Asian Themed Events @ USA!

Dear USA Community:

Celebrate and learn about Asia! We will be focusing on CHINESE ART APPRECIATION. The following pleasant and enlightening events are

planned:

POT LUCK DINNER. Monday, February 25, at 6:00 PM, in Alumni Hall. Please bring any kind of dish you can! RSVP to Dr. Harry Miller ( hsmiller@southalabama.edu).

Peggy and I took one of my new favorite Chinese dishes
 to the Pot Luck Dinner tonight: Sesame Noodles.
It is a cold dish with cucumber and scallions.
The Sesame sauce is made of sesame paste or tahini paste,
peanut butter, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and chili oil.
(We also took pork fried rice.)

We used soba this time...reminded me of Ramen Noodles!
They are actually Japanese and made of buckwheat.
Soba (そば or 蕎麦) is the Japanese name for buckwheat.

TOMORROW's Events...

HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES COLLOQUIUM. Tuesday, February 26, at 3:30 PM, in the Arts and Sciences Dean's Conference Room (HUMB 122). Dr.

Katharine Burnett (University of California at Davis) will deliver a talk entitled, "Speculations on Why Originality Can't Be a 'Traditional Chinese Value' (When It Is)."

FIFTH ANNUAL ASIAN STUDIES LECTURE. Tuesday, February 26, at 7:00 PM, in the University Library Auditorium. Dr. Burnett will show us "What Originality Looks Like in Late Ming Dynasty Chinese Painting: A Case Study of Wu Bin's 'On the Way to Shanyin.'" The lecture is free and open to the public.

For more information, please contact Dr. Miller (hsmiller@southalabama.edu).

Fantastic Photo Essay on Lunar New Year

Incredible pictures in The Atlantic Monthly capturing the New Year celebrations in Asia. Be warned, the photo of the man with the live snake is, well, words fail.

http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2013/02/chinese-lunar-new-year-2013/100457/

Also, as the New Year marks the mass migration of Chinese home for the holidays, one of my original posts is worth reviewing:

Friday, May 11, 2012

Last Train Home

To get an idea of the sheer number of Chinese citizens, not to mention the issues they face in the move from rural to urban dwellers, I highly recommend you watch "Last Train Home." This is a documentary produced in 2009 about the world's largest human migration that takes place once a year. This film follows one family as they struggle to improve their lives by seeking work in the city, leaving their ancestral village. It is heartbreaking, but well worth viewing. - Peggy

You can watch the trailer on the web. The documentary is available on Netflix.

 

Now you can also view the documentary online at PBS: http://www.pbs.org/pov/blog/povdocs/2012/09/emmy-2012-watch-best-documentary-emmy-nominee-last-train-home/

Auntie Anne's Pretzels in China

"Free pretzels drew huge crowds in China — but not, Lin says, the middle-class, Chinese consumers who could actually afford the brand."

http://www.npr.org/2013/02/11/171081595/auntie-annes-pretzels-in-beijing-why-the-chinese-didnt-bite?ft=1&f=1001&sc=tw&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Chinese 'Pingpong Diplomacy' Player Dies

"Zhuang, a three-time world champion, was a major sporting figure in China. Photographs of him with Cowan created a stir because of poor relations between their two countries. Following the incident, Chinese leader Mao Zedong ordered the 15-member American team to be invited to China."

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/02/10/171628480/chinese-pingpong-diplomacy-player-dies?ft=1&f=1001&sc=tw&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Talk About a Cultural Mashup!

Memphis Street Dancer in China

http://www.theatlantic.com/video/archive/2013/02/lil-buck-exports-jaw-dropping-memphis-street-dance-to-china/272997/

How Asia is Prepping for the Lunar New Year

Flowers, food, incense...

http://www.usatoday.com/videos/news/world/2013/02/08/1901417/

Asian New Year Celebration @ USA!

The Chinese Students & Students Association (CSSA), Vietnam Students Association (VSA), and Council of International Organization (CISO) held a celebration for the upcoming (February 10th) Asian New Year (Zodiac Year of the Snake) today at Moulton Tower on USA's campus. The weather was gorgeous, hinting at spring, after the early morning deluge. There was a crowd of around 150 students, staff, and faculty to enjoy the events which included Dragon dancing (even to Gangnam Style!), drumming, and Shaolin kung fu demonstrations by the members of the Shaolin Institute of Mobile (www.shaolin-world.net). The Shaolin performers showed great agility and skill. The smell of the food provided for attendees wafted temptingly on the breeze. As promised, the firecrackers were enough to make the crowd take a few steps back and cover their ears. 

This was a great cultural event, as Paige's photos show. We were happy to soak it all in.

University of South Alabama
Mascot Southpaw greets us

College of Education folks enjoying
the Asian New Year Celebration

Moulton Bell Tower

Fireworks!

Secret of Chinese Handmade Dumpling

Jason Zhang @CnUnivision sent Peggy and me a tweet "introducing us to the best Chinese dumpling in Beijing." Peggy replied "pure dumpling poetry, we're not worthy." This beautiful video was attached to the tweet we received...