Asian Week

Lowell High principal Andrew Ishibashi and Noriega and Francis Scott Key Child Development Centers’ Site Manager Candace Lee, have been selected as Schoolmasters of the Year for 2009-10 for the San Francisco Unified School District. The two were honored at a dinner at the Napa Elks Club on March 5.

“I feel deeply honored because this was the first time that this award has been presented to an educator from the Child Development Program,” says Lee. “I thank Superintendent Carlos Garcia and his cabinet for recognizing the value of my work.”

The Schoolmaster of the Year Award is sponsored by the California Schoolmasters’ club, which was established in 1893. Membership is open to all Northern California area educators. The award is given to principals in participating school districts who show exceptional leadership.

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Seattle - Diversity ruled the the 2010 Academy Awards. It was all about the who would be the first woman director (“I Am Woman, Hear Me Roar”) or the first black director, or whether Mo’nique won a good award for an awful black part. Even Sandra Bullock won one for the Sara Palin Christian crowd, as there were cracks about Nazis surrounded by Jews. I was almost happy to see that the one movie with an Asian American lead was nominated for five categories, including best picture, original screenplay, and sound editing. “Up” the story about an old man and a pesky scout won Pixar’s fifth Oscar for best animated feature film as well as musical score (which oddly still hasn’t been released on CD). But I really got my buns steamed when I realized something was terribly wrong. If Asians are finally pulling head of the West in the Olympics, our performances are still woefully lacking behind everybody else in the movie biz.

The first thing everybody says about the Princess and the Frog is that she was Disney’s first African American princess, even if she’s drawn as a frog for most of the movie.  Pixar had cast just about every stereotypical ethnic part EXCEPT Asians, and painted a bleak Asian-free future in WALL-E. But when they finally cast an adorable Asian kid in a long tradition of Asian sidekicks, they not only failed to promote the unique diversity milestone, but they deliberately swept it under the rug. Daveonfilm.com noticed that the screener package sent to the judges traded the picture of Russell’s Asian American boy scout in favor of Carl’s wife Elle. As an adult, she didn’t even have a speaking part in the silent tear-jerker backstory. The awards audience saw only the solo picture of Ed Asner’s Carl. If the entire studio team including co-founder Steve Jobs was there, I couldn’t track down any trace of Jordan Nagai in press pictures, videos or stories. While the Asian American Movement ™ continues to crusade for alternative marriage and Affirmative Action Against Chinese, why is it me, the Asian American Glenn Beck-alike that spills his cold noodles when Hollywood diversity doesn’t even throw Asians a fortune cookie?

Last year, Clint Eastwood’s Grand Torino was spurned by the Oscars despite or perhaps because of an under-appreciated Asian American cast.  I would have nominated Star Trek’s John Cho (of Harold and Kumar Prove Asians Can Be Complete Asses Too) for the other Best Asian American Actor.  The only Asian American actresses I noticed was Liza Lapria’s geek FBI agent in the disposable Fast in Furious (which at least outsold Hurt Locker by a bazillion dollars) No East or South Asian film made even a nomination for foreign films which were dominated by 3 Latin American films. Avatar featured two Latinas, both of Puerto Rican and Dominican descent, Zoe Saldana as Pocahontas (also Star Trek’s young Uhuru) and Michelle Rodriguez as the chopper jockey. The only Asians I saw that night were the dolphin-clubbing Japanese in “The Cove”, who look like the inspiration for the “premedidated” lone-whale Orca jihad attack against its unfortunate trainer at Sea World.

As a Vietnam war buff, Avatar was hardly about “peace and harmony”. It was a high tech update on the old Cowboys and Indians / Viet Cong / Jihadist theme. If you took Star Wars, National Geographic, Miss Saigon, Dances With Wolves, Blackhawk Down and the Matrix and mixed it all together, you’d get Avatar.

America is oddly unfazed that the FBI still stands by their determination that Major Nidal Hassan’s Fort Hood rampage had no terrorist connection AFTER reviewing e-mails with Al Queda terrorist Anwar al-Awlaki asking for “spiritual guidance”. What kind of spiritual guidance do you think he got from Imam Awlaki who celebrated Hasan as hero for defending Islam? How innocent can Awlaki (who wasn’t even named as a person of interest) be when his other student arrived in America in exploding underpants the day after America announced he was thought he had been killed in an airstrike?

Which brings me back to director Cameron’s script which boldly spoke of “fighting terrorism with terrorism” and contemplating “martyrdom”.  It was the eyes of an enraged Nidal Hassan that I saw in Jake and pilot Trudy Chacon  in Navi warpaint as they sent dozens of hapless “sky people” to their deaths in flames as we cheered them on. As much as any audience can feel the same passion in Avatar’s final “struggle for justice”, that’s exactly what drove people like Hasan or even disgruntled contract software engineers to shoot their comrades or fly airplanes big or small into buildings. Asians have been on both sides since the “The Sand Pebbles” showed how the Chinese pushed the Americans back across the sea before the Viet Cong did. I know what side I’m firmly on, but those who count Yassir Arafat, Che, Ho Chih Minh, Mao or Marx among your heroes might check where your true loyalties lie if you ever have to choose between America, Insert-Your-Race-Nationality-Or-Religion, or Mother Earth.

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 >>Bay/Cal- Assemblywoman Fiona Ma Recognized for Extraordinary Public Service

>>Arts- Fil-Am Activist featured in Documentary at The 28th Annual SF International Asian American Film Festival

>>Nation- Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Congratulates Federal Designation of First National AAPI Housing Counseling Network

>>Commerce- CBS 5’S Thuy Vu wins American Women in Radio and Television Award

Bay/Cal

Assemblywoman Fiona Ma Recognized for Extraordinary Public Service

Sacramento, Ca- In celebration of International Women’s Day, Global Arts and Education Inc. will award
Assemblywoman Fiona Ma the “Extraordinary Public Service Award” in recognition of her commitment to
working on legislation that protects the rights of women and families.

Assemblywoman Ma, and five other outstanding Bay Area women, will be recognized at the International
Women’s Day 2010 Awards Breakfast on Monday, March 8, 2010 in San Francisco.

In 1975, during International Women’s Year, the United Nations began celebrating March 8 as International Women’s Day. In December 1977, the General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming a United Nations Day for Women’s Rights and International Peace to be observed on any day of the year by Member States, in accordance with their historical and national traditions. For the United Nations, International Women’s Day has been observed on 8 March since 1975.

The 2010 United Nations Theme is: “Equal Rights, Equal Opportunities: Progress for All”

For more information on Global Arts and Education Inc., visit www.globalartsandeducation.com

The Asian Business League of San Francisco to hold annual Lunar New Year Celebration

San Francisco, Ca- The Asian Business League will be holding its first annual event for 2010, in
celebration of the New Lunar New Year. Year of the White Tiger 2010 is said to hold great promise for
those born under the sign.

Here is a description of the fortune bestowed on those born in the year of the Tiger:

Financially, everything improves this year for those born under this sign and money-making thoughts and
ideas should be fully explored and investigated. With the fast pace of this year for all signs, the Tiger needs
to take extra care in planning and thinking all projects through no rushing headlong into schemes during
2010! Tigers looking for romance will possibly see a friendship suddenly develop into something more
personal with exciting consequences. August, December and January will see a very active and entertaining
social calendar, but all of 2010 will see fun activities for the Tiger. The Spring months, March to May, will
bring encouraging and interesting job opportunities, but the Tiger will still have to make sure he puts
himself forward and gets noticed at work.

The Lunar New Year Celebration will be held on March 18, 2010 in San Francisco’s Mercury Lounge,
1582 Folsom Street, from 6- 730 pm. Tickets run from ten to forty five dollars.

Arts

Fil-Am Activist featured in Documentary at The 28th Annual SF International Asian American Film Festival

San Francisco, Ca- Community members and Supervisor Eric Mar will honor poet/activist and Fillmore District native Al Robles on March 14th 2009, at 12:30 pm in San Francisco’s Fillmore Plaza on Fillmore and O’Farrell Streets with music, poetry and remembrance. Al Robles is recognized as a son of the Fillmore and is memorialized with a plaque in the Fillmore Plaza.

The life of Al Robles is featured in Filmmaker Curtis Choy’s film, “Manilatown is in the Heart Time Travel with Al Robles”, a poetic documentary featured at the Asian American Film Festival Sundance Kabuki Cinema March 14th at 2 pm and 15th at 7 pm. The documentary is the second film project between Director Choy and Robles, the first being “The Fall of the I-Hotel” which featured Robles as the film narrator.

“Al Robles was the poet laureate - the heart & spirit of the Manilatown and Filipino communities. San Francisco will never forget his tireless work supporting seniors and housing justice, fighting displacement and gentrification and nurturing youth in our communities”, said San Francisco District Supervisor Eric Mar.
Robles passed away in May of 2009 but left a legacy of activism and community involvement that has inspired elders and youth alike.

For information on Al Robles: www.manongalrobles.org

Nation

Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Congratulates Federal Designation of First National AAPI Housing Counseling Network

Washington DC- Rep Michael Honda, Chairman of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, applauded the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s approval of the nation’s first network of housing counseling organizations dedicated to serving Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders facing foreclosures or who need general housing counseling.

“HUD’s recognition of National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development is an important step forward for AAPI communities,” said Rep Honda. “Too many people have lost their homes in this foreclosure crisis. With such great need, this designation for National CAPACD will support our community to get back on their feet. The Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus is proud of National CAPACD’s work.”

The National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development is now an intermediary for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and will support a national network of nonprofit community based organizations in ten states providing services in more than ten AAPI languages and communities. 

According to Census data recently released, Asian Americans have suffered the largest percentage decline in homeownership of any racial group.

Commerce

CBS 5′S Thuy Vu wins American Women in Radio and Television Award

San Francisco- CBS 5 (KPIX-TV) CBS 5′S Thuy Vu wins “Outstanding Reporter/Correspondent” Gracie Award from the American Women in Radio and Television (AWRT). Vu won for her composite of three stories: 1) Mendota (central valley town with the state’s highest unemployment rate, nearly 42%), 2) Khmer Rouge survivors (telling their stories publicly for the first time) and 3) Re-opening of Angel Island

The Gracies each year recognize “exemplary programming created for women, by women and about women in all facets of media and entertainment, as well as individuals who have made contributions to the industry.”

This year’s awards will be presented at the AWRT’s annual dinner on May 25th at the Beverly Hilton in LA.
CBS 5 began in 1948 as the first television station in Northern California. The CW 44cable 12 began in 1968 as the first UHF station in the Bay area. The two stations became a duopoly in 2002.

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Hail Queen Yun Na

Arthur Hu 3/4/2010 Seattle WA

It was only back in 1992 when America’s Kristi Yamaguchi and Japan’s Midori Ito were the first persons of Asian descent to win Olympic figure skating medals.  Japan’s Shizuka got the first gold medal for figure skating for any Asian nation only in the last Turin Olympics.  The Wall Street Journal noticed when it proclaims “a South Korean Teenager Leads an Emerging Group of Stars from the East” as Asian women from various nations dominating 3 of the top 4 top-billed women’s figure skating stars of  the Winter Olympics. They were “redrawing the map of where skating stars come from “ signaling the “end  of Europeans and North Americans own[ing] this sport”,  Americans were disappointed that 2010 ended their  medals streak. Korea’s Kim Yun-Na won gold, while arch-rival Mao Asada of Japan who had traded top titles with Yun-Na since 2004 got silver.  Little-known Japanese America’s  Nagasu  Mirai at age 16 exceeded expectations by just missing the podium at fourth place, while the Boston Herald noted  highly promoted Rachael Flatt ”struggles, finishes seventh” (with fourth place Mirai as a footnote, thanks for noticing) .

But it wasn’t just an Asian victory if we consider that Yun Na spent most of her time training in Canada. Count that  with heartbreaker Joannie Rochette’s bronze finish,  an equally dominant but different 3 out of 4 had trained in North America , and even Asada had trained with North Americans at some point.  Yun-Na’s Canadian coach, Brian Orser had won silver medals as skater in 1984 and 1988, so many saw it as partially his first gold as well.  Besides numerous other skaters from China, Japan and Korea, there was Cheltzie Lee of Australia who placed 20th. Her unusual background includes a father who is Chinese from Bangladesh, and  her mother is African American from Louisiana in a year that didn’t have any other strong African descent skaters such as Debi Thomas (who is now a surgeon since I ran into her at Stanford Shopping Center).

The Olympics marks Yun-Na’s debut to American audiences, who are still probably more familiar with the name of Tonya Harding (Come to think of it, with a well placed tire wrench, all of the top 3 could have been Asian OWWWWW sorry about that). Sports Illustrated called Kim “queen of her court” and “will be ranked among the greatest Olympic Champions”, while calling Nagasu the “force at future games”.

 After the initial fuss over whether Nancy Kerrigan got more endorsements than Yamaguchi , the LA Times in the 90s concluded that Yamaguchi ‘s deals were “as good as gold”. Certainly, Yamaguchi has emerged as the one featured dancing on television and still doing commercials aired during THESE Olympics. But in Korea, Kim Yun-Na is pretty much a publicity goddess.  She made about $9 million in 1998 before winning any Olympic medals, compared to the $2 million Michelle Kwan or Tara Lipinski earned annually from endorsements in 2000. Traffic and stock trading in Korea stopped still to watch her skate as if it were the moon landing. She hawks products from Samsung to Hyundai. Her own branded cellphone sold a million copies, which would be gold or platinum if it were an American music single let alone an expensive consumer device in a 2nd tier industrialized consumer market. One clever banner proclaimed I “heart” YN (NY get it?)

Catholics also noticed her making  the sign of the cross before her routines, thank goodness those “Freedom From Religion = Protest  Mother Theresa”  folks didn’t notice. She and her mother were baptized in May 2008. She’s  a darling of Korean Americans, though I haven’t yet seen any schoolyard girls brawling over whether Japanese-Am  Yamaguchi, Chinese-Am Kwan or Korean Kim are the greatest skaters of all time.   Over in Asia , 10,000 indignant Korean hackers shut down Japan’s www.2ch.net over postings slighting their leading lady, evidently the final last straw after enduring the usual right-wing nationalist insults directed against Koreans and China. Canada’s Olympic strong showing clearly makes them stand out as more than just a more culturally refined appendage of America. But if Canada were truly serious, they should offer her dual citizenship, and to conquer America like the Beatles or Celine Dione,  she should start by doing McDonalds commercials for the Great White North with her coach.

 On the men’s side, Canada’s 19 yr old Patrick Chan of Toronto with parents from Hong Kong was played up as Canada’s Great Yellow Hope for a men’s gold medal. He finished fifth, which is nevertheless  quite a strong showing for a first Olympics. With Japan’s Takahashi Daisuke winning bronze, Asians still placed 4 of the top 10 men’s figure skating places. Evan Lysacek, now headed for dancing with the Stars performed neater than Russia’s Yevgeny Plushenko who seemed to be a villain plucked out of a bad Yugi-Oh episode. He gave himself a “platinum” medal on his own website. LBGT bloggers lamented that Johnny Weir who always seemed dressed like a Tim Burton movie protagonist was “robbed”.    (Of course there was less comment about the ladies outfits that made you wonder if you’d walked by these outfits at a Victoria Secret display window, or if you really saw what you thought you saw or just some fabric)  While Wikipedia still wouldn’t divulge “is he or isn’t he” , the adoring Asian girls who handed him a giant black heart and oversized Hello Kitty seemed to like him just fine.

Ice dancing Asian-Americans Chris and Cathy Reed of New Jersey actually skated on the Japanese team. Their mother is from Japan and the family has dual-citizenship.  But if that wasn’t interesting enough, their little sister Allison was skating for Georgia which gave her citizenship just for the games. She met the other fellow at her rink who also needed a partner. Cathy placed 17th, ahead of China’s Huang Xintong and Zheng Xun, while Allison and Otar Japaridize placed 22nd, so Asians have quite a ways to go in this event.

Allison ended up wearing an armband for the unfortunate luger Nodar Kumaritashvili who was flung onto a support pole with a clang. Of course that clip didn’t see seem to hurt as much as the slo-mo shots of women crashing down the hills like a spinning NASCAR with breaking skis, and charts comparing how much damage skier Lindsey Vonn had suffered compared to Evil Knievel. And it was different to see  guys from China flying off a ramp like an upside-down helicopter successfully doing what used to be exclusively crazy California white kid stunts, if not yet winning medals.

Apolo Ohno became the most decorated American Olympic athlete with 8 medals (2 gold), though it was somewhat Ameri-centric for the announcers to loudly crow about YET ANOTHER MEDAL when the Koreans were cleaning up on 1st and 2nd place finishes ahead of him when they didn’t crack up. Given his appearances on TV and commercials, it appears that at least happa guys like Ohno and Celski don’t have the “male image” problem that seems to afflict the rest of us Asian guys. Crashes, bumps and barbs traded back and forth between Ohno and the Koreans have elevated Ohno hating beyond Korea’s usual Japan hating, as death threats in 2003 caused the American short track team to skip Korea, and he needed police guard to visit the country in 2005. On the women’s side, NBC headlined that Germany’s Jenny Wolf lead a “pack of Asians” (Could you write “pack of Caucasians???”) including Korea’s Lee Sang-Hwa and China’s Wang Beixing.  Nevertheless, Korea may be getting over their inferiority complex knowing that they nearly matched Russia and beat China with 14 medals, 6 gold compared to Japan’s 5 medals, zero for gold, on top of Toyota’s killer floor mat problems.

If Asians were conspicuous by their absence in the opening ceremony, the bunch of young snowboarders that stormed out seemed to be dominated by Asians (both the east and the south Asian Indian kind) that you’d see around Richmond. Likewise, the orchestra which seemed to be dominated by young people had plenty of Asian faces. It’s too bad NBC didn’t spend more time highlighting the sights of Vancouver and Victoria, but it was pretty good exposure. Oh yeah, don’t forget that here in Washingon State we’ve got pretty much the same scenery and Native American culture without having to cross the border, and it’s just a 2 hour drive from here to get to Canada.

1400 words 229 views as of 3/10/10

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>>Arts- San Francisco Public Library holds Korean Comic Exhibit

>>Global- Indian Naval Plane Crashes killing both Pilots

>>Commerce- Nissan to Recall over 500,000 cars

 Arts

San Francisco Public Library holds Korean Comic Exhibit

San Francisco, Ca- Held in the SF Public Library’s Jewett Gallery, “A Society Through Small Frames”, is an exhibition of 83 framed works by 21 of Korea’s most talented cartoonists drawn over a period of four decades, and will be available for view from March 13–June 13.

The exhibition examines the changes in Korean society from the 1950s through the 1990s as evidenced through its comics which provide a running commentary that reflects the lives of ordinary people. The comics play an important role in characterizing and distinguishing the culture and sensibility of two Koreas.

The exhibition includes cartoons from artists in both prosperous, rapidly changing South Korea as well as from less well-known North Korea. Lee Do Yeong pioneered Korean comics in the early 20th Century, but it wasn’t until the explosion of magazines and newspapers in the middle of the century that comics emerged as a cultural force.

The exhibition’s North Korean comics capture that reclusive country’s economic hardships and strict ideological controls on society.

All programs at the Library are Free. For more information, please call (415) 557-4277.

Global

Indian Naval Plane Crashes killing both Pilots

India- An Indian naval plane crashed today at an air show in the city of Hyderabad killing both pilots.

Footage showed the plane flying in formation before crashing in a densely populated area near the showground.

A three story house was destroyed and other buildings damaged. Police have so far confirmed that four other people were injured.

It is not clear what caused the crash. The Indian Aviation 2010 show opened on Wednesday and runs until Sunday.

The two-seater Kiran MK-II which crashed was part of a four-plane formation.

“In the final phase, the aircraft appears to have gone out of control. They crashed into a building and the pilots have died,” navy chief Adm Nirmal Verma told reporters.

The other three aircraft landed safely, the navy said. An inquiry is being ordered to find out what caused the crash, it added.

-  BBC News

Commerce

Nissan to Recall over 500,000 cars

Tokyo- Nissan Auto Corporation said Wednesday it will recall 539,864 trucks, sport-utility vehicles and mini vans in North America and some Asian and European markets due to problems with brake pedal pins and fuel gauges.

The announcement follows its recall last week of 76,415 vehicles in Japan because of issues with electric cables connected to the engines, and comes on the heels of General Motors Co.’s recall Tuesday of 1.3 million compact cars with suspect power steering.

The Japanese car maker said it found a manufacturing error in brake pedal pins, about which there have been three reported instances of it partially disengaging. The company also said that fuel gauges in vehicles with high mileages may indicate the amount of remaining fuel incorrectly.

Models subject to the pedal pin recall are the Infiniti QX56 SUV, Titan pickup truck, Armada SUV and Quest minivan. Besides the latter, these are also subject to the fuel gauge recall, together with the Frontier pickup truck, Pathfinder and Xterra SUV.

- Wall Street Journal

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A fresh voice for Asian-American youth has been blazing trails and making noise. A new music entertainment channel is taking over and word on the street is that MYX® is the new lucky cat in town.

Despite the fact that nine million Asian-Americans are under the age of 35 and are totally media-savvy, it has been an underserved group by mainstream media and an untapped market – until now. MYX® programming is tailored to scratch everyone’s music itch, while recognizing the importance of APA cultural heritage, one that is unique, trendy and current.

In the San Francisco Bay Area, MYX® is available on Comcast Channel 368 but television isn’t the only platform that’s rocking to a new sound. Booming online and out in the community, MYX® has made a smart move by bringing the music to the people.

Current Content
Building a channel from scratch is no easy task but with a team that’s represented by local Asian-American pros in their own departments of expertise, locally-produced programming has not only changed the landscape of API media as we know it but has also received accolades from award giving bodies. Last year, MYX® was given the 2009 NAMIC thumbs up for its “Dig: Lyrics Born” in the Digital Media Short Form category. Dig is the channel’s flagship artist platform. This two-minute monthly vignette features up-and-coming indie artists at work.

Just how exceptionally anomalous is MYX®? All eyes have been on the channel with its recent launch of two new programs: Vinyl Addiction, which takes the audience to an up-close look at the Vinyl Toy Revolution which originated in Hong Kong. Visual Crunch which goes behind the scenes of groundbreaking, creative music videos produced at impossibly low budgets – veritable video miracles at this age, serving well the Asian American market, whose artists are, surprisingly, independent.

Redefining a Culture
In recent articles run on mainstream publications, like Keith Kamisugi’s piece on the Huffington Post, it is clear that Hollywood needs to catch up. Mainstream media has long portrayed a stereotypical Asian-American, typecast as amorphous, caricature-like and “good in math.” Making noise, MYX® is dubbed the community’s “fresh voice” for spotlighting the real deal, Asian-Americans as pop culture’s pilot. MYX® Channel Head, Miguel Santos explains that, “We’ve made it our mission to accurately portray the Asian-American on television. Highlighting the real prototype, we’re showing a global audience what our generation really looks like.”

San Jose State University freshman Lorenze Torres says, “It’s great to see APIs that I feel represent who I am, just rocking on TV. I look at Utada Hikaru, Nicole Scherzinger, Cassie… and I think to myself – now, that’s what I’m talking about!”

“The Asian American youth is a community of creative minds and bi-cultural propensity so MYX® has taken up the challenge to provide television-forward programming where they can see themselves represented as the innovative visionaries that they are,” shares Santos.

Tomorrow’s Bullhorn
As with any successful media venture, the key element is to be current and to give viewers substantial but popular content. It’s about finding talent that has yet to be discovered and digging into the community’s pockets where our talent abounds. “The new trend favors the independent YouTube artists, comedians and breakout artists that follow their own tune. MYX® is in the know and shines that spotlight in the right direction. I’m addicted,” says artist manager and founder of The Luna Co., Christina Luna.

So next time you’re surfing channels, drop by MYX® and see what all the buzz is about. While success may hinge on a little luck from the cat, the audience finds that with forward-looking content, progressive goals and a pool of ridiculous talent, MYX® is, officially, the new voice of Asian-American youth.

ABOUT MYX®

With its U.S. headquarters in Redwood City, California, MYX® was developed by ABS-CBN International, a US-based subsidiary of ABS-CBN Broadcasting, the largest media company in the Philippines and among the largest in Asia.  MYX® is the only music entertainment and lifestyle channel dedicated to the Asian American community, utilizing music, culture and entertainment.  MYX® can be seen on Channel 368 on Comcast’s Digital Preferred Tier in the San Francisco Bay Area, Comcast ON DEMAND, Cox Digital Basic Cable, DIRECTV 2067 and RCN.  For more information, visit http://myx.tv.

Keesa Ocampo works for ABS CBN International and is a member of the Young Filipino Professionals Association.

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San Francisco – New Guard Production Company recently announced that the search for the next transgender supermodel is on! Catwalk 2010 is an elite modeling competition catering to the male to female transgender community and will take place on Saturday, April 10 at 7pm at SOMARTS Gallery in San Francisco, California.

Catwalk now in its’ junior year is presented by DIVAS Club, Moonstar Restaurant & Catering and The Endup Club. Aspiring transgender models from all over the country compete in various categories including Cocktail Wear, swimwear and evening wear. Hosted by community icon Tita Aida, Catwalk 2010 features special guests drag-glam lip sync group, RICE ROCKETTES and hip-hop dance group, Freeplay Dance Company. This year’s presentation benefits the AIDS Housing Alliance, a non- profit organization providing case management specifically to people living with HIV/AIDS, advocating for equal housing rights, and working to prevent homelessness.

Last year, Catwalk attracted 450 attendees from all over the Bay Area and they witnessed an amazing presentation of fashion, compassion, advocacy and style all in one runway. Carmen Cass, a native of Los Angeles took the title Catwalk ’09. Carmen said, “I will use this title to empower my fellow trans sisters to pursue their dream!” Indeed Carmen did, and she is now pursuing her modeling career in Los Angeles and New York. Catwalk 2010 expects to meet or exceed last year’s attendance and generate proceeds designated for the beneficiary, AIDS Housing Alliance.

Catwalk is one of the few events that celebrates and focuses on the profound beauty of the transgender community. Catwalk not only allows the TG community to have an event, but it also provides networking opportunities for TG focused service providers to reach out to their target population. Participating are the TRANS THRIVE and ATE Program of the A&PI Wellness Center. Catwalk also allows local businesses the chance to support the TG community via sponsorship, promotional opportunities, and making their products or services available.

Tickets are now available at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/93508. A $ 5.00 discount is available to online tickets purchases by entering “CW2010Z” when prompted for a discount code.

Catwalk 2010 is produced by New Guard Production Company, a San Francisco based California Corporation specializing in development and physical production of unique LGBT performing arts events, film, radio, television, print and new media.

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>>Bay/Cal- APCF holds 2010 Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy Awards                         

>>Arts- Tower Productions Casting Asian Americans for arranged Marriage Documentary

>>Nation- Nationwide Call for Filipina Women Directory

>>Global- Tajikistan Election looks to promote Economic and Social Life

>>Commerce- AIG Nears deal to sell Asia Unit

Bay/Cal

APCF holds 2010 Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy Awards

Los Angeles- The Asian Pacific Community Fund, in partnership with Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders
in Philanthropy-Los Angeles, will be recognizing a young generation of community leaders at the 2nd
Annual Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy Awards Reception on Wednesday, March 3, 2010.

This event recognizes young leaders and organizations that are making a difference in the Asian Pacific
Islander community through their volunteer philanthropy efforts and leadership. APCF and AAPIP-
LA will be highlighting their successes in order to encourage others to get involved in the Asian Pacific
Islander community. The event will address the importance of cultivating the next generation of
philanthropists.

The event will be held at the Takami Sushi & Robata Restaurant, 811 Wilshire Blvd., 21st Floor in Los Angeles between 6-8pm. Leonardo Nam will serve as Master of Ceremonies.

For more information or to purchase tickets to this event, visit www.apcf.org or call (213) 624-6400 ext. 4. Pre-Sale tickets are available for $20.00 through noon, Monday, March 1st. Tickets are also available At-the-Door for $25.00.

Arts

Tower Productions Casting Asian Americans for arranged Marriage Documentary

Chicago, IL- Tower Productions is currently casting for a television special documenting arranged marriage for a major cable network, looking for people who are currently in the matching process or have been married and are willing to share their experience. The project looks to educate viewers on all aspects of the tradition and incorporate all types of backgrounds, allowing the stories to be told from the point of view of a diverse group.

The company was founded in 1989, and has produced over one thousand hours of factual and entertainment programming for US and international television networks including A&E, Animal Planet, The Biography Channel, CNN, Discovery Channel, History, ID: Investigation Discovery, Lifetime, MSNBC, NBC, National Geographic Channel, PBS, TLC, Travel Channel, tru TV, VERSUS, WGN and The Weather Channel. Among the Company’s signature series are American Justice and Biography (A&E), The Final Report, Storm Stories and the syndicated comedy series Sports Action Team.

Anyone interested should please email: casting@towersproductions.com with your name, age, contact info, state/country you live in, and a description about your experience.
Nation

Nationwide Call for Filipina Women Directory

San Francisco, Ca- The Filipina Women’s Network is compiling a directory of “Filipina American Women in Governance” comprised of the following Filipinas elected to any public office, Filipinas appointed to any governmental position in a commission or agency including the military, and Filipinas who have achieved the highest ranking executive or board position level at a U.S. Fortune 1000 corporation, large nonprofit, government agency including the military (CEO/Senior Executive).
The Network encourages anyone who fits the criteria to participate in the survey. This survey is a Pinay Power 2012 initiative and part of the ‘Shaping the Filipina Image Campaign and wishes to enhance public perceptions of Filipina women’s capacity to lead, change biases against Filipina women’s leadership abilities and build the Filipina community’s pipeline of qualified leaders, to increase the odds that some will rise to the president position in all sectors.

The directory will be available at the 2010 Filipina Leadership Summit in October. Keep checking the FWN website for announcements at www.FilipinaWomensNetwork.org The survey will end on March 31, 2010.

Global

Tajikistan Election looks to promote Economic and Social Life

Dushanbe- Amid little hopes for change, people in the Muslim-majority Central Asian republic of Tajikistan voted in legislative elections certain to tighten the grip of long-serving President Emomali Rakhmon despite popular discontent.

“The election results are known in advance — a victory for the president’s party,” Salim, 58, told Agence France-Presse. “That means more seats in parliament for his party, which lobbies for the interests of the authorities.”

Seven parties are vying in the polls, including the opposition Islamic Revival Party, the only legally registered party in the former Soviet Central Asia.

But the outcome is largely expected to tighten the grip of Rakhmon’s ruling Democratic People’s Party, which holds 57 in the 63-seat parliament.

“This is an important political event for Tajikistan to promote economic and social life,” said Rakhmon standing alongside his 23-year-old son who is running for a seat on Dushanbe’s city council, considered a possible first step in a succession plan.

The vote comes amid growing concerns in the West that potential instability in Tajikistan could undermine their war efforts in neighboring Afghanistan.
- IslamOnline.net

Commerce

AIG Nears deal to sell Asia Unit

Hong Kong- In its biggest move yet to repay a $182.3 billion U.S.-government bailout, AIG Incorporated has neared an agreement to sell its crown-jewel Asian life-insurance business to Prudential PLC for about $35.5 billion.

The government-controlled insurer’s board approved the sale of American International Assurance Ltd. and was close to signing the deal. Federal Reserve and Treasury Department officials also signed off on it.
AIG’s likely sale of AIA, along with a separate agreement expected in the next week or so to sell another non-U.S. insurer, American Life Insurance Co., could generate proceeds of about $50 billion. Half of that amount has already been earmarked for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

AIG was the single largest recipient of a taxpayer-funded aid in the bailout. The company remains far from weaning itself from the government lifeline it received in 2008. These two deals would cover roughly half the $97 billion AIG is trying to repay the U.S. government.

- Wall Street Journal

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Julie D. Soo in interview with I-ching Master Y.C. Sun

The order of the animal zodiac is based on the order of the finishers of a race Buddha called: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig

The Tiger can work successfully and communicate well to achieve happiness and harmony in love and business with: Horse, Dog, and Pig.

The Monkey and Tiger are rivals, with the Monkey constantly running into conflict with the Tiger. Mature Monkeys should watch for bad health. Younger Monkeys will make changes in all aspects. Wear a necklace with a figure of a horse, dog, or pig to smooth the transition of rapid change.

The Tiger competes with other Tigers on all fronts with animosity and a mountain cannot accommodate more than one Tiger. Tigers should watch for poor health and avoid confrontation. Wear a necklace with a figure of a horse, dog, or pig to divert the ill attention of the Golden Tiger.

The Rat and Tiger have a moderate relationship, providing the Rat an opportunity to make changes, travel, and work hard to better its career and status.

The Ox and Tiger clash even though the Ox will try new things to accommodate the Tiger, leaving the Ox to resort to secondary plans. It is a romantic year for Ox people.

The Tiger provides the Rabbit with a romantic year but strong competition disturbs chances of lasting new romantic pursuits.

The Tiger disturbs the Dragon’s focus on making changes, travel, and study with worries about an elder’s health issue.

Though Snake and Tiger often spar with sharp tongue and competition, Snake’s wisdom and charm wins over the Tiger.

The Goat enjoys romance and happiness with the Tiger but takes care of a health issue.

The Rooster should overcome an obstacle with the Tiger but achieving its goal will require spending money.

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Julie D. Soo in interview with I-ching Master Y.C. Sun

The Year of the Tiger will be tumultuous as the Metal Tiger or Golden Tiger brings volatility and disagreement. Economic recovery for the United States will continue to be slow and worries about deflation are likely to turn to inflation.
The Tiger is the third of twelve Chinese animal zodiac signs. Tiger people are thought to be fiery and bold, good for people of action. However, fiery Tigers can also be tempestuous and quick to anger, defeating any kind of cordial relations.
The past year more mellow with the earth element for the Earth Ox or Brown Ox Year brought trust and kindness to promote conflict resolution, will turn as the metal element for the Metal Tiger or Golden Tiger (4708 on the Chinese lunar calendar) begins on February 4 to a year of disagreement and hostility says Bay Area I-ching Master Y.C. Sun. Geomancers like to look at sixty-year cycles because the five elements — metal, wood, water, fire, and earth — and 12-animal zodiac generally bring circumstances full circle.
Sun predicts a year of growing global disagreement and hostility in keeping with the last Metal Tiger Year. In 1950, the United States suffered under the strains of the Korean War, the Cold War, the nuclear arms race, and McCarthyism.
As Master Sun, a computer scientist and multi-generational geomancer, has enhanced his focus on global economics and geopolitics and is often quoted in CBS MarketWatch, he does see some glimmer with the metal element associated with the Golden Tiger. Metal is associated with money and transportation, so that should bode well even with a slow economic recovery. Think public works projects and high speed rail.
Two years ago, Sun explained, “The U.S. is one year ahead of the looming global recession that will come in the second quarter of 2009.” Early last year, he saw signs of our housing market bottoming out in the summer with signs of recovery in the fall. Sun had also indicated in early 2008 that China, our big investor, wouldn’t be able to control inflation and a power struggle would erupt there as President Hu Jintao would experience a bad luck year in 2009. While China hasn’t suffered the major recession of most countries following an Olympic host year, Sun predicts that China’s bubble will burst in the next couple of years.
Sun sees China and other Asian countries leading in a sustained but uneven global recovery in 2010, while the United States and Europe remain weak primarily due to a lack of consumer support and high unemployment. World output will increase by about 2 percent this year after having fallen about the same in 2009. For the first time in history, the recovery from a global recession is being driven by an emerging market rather than by the United States.
Since 2004, the Earth has been on “Track 8” in our solar universe and will remain for a period of 20 years until 2023. According to Sun, this schematic places China as the new super economic power, taking over the lead position from the United States. Sun reminds us that in 2004, the U.S. started its economic down fall as the housing bubble was inflated initially by keeping target short-term rates too low for too long, leading to reckless lending and borrowing in the housing market, and subsequently by loans being repackaged as securities sold to investors. But, China will not be immune to its share of problems as it is heavily invested in the U.S. and the communist leadership faces internal struggles.
The characteristics of the animal combined with influences from five basic elements — metal, wood, water, fire, and earth - foretell the kind of year. The balance of the elements promotes harmony. Each animal can be converted into the five elements. This Tiger Year also contains wood, fire, and earth elements. Wood and fire together will make fire stronger. Metal is challenged by fire and metal is also against wood. That means the metal element and the Tiger will fight each other, creating turbulence for the year. The lack of water for this year also means a lack of tact, according to Sun.
Geopolitically, continue to expect turmoil from Iran and the Middle East but also energy-rich African countries, where these areas will create internal struggles that spill over into global crises. Expect Al Qaeda to surge again.
The metal, wood and fire energy will create plenty of natural disasters and man-made problems: deadly hurricanes, typhoons, and tornadoes in August through October; deadly snowstorms in the Northeast; avalanches in Europe, particularly at the Alps; volcanic eruptions; and, frequent mass civic protests and violent riots globally.
Tensions stand to grow with China, our biggest creditor to whom we owe some $800 billion. However, opportunities exist if the U.S. partners with China with working to solve the world’s most challenging problems, such as climate change, nuclear proliferation, and global financial reform.
President Barack Obama has called for “cooperation, not confrontation” with China, so the U.S. may defer any imminent trade wars. Obama, born in the year of the Metal Ox, carries metal and earth energies, according to his birth chart - a wood goat birth month carrying earth, fire, and wood. Obama was able to utilize the water energy over the last few years to catapult his fame and keep lady luck by his side, culminating in a Nobel Peace Prize at the end of 2009. But, this year the absence of water will prove trying for Obama. The U.S. will have to be on guard as North Korea and Iran press to build nuclear arms and the President must continue to work with Russia on nuclear disarmament, says Sun.
Swimming may just be the panacea to increase Obama’s luck this stormy year. While he will be able to start new initiatives, this year will be full of compromise and President’s Plan A’s will more likely be his Plan B’s.
The elements also indicate popular business and investment sectors. According to Sun, the metal energy points to some profits in metal industries, transportation, government, criminal justice, and even auto segments. GM and the U.S. auto industry will make a comeback with new products, including electric and fuel efficient vehicles, predicts Sun. The fire energy pulls in sectors such as solar green energy projects, high tech, information technology, computer software, fire arms, entertainment - movies, television, show business, and opera, and oil and gas.
Tapping into the absent water energy industries will provide profits this year, pointing to the import/export, travel, shipping, moving company, cleaning, musical, magic entertainment, Internet, seafood, chemical, fruit juicing, wine spirits, and tea and coffee industries.
During last year’s Earth Ox, Sun explained that the confluence of earth and water would produce a rich soil to grow wood, representative of the U.S. dollar, indicating a rebound for the weakened currency and stemming a global free fall. This year, Sun predicts that the dollar will come back alive and do some rebounding. Oil and gas will be volatile within the $68 to $108 per barrel range. Gold prices will start to race up to the $1,350 level in the second half of 2010.
The stock market will be volatile like the Tiger. Sun says watch for the market to pull back big in June and less so in October. Good investments in the Metal Tiger Year should center on the metal energy industries - engineering, hardware, manufacturing, transportation, and high-speed rail. Sun also predicts that the earth energy from Track 8 combined with the elements of this year will make for strong commodities trading activity.
According the “Nine Spots of Flying Stars” theory, Sun says that good locations this year are northwest, middle, north, and west, while bad locations are southwest, northeast, south, and southeast. The directionals can apply to one’s home, a city, a state, a country, or the world. Sun says the southwest location will experience bad accidents, disasters, or misfortune. A metal wind chime placed at this directional can breakup with bad energy.
For Bay Area political followers, Sun predicted last year that San Francisco Mayor Newsom, a Fire Goat, would have a challenging year as he set into the California gubernatorial race because the Fire Goat posed conflicts with the Ox. Sun saw more positive energy with his family life with an addition to the family and indeed, daughter Montana Tessa was born in the fall. As of this writing, Newsom has not yet decided whether to seek the Lt. Governor’s seat. While Sun believes the likelihood of success for Newsom in that race is good, the Metal Tiger brings Newsom a renewed energy to focus on city business and produce with high productivity, efficiency, and good results.
Sun predicts a strong year for Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, a Fire Horse. Last year, Sun advised that Ma should focus on planting new seeds during the Earth Ox Year, removing anything that was unproductive for strong gains in 2010. In the elective year of the last of her three two-year term limit, will reap benefits from her workaholic nature. The Metal Tiger will provide Ma with strong energy and vision, combined with timely strategy and outstanding leadership to achieve a very successful year. She will bring strong financial gains for California, no doubt in part to her role in bringing the high-speed rail project to fruition. Her personal life will be equally strong as Sun sees wedding bells for Ma next year.
A little meditation and conflict resolution training will help this year and for the next 24 months. Next year –the Year of the Rabbit — and another metal year looks to be another fierce year, more sticks than carrots.

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SAN FRANCISCO, CA - A faltering economy and unstable job market is leaving many uncertain about their futures. Joey Yap plans to change that by using feng shui and astrology to help prepare people to flourish in 2010 in their careers, health, and relationships by capitalizing on their best dates in their astrological forecast.

Yap, the Founder and Master Trainer of the Mastery Academy of Chinese Metaphysics, an academic institution represented in over 30 countries worldwide, will be hosting a seminar, entitled “Feng Shui and Astrology 2010, “Succeeding in Turbulent Times” at the Sheraton Fisherman’s Wharf Hotel located at 2500 Mason St. in San Francisco on Saturday March 20, 2010, from 10am to 5pm.

A revered international feng shui master, Yap, will be showing attendees, in this powerful one-day seminar, how to explore their astrological forecast for 2010 in the year of the Metal Tiger. The seminar will discuss how to select auspicious dates for different types of personal and professional endeavors, discover which opportunities and challenges are in store as well as how Feng Shui, Chinese Astrology, Date Selection and Face Reading (Mian Xiang) can be used as potential tools to steer your life towards success and happiness. He regularly fills convention halls with upwards of 3,000 people and his students comprise of thousands globally.

Yap, a frequent guest on TV and radio talk shows is the best-selling author of many books including Stories  Lessons on Feng Shui, Mian Xiang: Discover Face Reading, BaZi-The Destiny Code and its sequel, BaZi-The Destiny Code Revealed, Feng Shui for Homebuyers-Interior and Feng Shui for Homebuyers-Exterior, Personal Date Selection and Feng Shui for Home Owners - Apartment Buyers. He also writes for Mastery Journal, a monthly eZine on Feng Shui and Astrology devoted for world-wide readers. His works have garnered him many rave reviews by international newspapers and magazines such as International Herald Tribune, Prestige Singapore, Sunday Times Australia, and many others.

Tickets are now on sale today and can be purchased at www.masteryacademy.com/

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San Francisco — As part of the North Korea: The Human Face series, Korean Center, Inc. (KCI) & the Intercultural Institute of California (IIC) is hosting guest speaker Scott Bruce, Director of US Operations for the Nautilus Institute for Security and Sustainability at the USF Center for the Pacific Rim, to discuss energy and security in North Korea.

This event is part three of the ongoing North Korea: Human Face program series. The program is co-sponsored by the World Affairs Council, the Center for Pacific Rim, the Japan Policy Research Institute, and the Nautilus Institute.

Date & Time: Wednesday, March 17th at 6pm. 7pm reception with Korean refreshments
Location: Korean Center/1362 Post Street, San Francisco
See www.iic.edu and www.koreancentersf.org.

About the discussion:
Winter is a dangerous time for North Koreans, as it is when they are most likely to run out of food and coal. Given the endemic energy shortage in the DPRK, projects that promote energy efficiency and the transfer of energy-efficient technology to the country are a necessity. This talk will discuss the impact of cooperative, humanitarian energy efficiency projects in North Korea which have a direct and significant impact on the lives of many North Koreans, build in-country human capacity, and helps to open the door to
further engagement.

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>>Bay/Cal- Cathay Pacific offers Student Aviation Program

>>Arts- MYX® launches Billboard Photo-BOMB Contest

>>Nation- Chevron Allows Supervisor to Harass Employee with “Stupid Jap” Slur

>>Global- Indian Prime Minister Singh takes gamble with Pakistan Talks

>>Commerce- Senators urge US to Combat China Currency Policy

Bay/Cal

Cathay Pacific offers Student Aviation Program

San Francisco- Cathay Pacific has opened applications for its third US “I Can Fly” program, inviting students with a passion for aviation to participate in the popular program.

The third “I Can Fly” US program will run from mid-March through May and offers high school students a rare behind-the-scenes look at the airline industry. The 9-week academy covers a range of aviation topics and explores various careers in the industry from engineering to in-flight catering to passenger sales. The program runs weekly and operates after school hours out of San Francisco International Airport or within the vicinity of downtown San Francisco.

“The previous two “I Can Fly” programs proved to be a successful and meaningful experience for both the students and our staff instructors,” said Dennis Owen, vice president Marketing - Americas. “We’re pleased to offer another group of students the opportunity to learn about the aviation industry and assist them in making future career choices.”

The “I Can Fly” program was launched in 2003 in Hong Kong and due to its success was brought to the US for the first time in March 2009.
For further details or to apply for the US “I Can Fly” program please visit www.cathaypacific.com/us/icanfly by March 5th.

Arts

MYX® launches Billboard Photo-BOMB Contest

Redwood City, Ca- MYX® rings in the Chinese New Year with a fun contest for camera bugs with an eagle’s eye and a wicked sense of humor.

MYX® recently launched an outdoor campaign in over 40 locations and on over 100 buses playing strategic routes in the San Francisco Bay Area to announce its carriage on Comcast’s Digital Preferred Tier on Channel 368. To celebrate the launch and in keeping with the excitement for the Lunar New Year, the channel kicks off its MYX® Billboard Photo-BOMB Contest from March 1-12, 2010.

“I think all of us have ‘photobombed’ in our lives. We love hopping in a photo right before it is taken,” said MYX® Channel Head Miguel Santos.

The contest is open to all ages 12 and up, contestants need to find a MYX® billboard or bus ad, take a picture of themselves in front of it, and then send the picture, including the location where it was sighted, to any of the following MYX® accounts: myx.tv on the web, myxtv on Twitter, and facebook.com/myxtv on Facebook.

MYX® will select randomly one winner every weekday within the 12-day duration of the campaign. Daily prizes include giveaways from renowned apparel brand Johnny Cupcakes and the Bay Area-based Upper Playground. A surprise grand prize awaits the last winner on March 12.

Nation

Chevron Allows Supervisor to Harass Employee with “Stupid Jap” Slur

Richmond, Ca- John Suzuki worked at Chevron for over 35 years as an award-winning patent liaison in Chevron’s Law Department in Richmond, Calif. Suzuki was forced to take early retirement this month rather than risk his health by returning to work under a supervisor who harassed and threatened him.

The doctors had diagnosed Suzuki as being at high risk of another heart attack after he had at least two episodes of severe chest pains following incidents in which his supervisor, Alan Klaassen harassed him by yelling at him, making false accusations and threatening him. After one such incident in January 2008, Suzuki went to his doctor, who told him that he had to reduce his workload or else he might have a heart attack. When Suzuki told Klaassen and a manager, Frank Turner, what his doctor said, Klaassen and Turner laughed at Suzuki.

Things came to a head in August 2009 when Klaassen again yelled at Suzuki, waved his fist in his face, threatened him calling him a “stupid Jap.” Hiring a private attorney, Chevron conducted an investigation into the matter and found no corroboration into Suzuki’s claims.
On February 1, in fear of losing his benefits Suzuki opted for an early retirement with Cheveron. Suzuki and other supporting Asian American Organizations have begun a letter writing campaign to actively tackle the situation.

Those interested in contacting Chevron should write to: John S. Watson, Chief Executive Officer, Chevron Corp., 6001 Bollinger Canyon Road, San Ramon, CA 94583. For more information on the story go to: http://foundasian.org/2010/02/chevron-allows-supervisor-to-harass-employee-with-stupid-jap-slur

- foundasian.org

Global

Indian Prime Minister Singh takes gamble with Pakistan Talks

New Delhi- Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s pursuit of the peace talks with Pakistan began Thursday in a gamble that could shape the 77-year-old politician’s legacy.

The foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan met in New Delhi, the first talks between the countries since the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks. India’s Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said afterward the two sides had agreed to “stay in touch.” However no date was set for another meeting.

Mr. Singh could face fierce domestic opposition. The countries’ last round of talks, which began in 2004, was premised on Pakistan’s promise to shut down militants on its soil. But after the Mumbai attacks, India broke off dialogue and said relations couldn’t improve without concrete action by Islamabad on terrorism.

Indian officials say Pakistan has made some progress rounding up and prosecuting suspects in the Mumbai attacks. But for many Indians, Pakistan may not have done enough. Any further terror attacks from Pakistan in India would put New Delhi under severe pressure to call off the talks.

- Wall Street Journal

Commerce

Senators urge US to Combat China Currency Policy

Washington DC- A group of 15 U.S. senators on Thursday insisted that China’s currency practices are effectively a subsidy, and urged Commerce Secretary Gary Locke to take action.

“There can be no doubt that China’s policy of large-sale intervention in the exchange markets and the significant undervaluation of its currency acts as a subsidy to Chinese exports,” the senators said in a letter. A number of manufacturers have brought cases in recent years asking the Commerce Department to treat China’s currency practices as a subsidy, including a pending case brought by U.S. paper companies.

The Commerce Department has declined those requests, saying that currency manipulation does not meet the technical definition of a subsidy that can be offset under U.S. law.In their letter, the senators strongly disagreed.

“The bedrock of our economic system is fairness and China’s currency practices violate that principle in every single way. … The Commerce Department has yet to take this issue seriously and we must keep pressing the agency until it does the right thing,” Senator Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat, said in a statement.

- Wall Street Journal

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Over 100 years have passed since the creation of good systematic health care for the early Chinese community. Despite massive discrimination and anti-Chinese laws, the Chinese community was able to build the first Chinese Hospital in 1911.

Against all odds, it has survived, thrived and blossomed into three buildings with a fourth Chinese Hospital in the works.

Currently undergoing a capital campaign, this is one hospital that serves the Chinatown community well and it is soundly supported by the community.

In 2006, the City of San Francisco’s population rose to nearly 40% Asian. The residents have far exceeded its original boundaries, with many residents settling in the outskirts of town and even settling in the suburbs of the greater San Francisco Bay Area.

UCSF is combining Chinese Hospital’s vision of serving the Chinese community with bilingual outreach to Chinese and Asian Americans. With figures indicating that the number one killer of Asian Americans are heart attacks and the number three killer was strokes, the first-ever Asian Heart and Vascular Center was created as a part of the world-renown University of California, San Francisco Medical Center.

AHVC was founded in an effort to bridge the cultural and language gap that often prevented Asian patients from receiving the best possible cardiovascular care that they need.

AHVC Director Dr. Gordon Fung, MD, MPH, said there is a myth that Asians are at low risk for heart and vascular disease, but that is definitely not true.

“Heart attacks and strokes are the leading causes of death of Asian Americans,” said Fung. “But many Asian don’t seek care or they seek care late, either because they don’t understand their risks or because they have trouble communicating with their doctors regarding their symptoms.”

While Asian-Americans share risk factors with the general population, such as high rates of hypertension, obesity, diabetes and smoking, studies have shown there are important differences in cardiovascular risk factors in Asian Americans.

The AHVC program includes Asian-focused clinical research, treatments, medical students training, and community education. In time, other medical disciplines such as cancer, diabetes, and orthopedics to name a few and will be included in the UCSF Asian-focused medical center.

What a bonanza of a dream, to know that the finest of research and the most advanced medical care and technology will be available to the entire Asian community in the greater Bay Area at the world-renowned UCSF Medical Center. That is something to be valued, as our quality of life can only become better and better. We applaud the UCSF Medical Center for bringing us forward.

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>>Bay/Cal-  Scholarships available for Summer Study Abroad 2010

>>Arts- Kearny Street Workshop holds “Understanding Bollywood through Music”

>>Nation- CAPAC Applauds President’s nomination of Goodwin Liu

>>Global- 17 Die, 26 missing in Indonesian Landslide

>>Commerce- Eli Lily Merk and Pfizer Inc collaborate for Asian Cancer Research

Bay/Cal

Scholarships Available for 2010 Summer Study Abroad

San Francisco- The deadline to apply for the 2010 Nikkei Youth Cultural Heritage Program is Friday March 5, 2010. Partial scholarships of $500 are available for students applying for the program through the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California.

The Program is sponsored by the JCCCNC in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle and Hawaii. Each cultural center will choose up to four college students to participate in a month-long intensive language study and home stay program in Kobe, Japan.

The NYCH Program, in cooperation with the Kobe YMCA Language School is designed for Nikkei youth to gain a better understanding of their ancestral and cultural background while discovering Japan in a unique and exciting way. This program will allow participants to immerse themselves in Japanese culture through Japanese courses.

This program is open to students at any level of the Japanese language skills. Applicants must be 18 years of age and older and have completed a minimum of one semester of college studies.
For more information and to download the application, visit
www.jcccnc.org or call Aya Ino at (415) 567-5505.

Arts

Kearny Street Workshop holds “Understanding Bollywood through Music”

San Francisco- The Kearny Street Workshop organization will be holding a workshop highlighting the art of Bollywood. The workshop will explore the magical aesthetics of Bollywood music through screenings, discussions, in class performances, field trips and lectures. 

Bollywood film songs will also be used to examine the context of South Asian Culture. The songs and films will be viewed in both Hindi and English. Special focus will be given to the film composers such as Burman, Naushad and Rhaman, along with time to discuss the films Maqbool, Omkara, Mughal e Azaam, Dil Se, Sholay, Qurbani, Silsila, Jodhaa Akbar, Lagaan, Devdas and Umrao Jaan.

Robin Sukhadia will facilitate the workshop. With a Masters of Arts in World Music from the California Institute of the Arts, Sukhadia has been studying various forms of Bollywood and world music for the past six years.

Registration is $180. Friendly special: sign up with a friend for a discounted registration of $150 per person. To register by check, please send check or money order to: Kearny Street Workshop, P.O. Box 14545, San Francisco, CA 94114-0545. Or pay online at kearnystreet.org. Please include your full name and contact info.

Nation

CAPAC Applauds President’s nomination of Goodwin Liu

Washington DC - Today President Obama nominated Goodwin Liu for the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Mr. Liu is currently Associate Dean and Professor at the University of California Berkeley School of Law. Judicial diversity has been a top concern of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, and as such has endorsed Asian American, Pacific Islander, and other diverse candidates for the bench, including Professor Liu.

“CAPAC is pleased with the President’s nomination of Goodwin Liu to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. As an acclaimed education and constitutional law scholar, CAPAC members are proud to support his nomination,” said Rep. Mike Honda (CA-15), chair of CAPAC.

Liu was an associate at O’Melveny & Myers in Washington, D.C. He has also worked for the Corporation for National Service, where he helped launch the AmeriCorps program.
CAPAC Members are pleased that President Obama is committed to nominating individuals of the highest caliber, such as Goodwin Liu, to the federal bench, while at the same time making judicial diversity a top priority.

Global

17 Die, 26 missing in Indonesian Landslide

Jakarta, Indonesia- Rescuers have found 17 dead bodies after the landslide in West Java of Indonesia on Tuesday morning, and struggled to find 26 others predicted to be buried under the rabbles Head of National Disaster Management Agency Syamsul Ma’ arif said on Wednesday.

Ma’arif who has just returned from the scene along with Vice President Boediono said that heavy machinery equipment had arrived in the scene for the further evacuation of those still buried.

“So far, the rescuers attempt to evacuate 26 people predicted still under the rubbles after they found 17 dead bodies,” he told Xinhua over phone.

“For anticipating of other possible landslide, the vice president asked over 55 families to be temporarily relocated,” he said.

Logistic such as medicine and other relief aids have been provided for the survivors. The vice president donated 200 million rupiah funds, 100 blankets, 50 tents and 100 family kits, while Health Ministry provided medicine, he said.

Indonesia has been frequently hit by landslide and flood during the wet season which occurs regularly from December.

- xinhuanet.com

Commerce

Eli Lily Merk and Pfizer Inc collaborate for Asian Cancer Research

London- Pfizer Inc. announced today that it has joined pharmaceutical powerhouses Eli Lilly & Co. and Merck & Co. to form a not-for-profit company to speed research and treatment for Asia’s most common cancers.

The Asian Cancer Research Group Inc. “is about sharing information for the common good,” the companies said in a joint statement.

The major pharmaceutical firms said their independent company “represents a prime example of a growing trend in pre-competitive collaboration in which large pharmaceutical companies combine their resources and expertise to rapidly increase knowledge of disease and disease processes.”  The new company initially will target lung and gastric cancers.

- Marketwatch.com

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The 28th Annual San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival (SFIAAFF), which showcases the best Asian and Asian American films from around the globe takes place March 11-21, 2010 in San Francisco, Berkeley and San Jose. 2010 marks the 30th anniversary of the founding of the Festival’s presenting organization the Center for Asian America Media (CAAM). SFIAAFF is the nation’s largest showcase for new Asian American and Asian films, annually presenting approximately 120 works featuring thrilling films from the United States, Philippines, Japan, Thailand, China, and more.

Film screenings, filmmaker tributes, and panel discussions take place at the Castro Theatre, Sundance Kabuki Cinemas, Clay Theatre, and VIZ Cinema in San Francisco, Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley, and the Camera 12 Cinemas in San Jose. Tickets go on sale beginning February 11 for CAAM members and February 15 for the general public.

For more information or tickets please visit: http://festival.asianamericanmedia.org/2010

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The Korean Film Festival in Los Angeles (KOFFLA) will take place March 4 to 7 at venues across Los Angeles. They recently held their first official press conference on Monday, February 22 at the Korean Cultural Center. Introducing the festival was executive director Chang-Wha Chung (director of martial arts classic Five Fingers of Death), festival spokesperson actor John Cho (Star Trek, ABC’s Flash Forward, Harold & Kumar Go to the White Castle) and festival partner Jeff Black, VP and General Manager of Back Stage. Each expressed their excitement and support for the upcoming festival, which will be first major Korean film festival in Los Angeles.

With a vision for bringing the best in Korean cinema to the American filmgoers, KOFFLA will feature over 60 features and shorts from established and emerging Korean filmmakers from around the world, including special sections for Korean horror, outstanding directorial debuts, Korean-American cinema, and a retrospective of action director Ryoo Seung-Wan (The Crying Fist, City of Violence). Notable special events include a Master Class with cinematographer Kim Hyung-ku (Memories of Murder, The Host) and Actorfest KOFFLA, a one-day event for actors and aspiring actors to participate in panels, workshops, and meet & greet sessions with Hollywood and Korean talent agents, actors, and casting directors.

The red carpet Opening Ceremony will take place at 6 PM on March 4 at the Egyptian Theatre with a screening of Le Grand Chef II (starring Kim Jung-Eun and Jin-Gu). The closing award ceremony will be held at the Laemmle Music Hall followed by the closing film, Hur Jin Ho’s A Good Rain Knows, starring Jung Woo-Sung and Gao Yuan Yuan.

The latest information on KOFFLA is available on their website, www.koffla.org.

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SAN FRANCISCO – The San Francisco Japantown Foundation today announced its selection of ten nonprofit projects and activities to participate in its 2010 matching grants program.

These projects will be awarded up to $4,000 through a matching grants program instituted by the Foundation. Selected projects will have until April 30, 2010, to fulfill their match by asking individuals to contribute to the Foundation and earmarking their donation for their specific project.

The Foundation selected the projects based on criteria outlined in its submission guidelines and on how well each applicant advanced the Foundation’s mission to support cultural, community and educational activities for San Francisco’s Japantown or the Japanese American community.

For more information on how to donate, visit: http://www.sfjapantownfoundation.org/donate.

The following ten projects and activities have been selected to participate in the matching grants program:

The nihonmachiROOTS Community Engagement Project increases community engagement for the Japantown Better Neighborhoods Plan and builds a multi-generational, multi-ethnic network of community members to work on issues affecting Japantown. The project is also focuses on building trust and consensus within the community and determining issue priorities. The Japantown Foundation will match up to $2,000 in donations earmarked for this program.

The 2nd Annual J-POP SUMMIT Festival is a pop culture-themed street fair that covers the grounds of Post Street from Webster to Buchanan to the Peace Plaza of Japantown. The festival is hosted by NEW PEOPLE in cooperation with the Japantown Merchants Association. The Japantown Foundation will match up to $2,000 in donations earmarked for this program.

The Rosa Parks Elementary School Japanese Bilingual Bicultural Program, a San Francisco Unified School District alternative elementary school program offering Japanese language and culture in addition to the standard English based curriculum. Japanese is taught by sensei, native Japanese speaking teachers, who bring authentic Japanese language, and a personal perspective to Japanese culture into the classroom on a daily basis. The program will conduct numerous cultural events throughout the year. The Japantown Foundation will match up to $2,000 in donations earmarked for this program.

The National Japanese American Historical Society’s annual summer Japantown Cultural Heritage Tourism Youth Leadership Internship engages high school and college age youth in a two-month internship
designed to: Engage young people in Japantown historic and cultural preservation; Increase visits by youth and the general public to Japantown; Increase participation by youth and the general public in Japantown activities by promoting what the community has to offer; and Develop youth leadership in Japantown. The Japantown Foundation will match up to $2,000 in donations earmarked for this program.

Kanrin Maru 150th Anniversary Celebration, fiscally sponsored by the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California, commemorates the 150th anniversary of the arrival of Kanrin Maru to San Francisco, the first official Japanese ship to land on American soil and to celebrate 150 years of history between the United States and Japan and the roots of the Japanese American community. The Kanrin Maru’s arrival signaled an important chapter in the beginning of official relations between the United States and Japan, seven years after Commodore Matthew Perry sailed to Japan to end two centuries of Japan’s self-imposed isolation. The Japantown Foundation will match up to $2,000 in donations earmarked for this program.

The Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival Parade’s Kanrin Maru 150th Anniversary Floats. This year, the Cherry Blossom Fesrival Parade will welcome specially created floats to celebrate the historic
celebration of the Kanrin Maru’s arrival to San Francisco. The Japantown Foundation will match up to $2,000 in donations earmarked for this program.

The 18th Annual Kodomo no Hi (Children’s Day) Festival and School Visit Program, run by the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California, allows children and their families to learn about and embrace Japanese culture through hands-on activities; to enjoy traditional and contemporary Japanese and Japanese American arts and entertainment; and welcome them to our safe, prosperous and culturally vibrant Japantown community. The Kodomo no Hi Program preserves and honors San Francisco Japantown’s rich history for its residents, businesses, visitors and community organizations while supporting the growth and development of the community we live in and serve. The Japantown Foundation will match up to $2,000 in donations earmarked for this program.

The Michiya Hanayagi Dance Studio will perform at various community events throughout the year. After 55 years of teaching, Hanayagi’s contributions towards promoting the Japanese culture through classical dance gained her the prestige of being honored in 2004 as one of the recipients of The Foreign Minister’s Commendation in Commemoration of the 150 th Anniversary of the U.S.-Japan Relationship. The Japantown
Foundation will match up to $1,000 in donations earmarked for this program.

The Nikkei Community Internship Program run by the California Japanese American Community Leadership Council offering college students throughout California an opportunity to obtain experience supporting the work of various community organizations and increasing their understanding of contemporary issues affecting Japanese Americans. The goal of the program is to support the development of the next generation of community leaders. The Japantown Foundation will match up to $2,000 in donations earmarked for this program.

“What’s Next for J-Town? A Young Adults’ Perspective on San Francisco’s Japantown,” is a research project by Aya Ino focusing on the next generation of young adults and their interests, followed by a collective analysis on perspectives of San Francisco’s Japantown. With a growing need to keep this specific population vibrant within our community, research will be conducted through surveys and creative
online tools to assess the needs of those who are 19 to 35 in age.

Results will be presented and available for all stakeholders of Japantown including merchants, residents, churches, organizations, and individuals, in hopes that future events will reflect the collective perspectives voiced by the next generation. The Japantown Foundation will match up to $2,000 in donations earmarked for this program.

This was the Foundation’s third round of grantmaking since being founded in December 2006.

The Foundation was formed through generous initial endowments by Kintetsu Enterprises of America, the late Jack Hirose, Hats and Amey Aizawa, Union Bank of California and Minami Tamaki LLP, which is also doing the foundation’s pro bono legal work.

The organization is dedicated to preserving and honoring Japantown’s history and culture, to welcoming and serving its residents, visitors, businesses, congregations and community organizations, and to supporting the growth and development of the community. In particular, the Foundation supports activities that reflect the Japanese American experience, and activities that engage Japanese of all generations and all experiences in America.

The Foundation board is comprised of: Hats Aizawa; Bob Hamaguchi representing the Japantown Task Force; Richard Hashimoto representing the Japantown Merchants Association; Keith Kamisugi; Diane Matsuda; Sandy Mori; Jon Osaki; Allen Okamoto representing Sakura Matsuri, Inc.; Donald K. Tamaki of Minami Tamaki LLP, Board President and Legal Counsel; and June-Ko Nakagawa representing Japanese Chamber of
Commerce of Northern California. The late Jack Hirose was also a member of the board.

For more information on the Foundation, visit http://sfjapantownfoundation.org.

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>>Bay/Cal-  Report shows “Model Minority” Myth wrong

>>Arts- AIAE Censors Filipino Artist’s exhibit

>>Nation- Dalai Lama to ‘tweet’ on Tibet

>>Global- US and South Korea envoys visit China in Hopes of North Korean Denuclearization

>>Commerce- Polyvore Names Sukhinder Singh Cassidy as CEO

 Bay/Cal

Berkeley- A new report from the think tank Education Trust-West reveals alarming disparities in academic achievement among different Asian ethnic groups in California.

The report which is to be published next month, reveals that while Chinese, Japanese, Korean, South Asian and Vietnamese students often scored better than their white classmates, the public school system appeared to be failing Cambodian, Laotian and Pacific Islander students, who fell farther behind the longer they were in school. Filipino students’ performance, meanwhile, tracked closely to whites.

Ling-Chi Wang, professor emeritus in ethnic studies at UC Berkeley spoke at a news briefing describing that since the term “model minority” was invented by the mainstream society in the late 1960s, the needs of certain Asian groups have been overlooked and under-funded.

“It became an excuse for the government not to look closer and not to provide more help,” said Wang.

The report found that on the whole 72 percent of Asian students in eighth grade were testing at grade level in English in 2009, outperforming their white peers by 6 percent. It also argues that Chinese, Japanese, and Korean students score better than their Southeast Asian counterparts because they tend to be better off financially.

- New America Media

Arts

AIAE Censors Filipino Artist’s exhibit

Malaysia- The 24th Asian International Art Exhibition has recently clamped down on censorship in its annual exhibit of artists from around the world.

Filipino artist Igan D’Bayan’s received no official letter from the organizers as to why his “Gothika Filipnia 2” would be censored due to its graphic detail to female private parts. However, they mentioned that the painting was “unsuitable” because the women’s “secret parts” were “too clear” which would open the painting up to “bad interpretation”.

The AIAE which is ironically carried the theme “Manifesting Diversity” would have been D’Bayan’s first international showing. In reference to his paint D’Bayan said, “I had to expose her private parts because I was making a point about Philippine history, bomba movies and conjugal dictatorships. It should be taken in it’s totality.

The Malaysian government has had a history of censoring art and music through the years. Pop divas such as Madonna, Mariah Carey and the Pussycat Dolls have been protested due to the governments disdain for showing too much skin during their performances.

The “Gothika Filipina 2” will be on display uncensored in the Philippines Crucible Gallery on the 4th floor of the SM Mega mall.

-Business World

Nation

Dalai Lama to ‘tweet’ on Tibet

Washington- The Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama has joined micro-blogging service Twitter, attracting over 55,000 followers in just two days.

The Dalai Lama’s Twitter feed @DalaiLama was launched on Monday, a day after he met in Los Angeles with Twitter founder Evan Williams.

“Met the Dalai Lama today in LA. Pitched him on using Twitter. He laughed,” Williams “tweeted” following the meeting.

The next day, however, the Tibetan spiritual leader had an account and received a “Welcome @DalaiLama” message from Twitter’s new spokesman, Sean Garrett.

The Dalai Lama’s account has sent seven messages so far although they are not pearls of wisdom from His Holiness but rather links to articles and photos of his activities during his current US visit.

The creation of a Twitter account by the Dalai Lama comes a year after Twitter suspended an account set up by an imposter which attracted tens of thousands of followers.

Following the incident with the fake Dalai Lama account and other impersonations Twitter began a system of “verified accounts” for public figures. The new Dalai Lama account is a “verified account.”

- AFP

Global

US and South Korea envoys visit China in Hopes of North Korean Denuclearization

BEIJING- Nuclear envoys from the United States and South Korea are visiting China amid renewed diplomatic efforts to restart stalled talks on ending North Korea’s nuclear weapons program. South Korea’s top negotiator for the six-nation nuclear talks was to meet with his Chinese counterpart on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, President Barack Obama’s special envoy on North Korea, Stephen Bosworth, was to do the same, China’s Foreign Ministry said. “We’ll discuss how to get North Korea to return to the six-party talks and implement its denuclearization promises again.”

The meetings come shortly after North Korea’s chief nuclear negotiator visited Beijing. North Korea last year quit the disarmament-for-aid talks and conducted a second nuclear test, drawing tightened U.N. sanctions. The North has demanded a lifting of the sanctions and peace talks formally ending the 1950-53 Korean War before it returns to the negotiating table.

- Washington Post

Commerce

Polyvore Names Sukhinder Singh Cassidy as CEO

Mountain View, Ca- Polyvore, the leading fashion and social shopping platform announced today the addition of Sukhinder Singh Cassidy as Chief Executive Officer. Ms. Singh Cassidy will join Polyvore on March 1, from Accel Partners where she served as CEO-in-residence.

From 2003 to 2009, Ms. Singh Cassidy held a variety of executive leadership roles at Google including President of its Asia-Pacific & Latin American Operations. Ms. Singh Cassidy brings over 14 years of experience in media and technology to further accelerate Polyvore’s growth in the fashion and social shopping space.

“I am very excited to join Polyvore as CEO. I’ve watched the company grow and gain momentum as online shopping evolves from a static and solo experience into a very social form of digital entertainment and e-commerce,” said Ms. Singh Cassidy. “This is a unique opportunity to join a talented and passionate team and collaborate with a product visionary like Pasha to grow the business and redefine the industry.”

- New York Times

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For two nights in San Francisco this past month, patrons at two fundraising events were given the opportunity to reminisce or learn about the “Swinging Chinatown Days: The Golden Age of Chinese Nightclubs,” the title of an exhibit currently being shown at The Old Mint located at 88 Fifth Street in San Francisco.

To start down memory lane, Cynthia Yee and her Grant Avenue Follies ladies presented their night of nostalgia at the Four Seas Restaurant in the middle of Chinatown before a sell out dinner crowd of over 200. Old timers who had been patrons of the old nightclubs – such as Andy Wong’s Sky Room, Kubla Kahn, Forbidden City, the Shangri-La and others – and younger patrons who had heard of these infamous clubs, were taken back to the 1940s-1960s when the clubs were flourishing. When they first entered the packed dining room being, they were serenaded by Rosemary Wong singing old favorites accompanied by George Chan. Soon after they saw performances by the ladies of the Grant Avenue Follies, three of whom were a part of the original Chinatown night club scene themselves: Pat Chin, Ivy Tam and Cynthia Yee. Other dancers included Avis See-Tho, Alice Chan, Marlene Luke, Betty Louie, Gloria Gee, Lani Owyoung and Emily Chin.

Always entertaining as MC was Chuck Gee, a former costume designer. Gee introduced Hank Quock who performed his he-she act, Cynthia Yee did a magic act and longtime retired Chinatown nightclub vocalists Jimmy Borges and Eleanor Young sang. Shanghai Pearl was flown in from Seattle to entertain a la Gypsy Rose Lee strip style which raised the blood pressures of the males in the audience.

A couple of nights later, the San Francisco Museum and Historical Society and The Chinese Historical Society of America had an opening night gala to introduce the new exhibit with MC Ben Fong-Torres who belted out a very nice singing number himself.

Trina Robbins, who just authored a book on Chinatown Nightclubs signed books, while Doris Grover performed her ribbon dance, Jimmy “Jay” Borges and Richard Kishimoto did some vocals of old favorites while Ivy Tam did a solo dance with feathered fans. In the audience swaying to the old favorites were KRON movie critic Jan Wahl, Scoma Restaurateur Cheryl Scoma, Judge Harry Harry Low, Coby Yee, first Miss Chinatown Penny Wong, and one time Hollywood and Broadway dance star Dorothy Toy Fong. Photographs of the old nightclubs with their signature beautiful showgirls were interspersed in rooms for the exhibit.

From the late 1930s to the early 1960s, Chinese nightclubs flourished in San Francisco’s Chinatown. Chinatown nightclubs were the only venue for talented Asian performers at that era, so tourists and celebrities coming through were entertained by the Chinese Frank Sinatra, Larry Ching, the Chinese Sally Rand – Noel Toy Young, and the Chinese Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers - Paul Wing and Dorothy Toy. The exhibition features over 120 vintage photographs, costumes, dancing shoes and momentos from several famous San Francisco nightclubs.

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