAWA: ON PHOTOGRAPHY
From March 5 to May 14, 2005, Kota Ezawa will bring his latest
body of work to Project Room II at the Santa Monica Museum of Art. EzawaÕs work
explores the appropriation and mediation of current events and images. He
translates found film, video, and photographic footage into simplified drawings
and animations that reduce complex imagery to its most essential,
two-dimensional elements. In The Simpson Verdict (2002), for example, Ezawa
animated the news footage of the end of the O.J. criminal trial, reducing an
emotionally-charged moment to a series of precise and powerful gestures.
For On Photography, Ezawa selected twenty images
representing various examples from the vast history of photography - from the
1860s to the present, and from the iconic to the unrecognizable, ranging in
source from journalism, to performance documentation, to art photography. His
choices are manually traced, turned back into 35 mm slide format, and will be
projected on a continuous loop in Project Room 2. Taking on the feeling of a
university slide lecture, On Photography is a visual critical essay, using
digital drawings instead of words to explore and reveal the history of the
medium.
Kota Ezawa studied at Kunstakademie Dusseldorf, Germany, the San
Francisco Art Institute, and Stanford University. He is the recipient of many
awards, including a Louis Comfort Tiffany Award. His work is in the public
collections of such institutions as the Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film
Archive, and the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego. In 2004, Ezawa was
featured in such exhibitions as the Orange County and Shanghai Biennials, and
Baja to Vancouver: The West Coast and Contemporary Art. Ezawa lives and works
in San Francisco.
The Santa Monica Museum of Art is grateful to the following
foundations and organizations for general operating and specific project
support: The Annenberg Foundation; the California Community Foundation, the
City of Santa Monica Cultural/Arts Organizational Support Grant Program, the
Good Works Foundation, and the Los Angeles County Arts Commission. Special
thanks to the Board of Trustees and the Friends and Members of the Santa Monica
Museum of Art.
http://www.smmoa.org/
May 1-22 A Distant Shore By Chay Yew Directed by Robert Egan World
Premiere
In the stifling jungles of Southeast Asia, two lives are forever
entwined, destined to play out life rituals while constrained by culture and
colonialism. We first see a pair in the 1920's, a place of rubber
plantations and rebel insurgencies, and another 80 years later in the same
city, now independent and metropolitan. Are these lovers destined to
repeat their histories or will they break the cycle this time around? Love
seems to be the only constant. An erotic and poetic play about globalism, fate
and passion.
Chay Yew is director of the Mark Taper ForumÕs Asian Theatre
Workshop. His many plays include the adaptation of Federico Garc’a
LorcaÕs The House of Bernarda Alba (Mark Taper Forum, 2002). Kirk Douglas Theatre, 9820 Washington
Blvd., Culver City, $19-40, 213-628-2772
www.kirkDouglasTheatre.org
May 7 Cherry Blossom Festival, 12 noon - 7 p.m. WEST COVINA CIVIC CENTER COURTYARD
1444
W. Garvey Ave.
West
Covina, CA 91793
Hosted
by:
City
of West Covina and
East
San Gabriel Valley Japanese Community Center
Parking
entrance at Civic Center Drive
For
more information please contact the East San Gabriel Valley Japanese Community
Center at (626) 960-2566
May 7,8 FamilyFunFest
Mothers Day Hawaiian
Style
Chibi K Fun Run
San Tai San - 3 on 3
Basketball Tournament
Kids Taiko Konference
Asian Pacific Arts
and Crafts Faire
All day event
For more Info call 213-628-2725 or
For more information:
email - manaka@jaccc.org
May 8 Celebrate
Mother's Day Hawaiian Style! 4PM
Location: Aratani / Japan America Theatre
Honored for the first time this year at the Grammy Awards . . .
Discover the joyous
sounds of the Hawaii's Slack Key guitar!
MUSIC OF THE
MOTHERLAND:
HAWAII'S JOURNEY THRU
SONG
George Kahumoku,
Slack Key Guitar
with
Burnt (formerly Skyler Blue)
Derek Nakamoto, piano
Jr. Herb Ohta, Jr, ukulele
Daniel Ho, Slack Key Guitar and ukulele
Na Kupuna Wahine o Kaleponi Hema Dancers
Clarice Nuhi,
Artistic Direction
In honor of all mothers, Hawaii musicians gather for a journey
back to their roots
-- the mother of their musical lives. Beginning
with a bit of easy
island-born pop and ending with home grown
ukulele,
slack key and even a hula halau, Music of the
Motherland
is a kaleidoscopic
sampler of traditional to contemporary island
offerings at its
best.
Tickets
$25 orchestra, $22 balcony
$20, $17 JACCC
Members & Groups
$15 Student Rush, Day
of Show
May 26-Oct. 10 Japan Goes to the WorldÕs Fairs at the Los Angeles
County Museum of Art, www.LACMA.org.
June 22 Grand Kabuki of Japan At Cerritos Center for the
Performing Arts
In celebration of the Japanese American Cultural and
Community CenterÕs (JACCC) 25th Anniversary, the JACCC is presenting the Grand
Kabuki on June 21-24 at the Cerritos Center of Performing Arts. JACCC
invited the Society to join their ÒCommunity NightÓ performance on June 22nd,
starring:
NAKAMURA GANJIRO III, Living National Treasure
NAKAMURA KANJAKU
NAKAMURA KIKAKU Time:
8:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts
12700 Center Court Drive
Cerritos, CA 90703
Cost: Tickets start at $65.
Priority Order Deadline: April 13, 2005 call (213) 627-6217, ext.
205, or visit www.jas-socal.org.
Tel: (213) 627-6217
July 16 to Oct 16 From
the Fire: Contemporary Korean Ceramics exhibit at the Pacific Asia Museum
September 22-25 Los Angeles Korean Festival Seoul International Park, Korea Town, Los
Angeles http://www.lakoreanfestival.com/main.htm
Nov 18 to Feb 12, 2006
Place/Displace, Three Generations Taiwanese Art exhibit at the Pacific Asia
Museum
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This Weekend (and
earlier)
April 7 National Museum Presents!
Evening
of Poetry at the Japanese American National Museum
The
first of two evenings celebrating National Poetry Month features poets Junichi
Semitsu and Amy Uyematsu.
Sponsored
in part by the City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department. 7:30-9:00PM, www.janm.org
April 8 Screening of Vietnamese Film Thung Lung Hoang Vang
(Deserted Valley) Vietnamese International Film Festival Day at UCLA
3:00 - 4:30 p.m. - Thung Lung Hoang Vang (Deserted Valley) ,
directed by Pham Nhue Giang (90 min, Vietnam)
4:30pm-5:00pm - Q & A Session with the Director Pham Nhue
Giang - Tiep xuc v™i khan gia
Ackerman Grand Ballroom
UCLA Campus
Los Angeles, CA 90095
Cost: Free and open to the public.
Parking in UCLA's Lot 6 costs $7.
April 8 Concert - Spandana : An Indian Classical Sitar
(Instrumental ) Concert
At Tom Bradley International Hall
UCLA Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music
and Culture Amongst Youth ( SPICMACAY ) presents Spandana - an Indian Classical
Sitar Concert by Sitar Virtuoso Purbayan Chatterjee. He is accompanied by
Arup Chatterjee on Tabla.
The concert will be preceded by a Lecture-Demonstration by
Purbayan on the same day, tentatively fixed at 10:00 a.m. at the Schoenberg
Music Building at UCLA.
Purbayan is acclaimed by the top-most maestros in India as well as
connoisseurs of the music world as one of the best young instrumentalists in
Indian traditional music. His style of playing is the most aesthetically
satisfying combination of the best facets of "Dhrupad" and
"Khayal". The depth, discipline and richness of the
"Dhrupad" form is interspersed with the exuberance and lyricism of
"Khayal". In a unique display of maturity Purbayan is able to combine
technical brilliance and virtuosity of the highest level with depth and serenity.
Of late, Purbayan has been experimenting with several of
genres of music - some within the traditions of Indian Classical music, others
not. His duets with renowned violinist Kala Ramnath and the extremely talented
sarod player Partho Sarathy have won rave reviews all over the world. He also
performs for a unique group called "Raga Afrika" which is a
collaboration with some world famous South African musicians - among then jazz
guitarist Odutayo Kunle and Lucas Khumalo and percussionist John Hassan and
Frank Paco.
In keeping with the tradition, which began in 2002 at UCLA,
SPICMACAY already has in the foray the next concert for the summer planned out.
On the 29th of May, 2005, at 3:00 pm there will be a Hindustani Classical Vocal
Recital by Smt. Padma Talwalkar, at the Tom Bradley International Hall, UCLA.
Time: 8:00 PM - 10:00 PM
International Room, 3rd Floor
Tom Bradley International Hall
417 Charles E. Young Drive West
Los Angeles, CA 90095
Cost: Free
Tel: 310-794-5840
www.studentgroups.ucla.edu/spicmacay/ucla.htm
April 8 Jake Shimabukuro 8PM
Musical Brilliance
and Pure Delight
Location: Aratani/Japan America Theatre
The highly anticipated LA concert debut of ukelele virtuoso, Jake
Shimabukuro is sure to please. At 28 years old, Jake is a phenomenal talent
with fabulous technique, absolute control and pure brilliance. This concert
will showcase Jake's incredible range with traditional Hawaiian melodies, mixed
with blues, funk and his own
infectious energy.
A J-Town Beat Event Sponsored by FIA Insurance Services, Inc.,
Fukui Mortuary, Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co., Ltd., The
Pacific Bridge Copanies, The Rafu Shimpo Supported by Island Legends and Aloha
Joe
Tickets:
$30 orchestra, $27
balcony
$25, $22 JACCC
Members, Groups 10 or more
$20 Student RUSH with
ID day of show only
More info on tickets:
call the Box Office at 213.680.3700
April 9 Tsunami Benefit Jazz Concert at the Zenshuji Soto Mission,
123 S. Hewitt St. in Little Tokyo, 213-624-8658. June Kuramoto and Friends
perform.
April
9 From Tokyo Rose to the Patriot Act: Propaganda and its Impact on Civil
Liberties In this third of five sessions, we continue our examination of selected
propaganda artifacts displayed in the exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of
Community featuring Dr. Arthur
Hansen, the National MuseumÌâåÕs Senior Historian and Professor of
History/Asian American Studies at California State University, Fullerton. He
will join Dr. Mitchell T. Maki, Acting Dean, College of Health and Human
Services at California State University, Los Angeles to reflect on propaganda
prevalent during the resettlement era post-World War II. They will consider
what lessons we can learn from the past to address current attempts to defend
the incarceration of Japanese Americans and justify assaults on civil
liberties. 2PM at the Japanese American National Museum, www.janm.org
April 10 CuratorÕs Lecture with Ann Yonemura. Ann Yonemura,
curator of Japan After Perry and Senior Associate Curator of Japanese Art at
the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution, discusses the
exhibitionÌâåÕs extraordinary, colorful woodblock prints in the context of the
momentous historical events that propelled Japan into the modern age. 2PM at
the JANM, www.janm.org
Cosponsored by the Pacific Asia Museum.
In conjunction with the exhibition Japan after Perry: Views of Yokohama and Meiji Japan
April 10 Hanamatsuri Festival at the JACCC Plaza, George J. Doizaki Gallery, Garden Room A.
Hanamatsuri, the celebration of Buddha's birth, is a joyous and widely
celebrated occasion in Buddhist temples throughout the world. A lecture on Buddhism and a ceremony will
commemorate the event.
11am- 4pm (George J. Doizaki Gallery) An exhibition of Children
poster and haiku poems
11am 12 noon (Garden Room A) Lecture on Buddhism by Dr.
Duncan Williams "War/Peace/Buddha's
wish"
1 4pm (JACCC Plaza) Hanamatsuri Ceremony and Gagaku and
Bugaku performance
For
more information contact the Visual Arts Department at 213-628-2725, ext. 127
or email: kosaka@jaccc.org
Links to selected
articles from the LA Times. To actually access the articles, you may have to
sign up for a free account.
April 2 THE WORLD
Soccer
Riot in Tightly Controlled North Korea Surprises Observers
Rowdy fans encircle the stadium after a
defeat by Iran. Japan calls for tighter security for its upcoming game.
By Barbara Demick, Times Staff Writer
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-fg-soccer2apr02,1,6437446.story?ctrack=1&cset=true
April
2 Wal-Mart Pursues Asian Americans
Concerned about sales growth, the
retailer tries a multilingual advertising campaign.
By Rong-Gong Lin II, Times Staff Writer
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-walmart2apr02,1,3190594.story?ctrack=2&cset=true
April 1 Fred Korematsu, 86, Fought World
War II Internment, Dies
By Claudia Luther, Times Staff Writer
http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-korematsu1apr01,1,7864656.story?ctrack=3&cset=true
April
1 COMMENTARY
Fred
Korematsu 'Stood Strong Against Anti-Asian Prejudice in the U.S.'
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-oe-korematsu1apr01,1,6836871.story
April
1 MOVIES
The
mainstream goes multicolored
Ving Rhames being cast as Kojak is just
one instance of the racial role reversals that are becoming common in movies,
theater and TV.
By David Zurawik and Mary Carole
McCauley, Baltimore Sun
http://www.latimes.com/business/custom/cotown/la-et-casting1apr01,1,3021890.story
April
4 Acupuncture gains respect
For researchers, the question is not only
whether the ancient technique works, but also how.
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-acupuncture4apr04,1,3798014.column