March 25, 2003

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MISSION STATEMENT:

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

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ed. by Douglas Ikemi

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The internet site is at:

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

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

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APPA Board Meeting Schedule for 2003:

Evening meetings will be at the Hilton Garden Inn, 2100 Mariposa Ave.(corner of Nash) 310/726-0100. Noon time meetings will be on Raytheon premises

April 16 6PM

May 14 noon R1/6E10

June 11 6PM

July 16 noon R1/6E10

Aug 13 6PM

Sept 10 noon R1/6E10

October 13 6PM

Nov 12 noon

Detailed calendar is available on the internet at www.apa-pro.org in Acrobat and Excel formats [will get around to updating sometime]. Events go into the calendar that I don't mention here. Please send in information on cultural events and news items. Thanks to those who have.

Long range calendar items:

April 2 The History of Tea Since the Tang Dynasty & the Recent Revival of the Tea Ceremony in China. Jimmy Huang speaks on the history of tea & its recent renaissance. Tea culture in China has a two thousand year history. The Chinese tea ceremony long predates the Japanese ceremony. Tea culture is currently enjoying a renaissance in urban centers in Taiwan and China and has also come to America's shopping malls. Jimmy Huang -- owner of eight West Coast tea shops -- will discuss the history of tea, its varieties, processing, lore, and the traditional ceremony. 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM. Castelar Elementary School Multipurpose Room, 840 Yale Street. Castelar Elementary School is located in LA's Chinatown. Park on the playground, enter on College St. between Hill and Yale Streets. Please contact Randy Bloch, 323 222-0856, www.chssc.org.

April 3 APEX Cultural Affairs - Pages and Plates (April). APEX is proud to host Pages & Plates, a Cultural Affairs series to celebrate Asian America. Pages & Plates is a combination of a book club and a restaurant club. APEX members are invited to dine at a restaurant and to discuss the book of the month. At the conclusion of the meal, members will be able to review the restaurant and the book. Reviews will then be posted on the APEX website. By tying together the love for literature with the love for food, APEX hopes that Pages & Plates enables its members to discover a new dimension of Asian America. Pages and Plates are held every first Thursday of the month. The book for April is "A Single Square Picture: A Korean Adoptee's Search for Her Roots" by Katy Robinson. We encourage members to finish the book and contribute to the discussion. However, folks who want to participate without having read the book are welcomed. 7pm-9pm, Woo Lae Oak of Seoul, 623 S. Western Avenue, Los Angeles, 90005, 213-384-2244. Free, RSVP required as seating is limited. APEX members get priority seating. Contact Charles Ferrari at jcharlesferrari@mac.com

April 5,6 Bunka Sai Japanese Cultural Festival at the Torrance Cultural Arts Center. 310-328-1238

April 5 Spirit of Nature, 5^th Annual Celebration of Asian Pacific Culture, Music Recital Hall, Performing Arts Center, Mt. San Antonio College, 8PM, 909-468-4050.

April Astroboy Birthday Celebration, JACCC, Little Tokyo.

April 10 The Asian Ski and Board Club of LA is having their monthly meeting at Back Home in Lahaina, on Sepulveda Blvd., in Manhattan Beach at 7:30 p.m. 916 N. Sepulveda Blvd 90266 Phone: (310) 374-0111

APRIL 12 & 13 Cherry Blossom Festival. Monterey Park's Sixth Annual Cherry Blossom Festival will be held at Barnes Park (350 S. McPherrin Ave., Monterey Park).  Plans are currently underway to bring in another dazzling array of  entertainment, as well as food & craft vendors, displays, and activities that celebrate the beauty of the Japanese culture.  Complete entertainment schedules, along with hours of operation, will be posted on this website as plans are finalized.  For information on becoming a vendor, please call the city's Special Events Manager at (626) 307-2541.

April 13 Hanamatsuri Celebration, JACCC, Little Tokyo. 11AM-12PM lecture on Buddhism in Garden Room. Ceremony 1-4PM JACCC Plaza.

April 15 ABL and LA Chamber of Commerce Mixer at the Marriott Los Angeles Downtown, $20 for non-members.

April 27 Hiromi Hashibe & Wakana Kai Koto Group, Aratani/Japan America Theatre, Little Tokyo, 3PM, $20, 213-680-3700

May 4 Anime screening and panel at the JACCC, 2PM. Rare screening of clips from the AstroBoy collection. Also, vendor fair from 11AM-4PM.

Sept 12-14 Hollywood Bowl: Treasures of China Three Performances at the Hollywood Bowl with The Peking Acrobats. Three performances of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and the Peking Acrobats mark the final weekend in the 2003 season of the Bowl. The Peking Acrobats will be making their Bowl and orchestral debut. For more information on The Peking Acrobats (a registered trade name), visit www.iaipresentations.com/pacrobat.html. 8:30 PM - 10:00 PM, 2301 N. Highland Ave., Hollywood, 90078, 323 850-2000, www.hollywoodbowl.org

The Pacific Asia Museum (46 N. Los Robles Ave., Pasadena, 91101, 626-449-2742) Family Festival schedule for 2003, Saturdays, 1-4:

April 19 Pakistan Festival

May 17 Buddha’s Birthday

June 21 Gods and Goddesses

July 19 Calligraphy

Aug 16 Strings of Asia

Sep 20 Myanmar

Oct 18 Vijaya Dashimi

Nov. 15 Himilayan Festival

Dec 13 Pasko Sa Nayon

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This Weekend (and earlier)

March 27 APEX Invitation to Better Luck Tomorrow Community Screening of Better Luck Tomorrow Directed by Justin Lin, starring Parry Shen, Jason Tobin, Sung Kang, Roger Fan, John Cho and Karin, Anna Cheung. Japanese American Cultural and Community Center (JACCC) and IFP/LA-Project:Involve present in association with MTV Films, Trailing Johnson Productions, Visual Communications, the Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment (CAPE) and Asian Professional Exchange (APEX), the headline-making film Better Luck Tomorrow after its fiery world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. The first-ever Asian American film picked up from the festival, Better Luck Tomorrow has created waves in the Asian American community by portraying a different side to young Asian Pacific Americans. Breaking stereotypes and straying from the typical Asian American roles, the young actors give stunning performances in a coming-of-age story that has provoked controversy and emotional reaction. Screening at 7:30pm.The community screening will be followed by panel discussion featuring director Justin Lin, Linda Mabalot (Visual Communications) and other representatives from the film industry and film/arts community, sharing opinions and insight into this film. The audience will have a chance to discuss their views on the film during this panel discussion immediately following the show. At the Aratani/Japan America Theatre, JACCC, 244 S. San Pedro Street, Los Angeles, 90012, (213) 680-3700. FREE Screening Tickets are limited and will not be reserved. Tickets will be available on a first-come, first-served basis beginning Wednesday, March 12 at the George & Sakaye Aratani Japan America Theatre Box Office. Mention APEX [if you're an APEX member] as the group affiliation to pick up your Free Tickets. For more information about the film please log onto http://www.betterlucktomorrow.com

March 30  Mazanar, A reading of the musical.at the Aratani/ Japan America Theatre. 2PM. For information and tickets call the box office at 213.680.3700

March 29-30 Ikebana International 's Katen , LA Arboretum

March 30 Shanghai Ghetto. The story German and Austrian Jewish refugees in Japanese-occupied Shanghai. A critically acclaimed documentary of the story of German and Austrian Jews fleeing from Nazi persecution who found refuge in the only place that would take them: Japanese-occupied Shanghai, the great Chinese port.  Narrated by Academy Award winner Martin Landau.  (2002, 95 min.) Part of the "Special Focus on China" event series at the Skirball Cultural Center . 12:30 PM - 2:30 PM. Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd. (Located off the 405 Freeway; exit Skirball Center Drive) $6 General, $5 Members, $4 for Students. Advance tickets and reservations recommended. For all programs, call: (323) 655-8587. For more information please contact Skirball Cultural Center Tel: (310) 440-4500, www.skirball.org ----------------------------------------

Last Weekend

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

March 25 TELEVISION REVIEW

Series delves into a secret past

A three-part program traces the struggle of Chinese immigrants to America in the mid-19th century, largely ignored by history books. [I'm listening to this show as I'm writing this. So that's where focus groups came from!]

By Josh Friedman, Times Staff Writer

March 23 Cracking their moral fiber

All Over Creation: A Novel, Ruth Ozeki, Viking: 417 pp., $24.95

By Michael Harris, Michael Harris is a regular contributor to Book Review.

March 23 ART

Reorienting a trove of the East

Giving up its longtime digs, San Francisco's Asian Art Museum makes a big move, the better to showcase a collection replete with 'drop dead' pieces.

By Suzanne Muchnic, Times Staff Writer

March 22 VOICES A FORUM FOR COMMUNITY ISSUES

Billions for War, Cuts for Schools

By Sikivu Hutchinson, Sikivu Hutchinson is an adjunct instructor at CalArts and author of "Imagining Transit: Race, Gender, and Transportation Politics in L.A."

March 23 The Holy Wind Talker

Father Cormac Antram Arrived on the Navajo Reservation in 1954, Learned the Daunting Language and Started a Radio Show That Still Provides a Generational Link for a Changing Culture

By Leo W. Banks, Special to The Times

March 23 THE WORLD

War Tensions Mount in the Koreas

Some see Bush's campaign against Iraq as a precursor to 'regime change' in North Korea.

By Barbara Demick, Times Staff Writer

March 22 War cuts exchange visit short

Six students and a teacher from Japan ordered home after Bush issues 48-hour deadline to Iraq.

By Gary Moskowitz, News-Press

March 18 THEATER REVIEW

Delicate dance of puppets

With one hand in history and the other in modern technology, Hiroshi Hori brings a classic tale to life.

By Lynne Heffley, Times Staff Writer

March 18 THE VERDICT

An easy end to confrontation

By Robert Gardner

With the specter of war again upon us, it might be timely to discuss the militarization of our city during World War II.

March 25 ALIFORNIA CLASSROOM

Who was that masked man, or girl, or granny?

March 22 Davis Appoints Four Women to Superior Court Judgeships

An aide to the governor says the candidates reflect an effort to bring diversity to the bench.

By Monte Morin, Times Staff Writer

March 24 WAR WITH IRAQ/ CAPTIVES AND CASUALTIES

New Mexico Town Ready to Pull Together in Support of POW

Alamogordo, which lost one of its own in attacks of Sept. 11, is staggered by news soldier is taken.

By Scott Gold, Times Staff Writer