Posted: Jan 31, 2011 at 6:12 AM [Today]
The Ann Arbor Chinese Center of Michigan’s annual Chinese New Year’s Celebration will be held Saturday, Feb. 5 at Clague Middle School, 2616 Nixon Road Ann Arbor, MI 48105.
Ann Arbor Chinese Center of Michigan students aged three on up (and some parents too) will be performing at 2 p.m. in the auditorium — cute little kids singing and dancing, Chinese guzheng (harp) and erhu (fiddle), lion dancers, Chinese dance, martial arts, high school student-made films and amazing Chinese yo-yo. Special guests include the Ann Arbor Chinese Traditional Music Ensemble and Kevin Liu, pipa master.
click on link for more Ann Arbor Chinese Center of Michigan's Chinese New Year's Celebration - AnnArbor.com
Monday, January 31, 2011
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Adventures in Multicultural Living: Balancing family and friends, public and private at Chinese New Year's - AnnArbor.com
Posted: Jan 30, 2011 at 6:12 AM [Today]
I woke up early on the first Sunday of the year and stumbled about my kitchen, dirty dishes from New Year’s Eve still piled up, thinking that I should call Mr. Aramaki in a thinly-veiled attempt to get invited to Oshougatsu (Japanese New Year’s) at his house or to get him to invite me to tag along with him to the Shimouras’ Oshougatsu. I think about this every year on New Year’s Day as I do not really know where else to go. I am not enmeshed in the Japanese American community here as I am in California. Japanese New Year’s is big, going from house to house, eating oneself into oblivion on ozoni, sushi, sashimi, tempura, gobo, namasu, mochi…
Then (sound effect of a record screeching to a halt), I realized that it was Jan. 2, and I had missed New Year’s Day completely.
Doh!
But that’s ok. I still have Chinese New Year’s on Feb. 3 this year.
Of course, that is what I always say about my Christmas letter that never gets out, “I’ll send it out at New Year’s.” Then Chinese New Year’s (February)…Tibetan New Year’s (March)…Nepali New Year’s (April)…
click on link for more Balancing family and friends, public and private at Chinese New Year's - AnnArbor.com
I woke up early on the first Sunday of the year and stumbled about my kitchen, dirty dishes from New Year’s Eve still piled up, thinking that I should call Mr. Aramaki in a thinly-veiled attempt to get invited to Oshougatsu (Japanese New Year’s) at his house or to get him to invite me to tag along with him to the Shimouras’ Oshougatsu. I think about this every year on New Year’s Day as I do not really know where else to go. I am not enmeshed in the Japanese American community here as I am in California. Japanese New Year’s is big, going from house to house, eating oneself into oblivion on ozoni, sushi, sashimi, tempura, gobo, namasu, mochi…
Then (sound effect of a record screeching to a halt), I realized that it was Jan. 2, and I had missed New Year’s Day completely.
Doh!
But that’s ok. I still have Chinese New Year’s on Feb. 3 this year.
Of course, that is what I always say about my Christmas letter that never gets out, “I’ll send it out at New Year’s.” Then Chinese New Year’s (February)…Tibetan New Year’s (March)…Nepali New Year’s (April)…
click on link for more Balancing family and friends, public and private at Chinese New Year's - AnnArbor.com
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
AML "El cuarto de Leo" (Leo's Room) at Global Lens film series at U of M Tuesday - AnnArbor.com
Posted: Jan 25, 2011 at 6:12 AM [Today]
On Tuesday, Jan. 25, at 3 and 5 p.m., the University of Michigan Global Lens 2010 Series will present two screenings of the Uruguayan film, “El cuarto de Leo” (Leo’s Room), directed by Enrique Buchichio.
click on link for more "El cuarto de Leo" (Leo's Room) at Global Lens film series at U of M Tuesday - AnnArbor.com
On Tuesday, Jan. 25, at 3 and 5 p.m., the University of Michigan Global Lens 2010 Series will present two screenings of the Uruguayan film, “El cuarto de Leo” (Leo’s Room), directed by Enrique Buchichio.
click on link for more "El cuarto de Leo" (Leo's Room) at Global Lens film series at U of M Tuesday - AnnArbor.com
Monday, January 24, 2011
AML Chinese Kunqu Opera demonstration Monday at U of M - AnnArbor.com
Posted: Jan 24, 2011 at 12:12 PM [Yesterday]
Last week, the Confucius Institute at the University of Michigan presented a formal lecture about Kunqu Opera by Professor Zhou Qin of Suzhou University, Jiangsu, China.
On Monday, Jan. 24 at 4 p.m., that conversation continues with a Kunqu roundtable discussion and demonstration by Professor Zhou Qin at the Michigan League, Room 4. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn more about this classic art form and try singing kunqu themselves.
click on link for more Chinese Kunqu Opera demonstration Monday at U of M - AnnArbor.com
Last week, the Confucius Institute at the University of Michigan presented a formal lecture about Kunqu Opera by Professor Zhou Qin of Suzhou University, Jiangsu, China.
On Monday, Jan. 24 at 4 p.m., that conversation continues with a Kunqu roundtable discussion and demonstration by Professor Zhou Qin at the Michigan League, Room 4. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn more about this classic art form and try singing kunqu themselves.
click on link for more Chinese Kunqu Opera demonstration Monday at U of M - AnnArbor.com
Adventures in Multicultural Living: Reacting (and finished reacting) to Amy Chua and our many different Tiger Mothers - AnnArbor.com
Posted: Jan 24, 2011 at 6:12 AM [Today]
I am so tired of talking about crazy Amy Chua Tiger Mother.
For the past two weeks, all conversational roads have led back to Tiger Mother as smug Amy Chua has been taken apart from all possible angles. I took part in an online discussion and podcast with other Asian American parenting writers and bloggers. I was quoted in Jeff Yang’s column in the San Francisco Chronicle. I was interviewed by the Associated Press. My article made the front page of New America Media. I was on National Public Radio’s “Radio Talk” out of Philadelphia. I was almost on Hardball with Chris Matthews on MSNBC (but technical difficulties precluded). Even a civil rights panel discussion at Michigan State University (MSU) Law School could not escape repeated references to Amy Chua.
Meanwhile, I had to apologize to my son’s first grade teacher for not doing the writing workbook I had promised I would do with him—because I had been too busy trying to prove that crazy Amy Chua was not a “Superior Chinese Mother.”
Now if that ain’t ironic…
click on link for more Reacting (and finished reacting) to Amy Chua and our many different Tiger Mothers - AnnArbor.com
I am so tired of talking about crazy Amy Chua Tiger Mother.
For the past two weeks, all conversational roads have led back to Tiger Mother as smug Amy Chua has been taken apart from all possible angles. I took part in an online discussion and podcast with other Asian American parenting writers and bloggers. I was quoted in Jeff Yang’s column in the San Francisco Chronicle. I was interviewed by the Associated Press. My article made the front page of New America Media. I was on National Public Radio’s “Radio Talk” out of Philadelphia. I was almost on Hardball with Chris Matthews on MSNBC (but technical difficulties precluded). Even a civil rights panel discussion at Michigan State University (MSU) Law School could not escape repeated references to Amy Chua.
Meanwhile, I had to apologize to my son’s first grade teacher for not doing the writing workbook I had promised I would do with him—because I had been too busy trying to prove that crazy Amy Chua was not a “Superior Chinese Mother.”
Now if that ain’t ironic…
click on link for more Reacting (and finished reacting) to Amy Chua and our many different Tiger Mothers - AnnArbor.com
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Adventures in Multicultural Living So what's the big deal about sleepovers, anyhow? It is in the nuances. More on Amy Chua Tiger Mother - AnnArbor.com
Posted: Jan 16, 2011 at 9:59 PM [Yesterday]
On my sixteen birthday, a blond classmate was shocked to discover that I would not also, automatically, be allowed to date.
“But it’s a Constitutional right that you are allowed to date when you turn sixteen.”
The other three Asian American girls in my class and I all looked at each other. None of us were allowed to date until college. It was a distraction from our studies, a waste of time, danger. “You are not going to marry anyone you date in high school so what is the point?” my mother asked.
The thing is, although my non-Asian friends thought my parents were soooo traditional, conservative, and unfair, actually, my parents thought they were being incredibly liberal.
click on link for more So what's the big deal about sleepovers, anyhow? It is in the nuances. More on Amy Chua Tiger Mother. - AnnArbor.com
On my sixteen birthday, a blond classmate was shocked to discover that I would not also, automatically, be allowed to date.
“But it’s a Constitutional right that you are allowed to date when you turn sixteen.”
The other three Asian American girls in my class and I all looked at each other. None of us were allowed to date until college. It was a distraction from our studies, a waste of time, danger. “You are not going to marry anyone you date in high school so what is the point?” my mother asked.
The thing is, although my non-Asian friends thought my parents were soooo traditional, conservative, and unfair, actually, my parents thought they were being incredibly liberal.
click on link for more So what's the big deal about sleepovers, anyhow? It is in the nuances. More on Amy Chua Tiger Mother. - AnnArbor.com
Thursday, January 13, 2011
AML: "A Touch of Spice" film at U of M International Institute Thursday - AnnArbor.com
Posted: Jan 13, 2011 at 12:52 PM [Today]
The University of Michigan Center for European Studies - European Union Center (CES-EUC) will be sponsoring a film, “A Touch of Spice,” by director Tassos Boulmetis, Thursday, January 13, 4:00 p.m. at the U of M International Institute, 1636 Social Work Building, 1080 S. University, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
click on link for more "A Touch of Spice" film at U of M International Institute Thursday - AnnArbor.com
The University of Michigan Center for European Studies - European Union Center (CES-EUC) will be sponsoring a film, “A Touch of Spice,” by director Tassos Boulmetis, Thursday, January 13, 4:00 p.m. at the U of M International Institute, 1636 Social Work Building, 1080 S. University, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
click on link for more "A Touch of Spice" film at U of M International Institute Thursday - AnnArbor.com
AML: "A Touch of Spice" film at U of M International Institute Thursday - AnnArbor.com
Posted: Jan 13, 2011 at 12:52 PM [Today]
The University of Michigan Center for European Studies - European Union Center (CES-EUC) will be sponsoring a film, “A Touch of Spice,” by director Tassos Boulmetis, Thursday, January 13, 4:00 p.m. at the U of M International Institute, 1636 Social Work Building, 1080 S. University, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
click on link for more "A Touch of Spice" film at U of M International Institute Thursday - AnnArbor.com
The University of Michigan Center for European Studies - European Union Center (CES-EUC) will be sponsoring a film, “A Touch of Spice,” by director Tassos Boulmetis, Thursday, January 13, 4:00 p.m. at the U of M International Institute, 1636 Social Work Building, 1080 S. University, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
click on link for more "A Touch of Spice" film at U of M International Institute Thursday - AnnArbor.com
AML: Cambodian human rights activist Theary Seng to speak at Art Museum for MLK Symposium - AnnArbor.com
Posted: Jan 13, 2011 at 12:23 PM [Today]
Many know how Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. developed many of his ideas from the writings of Gandhi, but I only recently began to learn how the ideas of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. also went on to influence many others around the globe.
Cambodian human rights activist and Khmer Rouge survivor Theary Seng will be speaking this Thursday, Jan. 13, from 7-9 p.m., at the University of Michigan Museum of Art Helmut Stern Auditorium, “MLK Across The Globe: His Legacy In Advancing The Values Of Justice, Peace, And Reconciliation In Cambodia.”
Theary Seng is the founder and board president of the Cambodian Center for Justice & Reconciliation and the founding director of CIVICUS: Center for Cambodian Civic Education.
click on link for more Cambodian human rights activist Theary Seng to speak at Art Museum for MLK Symposium - AnnArbor.com
Many know how Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. developed many of his ideas from the writings of Gandhi, but I only recently began to learn how the ideas of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. also went on to influence many others around the globe.
Cambodian human rights activist and Khmer Rouge survivor Theary Seng will be speaking this Thursday, Jan. 13, from 7-9 p.m., at the University of Michigan Museum of Art Helmut Stern Auditorium, “MLK Across The Globe: His Legacy In Advancing The Values Of Justice, Peace, And Reconciliation In Cambodia.”
Theary Seng is the founder and board president of the Cambodian Center for Justice & Reconciliation and the founding director of CIVICUS: Center for Cambodian Civic Education.
click on link for more Cambodian human rights activist Theary Seng to speak at Art Museum for MLK Symposium - AnnArbor.com
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Adventures in Multicultural Living: There are other ways of being a Chinese mother than Amy Chua's Tiger Mother - AnnArbor.com
On Saturday, the Wall Street Journal published an excerpt from Yale law professor Amy Chua’s upcoming book, “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother,” entitled, “Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior—Can a regimen of no playdates, no TV, no computer games and hours of music practice create happy kids? And what happens when they fight back?”
Let me just say I think this article is completely over-the-top self-satisfied and insane (although I hear the book is more nuanced and conflicted).
Amy Chua’s hard-core parenting style which she provokingly calls “Chinese” parenting (when really what it is is incredibly hard-core, strict, high expectations parenting, common but by no means definitive of Chinese and Asian immigrant parents) includes a draconian regimen of no sleepovers, no playdates, no school plays, no TV or computer games, no choosing their own extracurricular activities, no grades less than an A, no being less than the number one student in every subject except gym and drama (now how would they even do that in all of China? It is not Lake Wobegon.), no instruments other than piano or violin, no not playing piano or violin.
I did all those things. My kids do all those things. In my writing, I recommend many of those things (especially school plays). Chua dismisses us — we are not really Chinese.
click on link for more There are other ways of being a Chinese mother than Amy Chua's Tiger Mother - AnnArbor.com
Let me just say I think this article is completely over-the-top self-satisfied and insane (although I hear the book is more nuanced and conflicted).
Amy Chua’s hard-core parenting style which she provokingly calls “Chinese” parenting (when really what it is is incredibly hard-core, strict, high expectations parenting, common but by no means definitive of Chinese and Asian immigrant parents) includes a draconian regimen of no sleepovers, no playdates, no school plays, no TV or computer games, no choosing their own extracurricular activities, no grades less than an A, no being less than the number one student in every subject except gym and drama (now how would they even do that in all of China? It is not Lake Wobegon.), no instruments other than piano or violin, no not playing piano or violin.
I did all those things. My kids do all those things. In my writing, I recommend many of those things (especially school plays). Chua dismisses us — we are not really Chinese.
click on link for more There are other ways of being a Chinese mother than Amy Chua's Tiger Mother - AnnArbor.com
Thursday, January 6, 2011
AML: "The Shaft" ("Dixia de Tiankong") film at U of M Center for Chinese Studies Tuesday - AnnArbor.com
Posted: Jan 6, 2011 at 6:12 AM [Today]
On Tuesday, Jan. 11, the University of Michigan Global Lens Initiative and Center for Chinese Studies will be showing The Shaft (Dixia de tiankong), directed by Zhang Chi, in Room 1636 of the School of Social Work Building, 1080 S. University, Ann Arbor. There will be two screenings, at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. The film is in Mandarin with English subtitles.
click on link for more "The Shaft" ("Dixia de Tiankong") film at U of M Center for Chinese Studies Tuesday - AnnArbor.com
On Tuesday, Jan. 11, the University of Michigan Global Lens Initiative and Center for Chinese Studies will be showing The Shaft (Dixia de tiankong), directed by Zhang Chi, in Room 1636 of the School of Social Work Building, 1080 S. University, Ann Arbor. There will be two screenings, at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. The film is in Mandarin with English subtitles.
click on link for more "The Shaft" ("Dixia de Tiankong") film at U of M Center for Chinese Studies Tuesday - AnnArbor.com
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
AML: Mochitsuki Japanese New Year's celebration at U of M Center for Japanese Studies Saturday - AnnArbor.com
Posted: Jan 4, 2011 at 6:12 AM [Today]
Mochitsuki is one of our family’s favorite activities of the year, steeped as it is in fond memories of family and food. The children and I start grinning geekily as soon as we hear the thump thump thump of the wooden kine (mallet) pounding rice in the giant wooden usu (mortar). Little Brother paints great black blobs every year at the kakizome station. Niu Niu outfolds the origami volunteers and hovers over the mochi samples. The older two teenagers find their nerdy friends at the manga area and draw together while eating boxes and boxes of Pocky. I love the formality of the kamishibai stories and the excitement of the taiko drummers.
Traditionally, Mochitsuki is held in the last few weeks of the calendar year as families come together for the big end-of-year rice cake-making to preserve just-harvested rice for winter and to make mochi for New Year’s Day ozone soup (which must be eaten first thing New Year’s morning). However, with so much of Ann Arbor away for winter break, even though the University of Michigan Center for Japanese Studies Mochitsuki and Japanese New Year’s celebration is held at the beginning of January, it still feels like a coming together again, a coming home. Instead of being immersed in food and family gossip, we are immersed in food, music, and Japanese culture. This is a fun event, and it has been a pleasure watching it grow over the last few years.
click on link for more: Mochitsuki Japanese New Year's celebration at U of M Center for Japanese Studies Saturday - AnnArbor.com
Mochitsuki is one of our family’s favorite activities of the year, steeped as it is in fond memories of family and food. The children and I start grinning geekily as soon as we hear the thump thump thump of the wooden kine (mallet) pounding rice in the giant wooden usu (mortar). Little Brother paints great black blobs every year at the kakizome station. Niu Niu outfolds the origami volunteers and hovers over the mochi samples. The older two teenagers find their nerdy friends at the manga area and draw together while eating boxes and boxes of Pocky. I love the formality of the kamishibai stories and the excitement of the taiko drummers.
Traditionally, Mochitsuki is held in the last few weeks of the calendar year as families come together for the big end-of-year rice cake-making to preserve just-harvested rice for winter and to make mochi for New Year’s Day ozone soup (which must be eaten first thing New Year’s morning). However, with so much of Ann Arbor away for winter break, even though the University of Michigan Center for Japanese Studies Mochitsuki and Japanese New Year’s celebration is held at the beginning of January, it still feels like a coming together again, a coming home. Instead of being immersed in food and family gossip, we are immersed in food, music, and Japanese culture. This is a fun event, and it has been a pleasure watching it grow over the last few years.
click on link for more: Mochitsuki Japanese New Year's celebration at U of M Center for Japanese Studies Saturday - AnnArbor.com
Monday, January 3, 2011
InCultureParent.com: AML: Living in harmony in a great world house on MLK Day | InCultureParent
In Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Nobel Peace Prize lecture, given in 1964, he talks about the idea of a house, “We have inherited a big house, a great ‘world house’ in which we have to live together – black and white, Easterners and Westerners, Gentiles and Jews, Catholics and Protestants, Moslem and Hindu, a family unduly separated in ideas, culture, and interests who, because we can never again live without each other, must learn, somehow, in this one big world, to live with each other.”
I love the imagery of that house, so easy to picture. A nice Victorian, neat and trim, brightly painted, purple and pink, warm lights shining through lace curtains, with all the peoples of the world living in harmony together inside – everyone happily cooking together, feasting and celebrating, sharing the bounty of the garden, raking leaves and shoveling snow with the seasons, emptying the dishwasher, doing the laundry, vacuuming the floor, fixing the car, fighting for the bathroom…
Wait. But how do you do that, exactly?
click on link for more: Living in harmony in a great world house on MLK Day | InCultureParent
I love the imagery of that house, so easy to picture. A nice Victorian, neat and trim, brightly painted, purple and pink, warm lights shining through lace curtains, with all the peoples of the world living in harmony together inside – everyone happily cooking together, feasting and celebrating, sharing the bounty of the garden, raking leaves and shoveling snow with the seasons, emptying the dishwasher, doing the laundry, vacuuming the floor, fixing the car, fighting for the bathroom…
Wait. But how do you do that, exactly?
click on link for more: Living in harmony in a great world house on MLK Day | InCultureParent
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Adventures in Multicultural Living: The legacy of the Vincent Chin case for the Asian American civil rights movement and all of us - AnnArbor.com
Posted: Jan 2, 2011 at 6:12 AM [Today]
I recently had the honor of participating in the installation of the State Bar of Michigan’s 34th Michigan Legal Milestone Plaque, “From a Whisper to a Rallying Cry,” which recognizes the many legal changes that have come about because of the Vincent Chin case and benefit all of us, including minimum sentencing guidelines, victim’s impact statements, the importance of sentencing hearings, recognition of the risk that goes with changes in venue, as well as the role of this case as the catalyst for the Asian American civil rights movement.
Outgoing Mayor of Ferndale Craig Covey, who also installed an accompanying Vincent Chin memorial plaque by the City of Ferndale, recognized the struggles for equality throughout American history by “almost every group that has made this place home” including Native Americans, African Americans, Chinese Americans, Irish Americans, Catholics, Jews, Muslims, gays and lesbians, and said:
"Equal justice in America is not a given. It is not a guarantee…rather…it is a constant struggle. It takes vigilance and effort and energy. We must always strive toward fair and equal justice, knowing that it may never be fully achieved."
click on link for more: The legacy of the Vincent Chin case for the Asian American civil rights movement and all of us - AnnArbor.com
I recently had the honor of participating in the installation of the State Bar of Michigan’s 34th Michigan Legal Milestone Plaque, “From a Whisper to a Rallying Cry,” which recognizes the many legal changes that have come about because of the Vincent Chin case and benefit all of us, including minimum sentencing guidelines, victim’s impact statements, the importance of sentencing hearings, recognition of the risk that goes with changes in venue, as well as the role of this case as the catalyst for the Asian American civil rights movement.
Outgoing Mayor of Ferndale Craig Covey, who also installed an accompanying Vincent Chin memorial plaque by the City of Ferndale, recognized the struggles for equality throughout American history by “almost every group that has made this place home” including Native Americans, African Americans, Chinese Americans, Irish Americans, Catholics, Jews, Muslims, gays and lesbians, and said:
"Equal justice in America is not a given. It is not a guarantee…rather…it is a constant struggle. It takes vigilance and effort and energy. We must always strive toward fair and equal justice, knowing that it may never be fully achieved."
click on link for more: The legacy of the Vincent Chin case for the Asian American civil rights movement and all of us - AnnArbor.com
Saturday, January 1, 2011
34th Michigan Legal Milestone plaque commemorates Vincent Chin case www.legalnews.com
By John Minnis
Legal News
There never will be justice for Vincent Chin, but a Michigan Legal Milestone plaque on Woodward at Nine Mile will make sure he is never forgotten.
In the early 1980s, the American economy was in a recession, and American automakers were especially hard hit. Japanese imports were making inroads into the American market. “It’s because of you … that we’re out of work,” Chin’s attackers said at the time.
click on link for more http://www.legalnews.com/oakland/1004154/
Legal News
There never will be justice for Vincent Chin, but a Michigan Legal Milestone plaque on Woodward at Nine Mile will make sure he is never forgotten.
In the early 1980s, the American economy was in a recession, and American automakers were especially hard hit. Japanese imports were making inroads into the American market. “It’s because of you … that we’re out of work,” Chin’s attackers said at the time.
click on link for more http://www.legalnews.com/oakland/1004154/
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