September 2001

    Ak-kun Deshita | Recuperation Movie Night: Film: Blood Simple / Film: Body of Evidence | Nikkei Nexus Update | Film: Bleu (Blue) | Ties Talk Archive Update | Genoa Restaurant | The Original Pancake House | Portland Taiko: Sonic Boom Big Drum Concert | Film: Finding Forrester | Attack on America: Threatcon Delta | Attack Fallout | Rhythm Fest 2001 / Portland Brewing Company | Marching For Peace in Portland | Ice Wars Begin Anew | Eastbank Esplanade Urban Fair | Another School Year | Queen of Sheba | Hopeful News? | More Attack Fallout

  • More Attack Fallout
    The terrorist attacks on New York and Washington have prompted the U.S. to increase pressure on Canada to harmonize its immigration and border control policies. At stake is not only continental security, but also the Canadian economy, grown dependent on America as its major trading partner through the North American Free Trade Agreement. An interesting article in the National Post today by University of Toronto history professor Michael Bliss, points out that while it seems Canadian sovereignty is going to be one of the casualties of the events of 11 September 2001, the changes to come are in fact part of a longstanding trend toward continentalism. I believe Canadian priorities still differ from those of Americans, but decades of fiscal mismanagement have left the government unable to afford policies and programs that reflect that thinking.

    (30 Sept 2001)
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  • Hopeful News?
    When the dot-com bubble burst last year, I was under the impression it was bad news for all things related to computers, the Internet, and information technology, including the field in which I have a vested interest, medical informatics. According to an article I read at the online magazine HealthLeaders.com, I was wrong: the dot-com frenzy actually diverted funds that otherwise might have been invested in healthcare. Now that many of the dot-coms have become "dot-bombs", those dollars are finding their way back to the healthcare sector. Hopefully that translates into medical informatics jobs soon!

    • Out of the Cold
      In the aftermath of the dot-com collapse, venture capital is returning to the healthcare sector. Funding in biopharmaceuticals (genomics and proteomics), healthcare services, medical devices and medical information systems is better now than in almost a decade

    (29 Sept 2001)
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  • Queen of Sheba
    If a city has an Ethiopian restaurant, chances are it will be named after the Queen of Sheba. It is so in Toronto, and, as we found tonight, in Portland. According to Ethiopian folklore and the Old Testament, Makeda, the Queen of Sheba, made the arduous journey from Tigre in Northern Ethiopia, across the desert and the Red Sea to visit King Solomon. When she returned, she gave birth to their son, Menelik, who Ethiopian leaders up to the time of Haile Selassie claimed as an ancestor.

    Portland's Queen of Sheba restaurant is in a converted store, with two rooms -- a light one (with the entrance and cash register) and a dark(er) one -- connected by a doorway. The decor is spartan but clean. Flags and painted figures on the walls brighten things up. Tapes of Ethiopian music are for sale -- if they would play them over the sound system, customers might actually buy some. The food comes as it always does, on a large communal platter lined with injera, the spongy traditional flatbread that doubles as cutlery -- you tear off a bit, and with it pick up a dollop of food, preferably with your right hand (this takes some practice for a lefthander like me). All of the common Ethiopian dishes are available; it will take many return visits to go through the whole menu. I could have used a second serviette and a refill of water (spicy food!), but the service was friendly and reasonably efficient, considering the place was full -- on a midweek night! We were full, too, when we left -- injera has a way of expanding in the stomach, it seems.


    Queen of Sheba, 2413 NE M L King Blvd., Portland, OR 97212-3730

    (26 Sept 2001)
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  • Another School Year
    The clouds and rain have returned to Portland, meaning it is time for university to begin again. This year I will finish off the remaining required courses for my Master's degree in Medical Informatics and Dorami-chan continues to work toward her Japanese language teacher's certificate at Portland State University. We thought we had found a used copy of one of her textbooks in the online database of the famous local bookseller Powell's, but when we went out to the Powell's Hawthorne Store it wasn't there. Powell's needs to re-evaluate its e-business strategy and integrate its database with its sales transactions, so that its website can be updated in real time. We ended up ordering a new copy of the text online from Barnes and Noble.

    Our trip to the Hawthorne district wasn't a total waste of time. Powell's there is just down the street from Ben and Jerry's ice cream store. They have a delicious new flavour, Apple Crumble, which raises funds for the Tom Joyner Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides assistance to students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

    (26 Sept 2001)
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  • Eastbank Esplanade Urban Fair
    This afternoon, Dorami-chan and I went to the grand opening of the Eastbank Esplanade, Portland's newest public park. The elevated roadway of I-5 runs close by, so it isn't the most relaxing place -- it's noisy and you wonder whether an out-of-control vehicle is going to come flying over or through the freeway sidewall. Still, it affords a nice view of downtown Portland, and completes a loop that runs along both sides of the Willamette River and is joined by the Steel Bridge to the north and the Hawthorne Bridge to the south -- perfect for jogging or (what we did) rollerblading.

    To mark the occasion, there were food stands and information booths about a hodgepodge of local programs, from fitness to ballet to Buddhism to environmental awareness. Toyota's Prius was on display; it is a hybrid-powered car that is not only environmentally friendly, but also could work toward reducing America's dependence on Middle East oil. A stage show featured local musicians from various cultures, including Asian American drum group Portland Taiko. With the recent terrorist attacks in the East, this long-planned event acquired a second purpose: to aid in the healing and normalization process. PT made a point of voicing support for Portland-area Arab Americans who have unfortunately experienced racially motivated backlash from some fellow citizens.

    (22 September 2001)
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  • Ice Wars Start Anew
    Tonight action resumed in Sherwood Ice Arena's 2001-2002 Fall/Winter Recreational Hockey League. This year the league has expanded 50%, from four teams to six. What impact this will have on the level of play remains to be seen, though I can't imagine that the number of good hockey players in Portland has increased so dramatically. Unlike the NHL, this league cannot raid Europe to bolster its talent.

    I have rejoined Team Green, my squad from last year. This season we have lost a key defenceman, but have added more depth to the forward lines. Being a center/right wing, my battle may be more for ice time than goals.

    (Note: I have updated my Hockey page)

    Earlier in the evening, President Bush gave a speech to Congress that brought America closer to battle of a different kind. At least one of my teammates is using the terrorist attacks as motivation for some great aggressive play to date.

    (20 September 2001)
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  • March for Peace in Portland
    This afternoon we participated in a march organized by the Portland Peaceful Response Coalition. The march had three purposes:

    1. To remember the victims of the terrorist attack and support their families;
    2. To say "NO TO WAR" as a response to the tragic events of Tuesday;
    3. To support Portland-area Arabs, Palestinians and Muslims against racism and bigotry.

    The marchers were men and women of all ages. The organizers didn't appear to have been well connected with the Asian American or African American community. We heard about it through the Portland Taiko email list: one of the other taiko class alumni had let us know, so we were able to supply some of the few non-white faces in the crowd. Many people carried signs: "War Is Terrorism", "Not With Our Money", "Don't Instigate Hate -- Educate", "The Cycle of Violence Stops With US", "Don't Get Even -- Get Smart", "US Foreign Policy Kills Innocent Iranians, Sudanese, Afghans ... and now Americans", and "An Eye For An Eye Leaves The World Blind".

    We followed a square route from the South Park Blocks, around Pioneer Courthouse Square, then back. On its way back, the head of the group could see the tail just starting out a couple of blocks down the street, and a cheer went up -- it was only then that we realized how many people had turned out for the march. The estimate was 1,200, making it one of the largest pacifist marches in the United States since the terrorist attacks.

    Speakers before and after the march, including the local representative of Physicians for Social Responsibility, voiced the message that indiscriminate retaliation will only escalate the cycle of violence. They pointed out the absurdity of giving up civil rights in the name of preserving freedom. News reports have done a great job of telling the "what" of Tuesday's events and aftermath, but generally have failed to explain the "why" that led to it all. Americans are being told, "This was an attack on our way of life," yet there is little insight into acts done around the world in the name of America to sustain that way of life.

    There wasn't any conflict during today's march, just one white male onlooker who held a sign that said, "Flowers and candles don't kill terrorists. Bombs and bullets do." The organizers asked that those gathered get to know each other, as there will likely be a need for more marches as this situation evolves.

    (16 September 2001)
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  • Rhythm Fest 2001
    This afternoon, we attended local drum shop African Rhythm Traders celebration of 10 years in business and their new, larger store. The free, all-day show in their parking lot featured different Portland drum groups:

    • Mestre Almiro's Brazilian Martial Art Group - This group of buff young men combined percussion with martial arts. The group set a groove in the back, and members by pairs would set down their instruments, come forward and spar in what looked like a combination of karate and breakdancing.
    • Portland's "Djembe All-stars" - Caton Lyles is a drum teacher and musician for the Northwest Afrikan American Ballet, who we saw perform last year. He led a group of his best djembe students in an exuberant jam session.
    • The Lions of Batucada - This samba bateria (Brazilian marching percussion ensemble) transformed the parking lot into Rio de Janiero's Carnaval for the duration of their set. They were like an orchestra, with a conductor and a different kind of instrument in each row of players. The first song turned the energy level way up. Then the dancers came out -- tall, leggy women gyrating in skimpy costumes! The little kids present didn't seem to mind. The Lions currently have about 40 members, but they are aiming for 300.

    The store itself is a percussionist's playground, almost as loud as the show outside, what with people trying out the different drums and other percussion instruments on display. They also have drum building supplies, CDs, videos and books. In a room at the back, local musicians like Chata Addy gave free lessons on how to play different kinds of instruments. The performances inspired us to enter the store's raffle for a drum. We didn't win, but our money went to a good cause: the Red Cross, aiding victims of the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. (On a related note, the flag store up the street had a sign posted saying they were sold out of American flags.)
    African Rhythm Traders, 424 NE Broadway St., Portland, OR 97232-1215, Tel : 503.288.6950

    Portland Brewing Company
    Every September, this local microbrewery hosts Uncle Otto's Oktoberfest. Dorami-chan had read a preview of the event and wanted to see what it was like. I would say this brew pub needs special events to make it a "destination" -- it is located far off the beaten path in the middle of a warehouse district on the north end of town. We got there only to find that Oktoberfest had been cancelled because of the events in the East. (We could have saved ourselves the trip if only I had wireless access to their website.) Still, the place was packed. (Later I found out the Shareholders Annual Meeting was also today.) We decided not to wait an hour for a table. Reading some reviews, we didn't miss much. I will continue to buy their fine beer, however.
    Portland Brewing Company, 2730 NW 31st Ave, Portland, OR 97210, Tel: 503.228.5269

    (15 September 2001)
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  • Attack Fallout
    The past three days have seen nothing but blanket media coverage of New York City's and Washington DC's reaction to and recovery from Tuesday's devastating terrorist attacks. The bravery and dedication of the police and firefighters have been admirable, but few survivors have been found amidst the rubble. The horror of this event is underlined by the fact it has produced less work for surgeons (fixing bodies) than pathologists (identifying bodies). Such forensic work is important, however, to give worried relatives a sense of closure.

    Although one of the terrorist targets was called the World Trade Center, the early coverage in the U.S. didn't make much mention of what an international workplace it was: many companies from Japan (and other countries) were WTC tenants. There was even an Edmonton connection: former Oiler and Lloydminster SK native Garnet "Ace" Bailey perished on one of the planes. Watching those East Coast happenings from Oregon, one is looking on from a distance physically, but not emotionally. As a French woman said in one report, "Aujourd'hui nous sommes tous americains. (Today we are all Americans.)"

    It was interesting to see how many Canadians are involved in telling Americans what is happening in the U.S.A.:

    Americans were even thanking Canadians who commented from beyond the grave. A transcript of a radio editorial titled America: The Good Neighbour made the rounds of cyberspace to rave reviews, even though the author -- Gordon Sinclair, the irascible Front Page Challenge panelist -- wrote the words almost thirty years ago, and died in 1984!

    I have been watching with interest mainstream America's response to the attack. Politicians and broadcasters have taken time to point out the parallels with Pearl Harbor and caution that backlash against Arab Americans would repeat the history that led to the internment of Japanese Americans. To that extent, it seems America has grown up some in the past 60 years. But there still is a ways to go:

    There were some Japanese American and Pacific Northwest connections to this week's events. That the World Trade Center was designed by a Japanese American is particularly ironic, given all the Pearl Harbor analogies being made:

    (14 September 2001)
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  • Attack on America: Threatcon Delta
    My clock radio came on this morning with the unbelievable news that terrorists had hijacked passenger planes and crashed them into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. Images from the day-long television coverage looked like something out of the science fiction alien invasion movie Independence Day.

    Portland OR was not considered a likely potential target, but the city took precautions, such as closing government buildings and shopping centers, taking part in the nationwide FAA airspace lockdown, and putting the local military base on "Threatcon Delta" -- Threat Condition D, the highest level of alertness.

    By the end of the day, the 110-storey towers I had visited in 1991 were nothing but rubble, and countless innocent lives had been snuffed out. As the shock of the attack faded, questions emerged about U.S. intelligence operations (the much-maligned FBI is the lead agency responsible for counter-terrorism) and airport security measures (Boston's Logan Airport, where two of the hijacked flights originated, has been criticized for its sloppiness in this area), especially since there have been a number of "near misses" over the years. Analogies were made with the 1941 Pearl Harbor attack, but given the lesson learned from the internment of Japanese Americans, newsanchors made a point of mentioning that even though the prime suspect is an Islamic extremist, the public should not regard all followers of Islam as terrorists.

    (11 September 2001)
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  • Finding Forrester (USA 2000; Dir: Gus Van Sant) **
    A reclusive, embittered author (Sean Connery) agrees to mentor a promising young working class writer (Rob Brown). This is essentially a retelling of Good Will Hunting, director Van Sant's last mainstream offering. The star of that film, Matt Damon, even has a cameo. Filmed in part in Toronto, including a scene crossing University Avenue.

    Quotes:

    • "Bitterly disappointed teachers can either be very effective ... or very dangerous."
    • "The rest of those who have gone before us cannot steady the unrest of those to follow."
    • "Losing family obliges us to find family."
    • "For if we wait too long, we risk learning that life is not a game that is won… or lost… it is a game that, too often, simply isn't played."
    • "Be sure to write."

    (10 September 2001)
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  • Portland Taiko: Sonic Boom Big Drum Concert
    I have now attended Portland Taiko's fall home concert for four consecutive years. Dorami-chan and I participated in drumming courses the group put on this past winter and spring, but we got no inkling that they had a spectacle like this in the works!

    The title of this year's show, "Sonic Boom", referred mainly to the debut of the group's new giant okedo drum, 6 feet long and almost 5 feet in diameter, the biggest in the Pacific Northwest. The drum was brought onto the stage in truly dramatic fashion, lowered from the rafters like a spaceship. Part of the program was devoted to exploring the dynamic range of the instrument -- it certainly added to the low end of the register.

    The other sonic boom was a creative one, as many of the group members composed new songs for this show, which were at once very personal yet engaging. Of these, Tribo (Tribe), by John David, one of the group's Filipino American members, impressed me most, with its varied costumes, rhythms and instruments from four different regions of the Philippines. During Akatombo (Red Dragonfly), Naoko Amemiya's piece based on the popular Japanese children's song, the audience was seeing double, as she and PT co-director Ann Ishimaru mirrored each others complex moves perfectly (this effect was enhanced by Naoko having cut her hair to the same length as Ann's). Ann's own work, To Fly was inspired by a tale of warrior women. Indeed, it reminded me of the theme from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Teresa Enrico wrote All Is Well as a kind of aural refuge from negative forces like racism. But it was a bit of a surprise that the quietest, most meditative song, Soliloquy, came from the group's most effervescent member, Rachel Ebora.

    Old songs were reworked to good effect. For Questions of Loyalty, about the divisive questionnaire put to Japanese Americans during their internment, foreground and background were reversed from the last time I saw it performed. Historical slides were projected onto a scrim at the front of the stage, while the action took place behind it, hazy like a 60-year-old memory. The last time I saw Duodaiko, Ann and other co-director Zack Semke played opposite ends of what was then the group's biggest drum. This time he was on the giant okedo, while she played a new odaiko ("large drum", but still smaller than that okedo). Their drums looked like a set of his-and-hers Japanese teacups! (It should be noted that at different points in the show, the women players took their turn on the giant okedo.)

    Little things were done well also. The transitions between songs were smooth and theatrical, resembling the butoh dance we saw in July. The rambunctious ending was like one of Kodo's matsuri jams, with everybody dancing and playing some kind of instrument. All in all, their biggest, boldest, most colorful and best show -- so far!

    (08 September 2001)
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  • The Original Pancake House
    Dorami-chan saw a feature article on this restaurant in the Portland Tribune back in June, and has been eager to visit it ever since. We arrived there midmorning to find the waiting area full. We perused their menu of pancakes based on European recipes for about a half hour before we were seated in the dining area, the wood interior of which has remained virtually unchanged since the restaurant opened in 1953. We might have been able to eat sooner had we said we wouldn't mind sitting with strangers at the long "community table" in the centre of the room. We ordered Corned Beef Hash with Potato Pancakes, Pigs in a Blanket, and Swedish Pancakes with Lingonberry Jam, all of which turned out to be good. But as we waited for our food, we saw many orders go by of what we later found out are the signature dishes of the restaurant: the Dutch Baby and Apple Pancakes. I should have browsed their website before going! Oh well, we will just have to go again, once I have worked off the poundage gained from their huge servings.

    The service was efficient and cheerful. Our waitress had a large diamond ring, which Dorami-chan thought must have been fake. Why would someone who could afford a real one work as a waitress? When we got home and looked at the picture accompanying the feature article she had saved, we realized our waitress had been co-owner Ann Liss, granddaughter of the restaurant's founders! The quality and popularity of The Original Pancake House have translated into a nation-wide chain and a James Beard America’s Regional Classics Award in 1999, so I guess that ring must have been real ...
    The Original Pancake House, 8601 SW 24th Avenue (at 24th Avenue), Portland OR, 503.246.9007

    (08 September 2001)
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  • Genoa Restaurant
    My sister came down from Seattle today for tomorrow night's Portland Taiko concert, so we went for supper to this reknowned local restaurant. Genoa has been in business for 30 years at the same location, a big, old house in a quiet neighbourhood in southeast Portland, winning awards for its prix fixe Italian meals. If you go, be prepared to make an entrance -- the front door opens right into the darkened dining room, a bit of a surprise. One feels conspicuous standing there as eyes from the ten tables momentarily fix on you, but you will soon be rescued by one of the waitstaff, who will escort you to the sitting room at the back of the house if your table is not yet ready. There, the passion for food that characterizes Genoa becomes evident as the day's list of aperitifs is explained to you.

    The meal itself unfolds in a leisurely fashion -- the restaurant books each reservation as a three-hour block. Genoa's food is meant to be savoured and enjoyed with good company and stimulating conversation. Don't come here if you are in a rush or find it hard to talk to your dinner partner. The menu changes every two weeks. As each of the seven courses arrives, it is explained in detail by the attentive waitstaff (table-to-staff ratio 2:1) For those with poor memories, a printed menu is given to each diner at the end of the meal. We enjoyed:

    • Antipasto - Fritelle di mitili: Deep-fried mussels (Ligurian coast recipe).
    • Zuppa - Zucchini gialli: Yellow summer squash purée, garnished with lightly-whipped salted cream and squash blossoms.
    • Pasta - Mandilli de saea al pesto Genovese: Little squares -- "silk handkerchiefs" -- of fresh pasta tossed with pesto alla Genovese.
    • Insalate - Pure di melanzane con cetriolo d pomodoro: Chilled eggplant purée with a leaf of traviso radicchio, thin slices of traditional and lemon cucumbers, and cherry tomatoes.
    • Entrée - Being a party of three, we were able to try all of the choices:

      • Storione al Livornese: Sautéed fresh wild sturgeon with a tomatoes and basil sauce. Accompanied by a braised mixture of English peas, tender lettuces, cipollini onions and fresh mint.

      • Pollo con fichi: Chicken oven-roasted with bacon, white wine, lemon peel, beef broth and preserved fresh Adriatic figs. Accompanied by basil and onion mashed potatoes (Catalan recipe).

      • Costolette in graticola: Veal chop marinated in extra virgin olive oil with fresh rosemary, slices of garlic and cracked black peppercorns, then grilled to medium rare (Romagna-style recipe).

    • Dolci della casa - Of the seven dessert choices, we had sorbets, layered meringue cake, and a fruit tart. All light-tasting.
    • Frutta di stagione - Peaches, Asian pears, and a fruit new to me, torpedo melon.

    (07 Sept 2001)
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  • Ties Talk Archive Update
    There is an update at the Ties Talk Archive.

    (04 Sept 2001)
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  • Bleu (Blue) (France 1993; Dir: Krzysztof Kieslowski) ***1/21/2
    Juliette Binoche plays the recently widowed wife of a famous Parisian composer in this well-crafted study of the grieving process. She gives an understated but powerful performance in a more demanding role than the one she had in last year's Chocolat. Soundtrack composer Zbigniew Preisner also did the music for La Double Vie de Véronique (The Double Life of Veronica), another film directed by Krzysztof Kieslowski.

    (03 Sept 2001)
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  • Nikkei Nexus Update
    There is an update at Nikkei Nexus.

    (03 Sept 2001)
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  • Recuperation Movie Night
    Dorami-chan was in movie withdrawal after the two-week visit with Shim and Ak-kun, so she sent me to the video store to get some scary films, the kind she can only watch if I am around ("chick flicks" she sees by herself or with friends -- you won't catch me there!). As it happened, the video store had a 2-for-1 genre special on suspense/thriller films:

    • Blood Simple (USA 1984; Dir: Joel Coen) ***
      This was the breakthrough film for the Coen brothers, who went on to make Raising Arizona, Barton Fink and Fargo. Quirky dark tales like theirs, populated by antiheroes doing unsavoury deeds, have become almost cliché today. This story of an unfaithful wife shows how reasoning is affected by the order in which facts are known. The conclusions drawn can be entirely different.

    • Body of Evidence (Germany/USA 1992; Dir: Ulrich Edel) *1/21/2
      I thought this might be a good second feature: it was filmed in Portland, and, I thought, was an adaptation of a book by the same name by Dorami-chan's favorite mystery author Patricia Cornwell (of the "Kay Scarpetta, Medical Examiner" series). But I should have looked at the fine print on the back of the box, which read, "Not based on the book by Patricia Cornwell". Yes, many of the lines were laughable and the plot contrived in this attempt to cash in on Fatal Attraction's success, but it was fun to recognize the various locations used. The skies are shown as grey and there is a lot of rain -- an accurate portrayal of winter here. Portland doesn't appear to have changed in the nine years since this movie was made. Dorami-chan's Best Line Award: "Portland is a small city." (Rebecca, played by Madonna)

      Watching Closely: When the lawyer gives Rebecca a ride in the early on in the story, they are shown crossing the Fremont Bridge. But the following shot, from the interior of the car looking forward, shows the Steel Bridge. They would have been driving in circles!

      This movie scores only "Fair" on the "Spot the Asian" scale: None of the speaking roles went to Asian actors, but at least there are several Asian extras in prominent positions in the background, such as the jury box. At one point, Rebecca is treated by an acupuncturist/Chinese traditional medicine doctor. It would have been more accurate to cast an Asian actor in the role (almost all actually are Chinese), but some might view that as stereotyping. Was the decision to use a white actor brave colorblind casting or another case of the Vanishing Asian in Hollywood movies?

    (02 Sept 2001)
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  • Ak-kun Deshita
    Today we said "Sayonara" to Dorami-chan's best friend Shim and her two-year-old son Ak-kun at Portland "International" Airport (PDX). I got to see parts of the terminal I usually don't see: taking Ak-kun to play in the children's area (model cockpit, baggage chute, and control tower), and seeing them to the boarding gate for their plane back to Hawai'i, in the west side of the building. That is where the Duty Free Store was, back when PDX still had overseas international passenger flights. The empty shelves and vacant retail space were a stark reminder that those days are over. After several mechanical delays, their flight finally took off safely. Now we will need some time to recuperate -- maybe child care is less of a shock to the system if you are involved from Day One. Still, I am going to miss hearing the Japanese children's songs Shim sang and her son's exuberant "Ak-kun desu (It's Ak-kun) !"

    (01 Sept 2001)
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