Japanese Tea Gathering at Queen’s House in Greenwich Park

Date: 6 March 2010
Venue: Queen’s House, Greenwich Park, The Queen’s House, Romney Road, Greenwich, London SE10 9NF
Tel: 020 8853 2595
Email: chadouk@me.com
Web: http://www.chado.co.uk/
Organiser: Urasenke London Branch

This is a unique opportunity to experience an authentic demonstration of this quintessential art.
Come and hear about the tea ceremony in a short lecture and see how it is done in the formal Japanese table-and-chair style, as you taste for yourself Matcha green tea and its accompanying tea sweet.
We look forward to welcoming you and your friends to the beautiful Queen's House in Greenwich.

Nissan Reveals For The First Time Its All-New Small Crossover Juke

Nissan revealed for the first time its all-new small Crossover, Juke.
Designed to offer a refreshing alternative for customers who are shopping in the small car segment of the market, but uninspired by the traditional offerings, Juke is a distinctive combination of SUV toughness and sporting style. Juke will inject some much needed masculinity and dynamism into the small car market.
The decision to introduce the industry's fisrst small crossover into the small car market reflects Nissan's philosophy of challenging conventions in Europe.
"In the last five years we have enjoyed significant growth in a crowded European market. This has been achieved by challenging traditional patterns and moving away from the C and D segments. Instead, we have pioneered the introduction of crossovers. We started with Murano and then, in higher volumes, with Qashqai - a car which has far exceeded our expectations. Sales have exceeded half-a-million in Europe in less than 3 years," said Colin Dodge, Executive Vice President.
Juke will be manufactured in Europe at Nissan's factory in Sunderland, England, and in Oppama, Japan. In Europe, its production alongside the Note compact family car and Qashqai crossover is the result of an investment in excess of 60m Euros, which safeguards over 1000 Nissan jobs, and more than 2000 in the supply chain.
Sales of Juke will begin in Japan in the summer, with the European and North American launch beginning in the autumn.
DesignFrom a design standpoint, the lower portion of Juke is pure SUV. It combines chunky wheels, wide tyres, extended ground clearance and a robust stance with a top portion that is unadulterated sports car, with a high waistline, slim visor-like side glass graphics and a coupé-style falling roofline. The coupé effect is further underlined by the rear doors which have their handles hidden in the frame of the door.
Inside, the sports car theme continues with a driver-focused cabin dominated by a centre console design inspired by a motorcycle fuel tank. Finished in a distinctive high gloss colour, the 'bike' console adds a sense of fun to the car. Practicality is assured by the rear-opening hatch and versatile luggage area with hidden storage opportunities.
Speaking at the launch, Nissan's Senior Vice President for Design and Chief Creative Officer, Shiro Nakamura, said: "It was our intention to challenge the conventions. I really think Juke will bring something different for customers - something more emotional, energetic, more masculine".

Juke is based on the Renault Nissan Alliance B platform and has a 2530mm wheelbase, is 4135mm long, 1765mm wide and 1570mm tall. On front-wheel drive versions, suspension is by MacPherson struts at the front with a torsion beam at the rear while four-wheel drive models have a multi-link rear suspension modelled on the system found on Qashqai.
The ALL-MODE 4x4-i, is a new development of Nissan's respected electronic all-wheel drive system and now features torque-vectoring technology to enhance agility and reduce understeer when cornering. As well splitting torque front to rear - up to a maximum of 50:50 - it can now be split from side-to-side across the rear axle, too.
Cornering ability is enhanced by sending increased torque to the outside rear wheel, reducing understeer. In total, up to 50% of the total available engine torque can be sent to either rear wheel. The inclusion of this innovation is a first in the small car segment - a technology that has, until now, only been found on top-of-the-range, premium vehicles.
Engines & transmissionsIn Europe, three different engines will be available when sales start later in the year: one diesel and two 1.6-litre petrol units, all fully Euro 5 compliant. At the top of the range is a new turbocharged petrol engine (MR16DDT) with direct injection. The engine is one of the most powerful in its class, developing 140kW (190PS) and 240 Nm. The combination of direct injection with a turbocharger provides the power and responses expected from a 2.5-litre engine with the economy of a smaller engine.

KABUKI: Acting, Music, Costumes, Staging

Date: 2 March 2010, 7.30pm
Venue: Brunei Lecture Theatre, SOAS, University of London, Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London WC1H OXG
Tel: 020 7898 4893/2
Email: events@soas.ac.uk
Web: http://www.soas.ac.uk/events/event56325.html
Organiser: School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). Supported by The Embassy of Japan

An interactive lecture-demonstration by the renowned actor Nakamura Fukusuke, the musician Tokiwazu Mojibei, and the costume and set designer Sakurai Kumi followed by a performance of excerpts from several diverse Kabuki plays.
The performance is free.

Please note that the event is operated on a first come, first served basis.

Olympus E-PL1: Great pictures for everyone

In today’s world you’ve got to give the people what they want. And they’re going to want the new Olympus E-PL1. Not only does it deliver extraordinary digital images, it’s the perfect tool for anyone who hesitated to buy SLRs because they find them too complicated. The possibilities are virtually endless with this easy to use retro-cool model. With great features like HD movie shooting and impressive Art Filters, you too can take exceptional pictures. Its 100% stabilised body even lets you shoot blur-free with all lenses. Combining SLR performance and a lightweight design, PEN lets you create exciting, innovative shots, preserving those moments in life you want captured forever. The ultimate democratising force in quality photography, the E-PL1 is available from March 2010 at a retail price of just €599.
A hybrid of SLR performance embodying the latest technologies and compact comfort, PEN constitutes a new class of camera. The E-PL1 with integrated flash houses a 12.3 Megapixel Live MOS sensor, producing beautiful, razor-sharp photos and HD movies, and the TruePic V engine guarantees superior image quality at up to ISO 3200. Mechanical in-camera image stabilisation provides shake protection of up to 3 EV, effective regardless which lens you decide to use. The high definition AVI format movie option is available at 30fps and 1280x720p resolution – recording up to 7 minutes of film in a single shot. And all this top drawer technology comes in a neat pocket-sized camera.
Helping you take your best photos the new Live Guide speaks plain language, making it easier than ever to change difficult SLR camera effects like depth of field. These can then be monitored on the 2.7” HyperCrystal LCD. i-Enhance, for example, makes sure all colours in your picture spectrum are vivid and rich. It is automatically applied in conjunction with i-Auto mode, which recognises what kind of scene or subject you’re taking and adjusts settings accordingly, or can be used alone. And e-Portrait gives your subjects a quick facelift by glossing over impurities. With the abundance of supportive features and excellent technology, feeling like a pro is a given.

Mobile World Congress: “2010 is the Year of the Flexible Browser” Movial Unleashes IXS Browser on QtWebKit for All 4 Screens

Movial, the company that inspires rich and intuitive Internet experiences today announced the immediate availability of its new cross platform Movial IXS Browser running on QtWebKit.

An intuitive, versatile and flexible solution that leverages the performance excellence of QtWebKit, Movial IXS Browser enables developers to easily deploy and port the same touchscreen optimized UI (User Interface) code across virtually any device.

A Qt Certified Partner, Movial will demonstrate its newest solution on LG-Nortel's 4th screen home multimedia tablet demo device at the Qt Development Frameworks Stand 1E44 at Mobile World Congress.

At the Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) Stand (8A84), Movial will demo an innovative contextual version of the Movial IXS Browser using TI’s OMAP4430 processor. The demo showcases an innovative dual-screen UI that enables users to view one screen as a regular browser window while another screen independently locates and delivers information, news, blogs, Tweets and other media that is directly related to content on the first screen.

“As part of our strong ecosystem, Movial helps bring intuitive and innovative mobile Internet experiences to our customers and, in turn, to consumers around the globe,” said Fred Cohen, Director, wireless OMAP ecosystem, TI.

“Our OMAP™ 4 platform ensures high performance at low power levels, while Movial’s IXS Browser ensures consistent, robust Web browsing across multiple displays. The combination of these capabilities gives consumers new ways access content and experience the mobile Internet.”

“Until now, deploying intuitive desktop-like Internet browsers easily and quickly across various form factors has been a challenge,” said Tomi Rauste, president of Movial Creative Technologies. “2010 is the year of the flexible browser focused on fulfilling the key user needs. Movial provides a clear alternative to confusing UI feature overload. With this latest version of Movial IXS Browser that utilizes the high performance of QtWebKit, Movial provides the development community with the ability to quickly and easily deploy an intuitive browser that improves usability, and provides a streamlined consistent look and feel across all connected devices.”

The new release of Movial IXS Browser utilizing QtWebKit features a flexible user interface for different form factors and input methods such as finger touch, remote - and free space control, Other key features include multiple tabs with live thumbnails, smooth panning of web pages for touch screen devices, an integrated RSS feed reader for quick follow-up of website updates, an integrated web search, as well as social bookmarking and favorite bookmarks.

"4482" Utopia/ Dystopia: A Palace with Contemporary Views

Now in its third year, 4482 [SASAPARI] is the annual showcase for Korean contemporary artists living and working in London. In 2010, subtitled Utopia/ Dystopia: A Palace with Contemporary Views, it presents the latest work from 53 artists in the cavernous Bargehouse building on the South Bank.

In the art world’s continual search for the new, the past decade has seen major shows and festivals for Chinese, Indian, Japanese and other Asian contemporary art - but the large number of Korean artists living and working in London have yet to be institutionalized. However, for those who regularly visit the graduate shows of London’s leading art colleges (or indeed, teach there) there is a growing recognition that the most surprising and exciting work often has a Korean name attributed to it. Thankfully, many of these emerging artists have stayed to continue their art practice in London and are represented in 4482 [SASAPARI]. With such an eclectic range, 4482 [SASAPARI] is the largest ever exhibition of Korean contemporary artists in the UK.

The title of the showcase 4482, pronounced Sa Sa Pa Ri as in Korean fashion, is derived from the combination of the international dialing codes, 44 for UK and 82 for Korea. These four digits have not only come to represent the cross-cultural dialogue in which the artists are inevitably engaged, but furthermore they embody an imagined community. During the course of the curatorial process in the realisiation of this year’s show, each artist has been given the opportunity to ponder their view of the world where they live in and/or belong to. They investigate dimensions of utopian-dystopian thinking in various spheres of contemporary life. Thus 4482 [SASAPARI] is another sphere where artists invite the viewer to contemplate various signs of political, social, technological, ecological, and gender utopianism which are intermingled with dystopian and apocalyptic imagery as a counterbalance to utopian enthusiasm.

Not every artist strictly speaks of a distinctive two-fold world view. Dystopian maps have been superimposed over utopia, but also as utopian constructions where dystopian realities have been absorbed, negated and transcended in order to generate a new utopian synthesis. Yet it would be useful to remind oneself prior to stepping into 4482 [SASAPARI] to see what unfolds before the audience this year, that the word Utopia was coined with an almost certainly intended pun by Thomas More in 1516: the Greek pun on ‘ou-topos’ meaning no place and ‘eu-topos’ meaning good place.

Gyeong-Yoon An, Je Baak, Jinhee Bae, Chan-Hyo Bae, Anna Choi, Mi-Young Choi, Joo-Hee Chun, Jae Yeon Chung, U Jae Chung, Jung-Ouk Hong, Seungpyo Hong, Jeong Mun Hur, Shan Hur, JooHee Hwang, Sein Hwang, Honey Im, Da kyoung Jeong, Yun Kyung Jeong, SoYoung Jung, Yoonjin Jung, Yeonhyung Kang, Ayoung Kim, Chinwook Kim, Dong Yoon Kim, Gemini Kim, Jeong Eun Kim, Luca sang-jun Kim, Young Mi Kim, Hyeyoung Ku, Dae Hun Kwon, Soon-Hak Kwon, Jin Han Lee, Sue Jin Lee, Sunju Lee, Yeon Lee, Soonnam Lim, Changhwan Park, Hye-Joung Park, Hyemin Park, Hyungji Park, Hyungjin Park, Jihye Park, Jinhee Park, Yeojoo Park, Daihyun Ryu, Jung Eun Ryu, Amy hye jung Shin, Gunwoo Shin, Kiwoun Shin, Nicky Seok H. Won, Seung Hyun Woo, Jungu Yoon, Sang-Yoon Yoon

"4482" Utopia/ Dystopia: A Palace with Contemporary Views

Now in its third year, 4482 [SASAPARI] is the annual showcase for Korean contemporary artists living and working in London. In 2010, subtitled Utopia/ Dystopia: A Palace with Contemporary Views, it presents the latest work from 53 artists in the cavernous Bargehouse building on the South Bank.

In the art world’s continual search for the new, the past decade has seen major shows and festivals for Chinese, Indian, Japanese and other Asian contemporary art - but the large number of Korean artists living and working in London have yet to be institutionalized. However, for those who regularly visit the graduate shows of London’s leading art colleges (or indeed, teach there) there is a growing recognition that the most surprising and exciting work often has a Korean name attributed to it. Thankfully, many of these emerging artists have stayed to continue their art practice in London and are represented in 4482 [SASAPARI]. With such an eclectic range, 4482 [SASAPARI] is the largest ever exhibition of Korean contemporary artists in the UK.

The title of the showcase 4482, pronounced Sa Sa Pa Ri as in Korean fashion, is derived from the combination of the international dialing codes, 44 for UK and 82 for Korea. These four digits have not only come to represent the cross-cultural dialogue in which the artists are inevitably engaged, but furthermore they embody an imagined community. During the course of the curatorial process in the realisiation of this year’s show, each artist has been given the opportunity to ponder their view of the world where they live in and/or belong to. They investigate dimensions of utopian-dystopian thinking in various spheres of contemporary life. Thus 4482 [SASAPARI] is another sphere where artists invite the viewer to contemplate various signs of political, social, technological, ecological, and gender utopianism which are intermingled with dystopian and apocalyptic imagery as a counterbalance to utopian enthusiasm.

Not every artist strictly speaks of a distinctive two-fold world view. Dystopian maps have been superimposed over utopia, but also as utopian constructions where dystopian realities have been absorbed, negated and transcended in order to generate a new utopian synthesis. Yet it would be useful to remind oneself prior to stepping into 4482 [SASAPARI] to see what unfolds before the audience this year, that the word Utopia was coined with an almost certainly intended pun by Thomas More in 1516: the Greek pun on ‘ou-topos’ meaning no place and ‘eu-topos’ meaning good place.

Gyeong-Yoon An, Je Baak, Jinhee Bae, Chan-Hyo Bae, Anna Choi, Mi-Young Choi, Joo-Hee Chun, Jae Yeon Chung, U Jae Chung, Jung-Ouk Hong, Seungpyo Hong, Jeong Mun Hur, Shan Hur, JooHee Hwang, Sein Hwang, Honey Im, Da kyoung Jeong, Yun Kyung Jeong, SoYoung Jung, Yoonjin Jung, Yeonhyung Kang, Ayoung Kim, Chinwook Kim, Dong Yoon Kim, Gemini Kim, Jeong Eun Kim, Luca sang-jun Kim, Young Mi Kim, Hyeyoung Ku, Dae Hun Kwon, Soon-Hak Kwon, Jin Han Lee, Sue Jin Lee, Sunju Lee, Yeon Lee, Soonnam Lim, Changhwan Park, Hye-Joung Park, Hyemin Park, Hyungji Park, Hyungjin Park, Jihye Park, Jinhee Park, Yeojoo Park, Daihyun Ryu, Jung Eun Ryu, Amy hye jung Shin, Gunwoo Shin, Kiwoun Shin, Nicky Seok H. Won, Seung Hyun Woo, Jungu Yoon, Sang-Yoon Yoon

Nationhood, Nationalism and Global Citizenship

Date: Tuesday 23 February, 2010, 6-8pm,
Venue: Daiwa Foundation Japan House, 13 - 14 Cornwall Terrace, London NW1 4QP

Tel: 020 7486 4348
Email: office@dajf.org.uk
Web: http://www.dajf.org.uk
Organiser: The Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation

This second seminar in the 2010 series, States in Change: National Identity in the UK and Japan, explores the historical development of national identity in modern Japan. In doing so, it attempts to situate the Japanese experience in a wider comparative framework with reference to the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy. What were the sources of national identity in these countries? How important were ‘wars’ and shifting boundaries in the construction of national identity? How did pre-1945 circumstances influence the post-war sense of ‘nationhood’? Our three speakers will consider whether contemporary debates on national identity are informed by such historical experiences, or whether new forces may emerge to influence conceptions of our identity.

North Korea has declared four naval firing zones near its disputed sea border with South Korea, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said

The South Korean news agency Yonhap says the North has deployed multiple rocket launchers close to the frontier.
The "no sail" zones suggest the North might conduct firing exercises over the next three days.
It fired artillery in the disputed seas in late January, amid international efforts to re-start nuclear talks.
The communist state declared its exclusion zones effective from Saturday.

'Firepower'
They are in the Yellow Sea - including two near the border - and two in the Sea of Japan (East Sea) off its northeast coast, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
The Yellow Sea border was the scene of deadly naval battles in 1999 and 2002 and of a fire fight last November which left a North Korean patrol boat in flames.
Yonhap news agency said defence ministry officials gave the information Friday to a closed meeting of a parliamentary defence committee.
"North Korea has deployed multiple rocket launchers in the western coastal bases since the naval clash in November," a military official was quoted as telling Yonhap.
After declaring two "no sail" zones, the North in late January fired 370 shells into the sea near the border over three days.
The North said it was staging a routine exercise but South Korea and the United States described the firing as provocative.
Since then the North has again declared "no sail" zones but not gone ahead with any exercises.
North Korea is under pressure to return to disarmament talks, and some analysts say the firing exercises may be a way to use military threats to help strengthen its hand to win concessions from regional powers.
The western sea border is a constant source of military tension between the two Koreas. There have been three deadly exchanges between them in the past decade.
South Korea recognises the Northern Limit line, drawn unilaterally by the US-led United Nations Command to demarcate the sea border at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. The line has never been accepted by North Korea.
The US, China, Russia, Japan and South Korea speak regularly of their hopes that North Korea will rejoin international talks about ending its nuclear programme.
News reports suggest a North Korean nuclear envoy Kim Kye Gwan will be visiting the United States shortly, after being in China for talks.
North Korea has also re-stated its opposition to new talks until the US changes what the North calls its "hostile policy".

Read full story: BBC News

LG Mini Hosts Social Events In Barcelona At The Mobile World Congress

LG Electronics (LG), a global leader and technology innovator in mobile communications, has organized a series of spectacular events in Barcelona to coincide with the launch of its new social media-friendly LG Mini handset.

This small but mighty communication hub is designed to keep people in touch with their online friends while on the go without having to lug around a heavy computer or complicated mobile phone. During the Mobile World Congress, to be held in Catalonia’s capital city from February 15th to 18th, LG will reach out beyond the borders of the fair itself to promote its newest, smallest and slimmest 3.2-inch touchscreen handset, LG Mini, which will be available in Europe starting in March, followed by other markets.

LG Mini Castells On the first day of the Mobile World Congress, LG will take the tiny LG Mini to incredible heights atop a human castle (Castell in Catalan) near the city’s center. A group of well dressed businesspeople will transform into a troop of acrobatic performers who assemble themselves into a castell – traditionally built during festivals in the Catalan region – on the Fira de Barcelona fairground.

This castell will begin as a small group and expand in size and strength, mirroring how social networks grow. Topping the castell will be a small boy holding the LG Mini and capturing the whole scene on the handset’s video camera to be shared on LG’s blogs and social network pages. “The Catalonian castell represents connectivity, one of the key attributes of the small but powerful LG Mini,” said Pablo Vidal, Chief Marketing Officer of LG Spain. “This phone is a pocket-size communication hub designed for people who want to communicate faster and have easier access to the internet and social networks wherever they are, even atop a human castle.” LG will organize other castells throughout the city during the Mobile World Congress. These will be announced in advance on LG’s blog at www.lgblog.es and on LG’s social network pages.

Head Start 2010

Date: 27 March 2010, from 10.00am
Venue: Japan Foundation London Language Centre, Russell Square House, 10-12 Russell Square, London, WC1B 5EH
Tel: 020 7436 6698
E-mail: info.language@jpf.org.uk
Web: http://www.jpf.org.uk/

Organiser: The Japan Foundation

This event, co-organised by the Japan Foundation and BATJ, provides an opportunity for students of Japanese to demonstrate their high level of spoken Japanese acquired in Japanese courses at higher education institutions in the UK and Ireland.
The contest will be held at SOAS on 27th February 2010.
There are two categories for the speeches and also a new category this year for group presentations.
The application deadline has now passed but the event is open to the public so please come along to watch.

Toyota Reveals Redesigned 2011 Avalon at Chicago Auto Show

Toyota introduced the boldly redesigned 2011 Avalon today at the 2010 Chicago Auto Show. Evoking a time when travel was sophisticated, elegant and comfortable, the new Avalon possesses a distinctive new exterior style while offering a restyled interior rich with premium touch points and practical new technologies.

Even with numerous refinements inside and out, the Avalon remains true to the idea that comfort is honest and uncomplicated, and “Traveling Avalon Class” is rich in simple, familiar pleasures.

The new Avalon has dynamic and expressive lines, and an infusion of comfort, safety and technology advancements that enrich the driving experience. Upgraded equipment and technology features, such as a touch-screen navigation system with real-time traffic, and Bluetooth® hands-free phone capability with music streaming to the audio system are among the improvements that enhance the 2011 Avalon’s excellent blend of spaciousness, comfort and technology.

“The Avalon has long been appreciated by smart, conscientious consumers who recognize quality materials and the beauty of detailed craftsmanship,” said Bob Carter, group vice president and general manager, Toyota Division, Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. “The changes made for 2011 will allow us to build on our position in the premium large car segment. The competition does not stand still, and neither do we.”

Restyled at Calty Design Research in Newport Beach, Calif., the Avalon is assembled at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky (TMMK), a “zero landfill” facility that also assembles the Camry, Camry Hybrid, and Venza. It was also developed at the Toyota Technical Center (TTC) in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Thames Philharmonia and Sulki Yu

Date: 20/02/2010, 7:30pm

Venue: Landmark Arts Centre, Ferry Road, Teddington TW11 9NN

Tickets: £10, £8 (Concessions), £20 (Family: 2 adults and 2 children under 16)

Sulki Yu was born in 1985 and began to play the violin at the age of five. She studied at the Conservatoire de Lausanne in Switzerland, Seoul Yewon & Yego School of Music in Korea, and then the Purcell School in England.

In 2003, Sulki received a full scholarship to study at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Professor David Takeno. Sulki has received numerous awards from the Hattori foundation, the Martin Musical Scholarship Fund, the Musicians’ Benevolent Fund, Laureate of the Yehudi Menuhin International Violin competition (2006) and the Szigeti-Hubay International Violin competition (2007). She has played in the USA, Europe, Asia, and in prestigious venues such as the Royal Festival Hall, Wigmore Hall, Barbican, UNESCO Centre in Paris, Carnegie Hall in New York and the Seoul Arts Centre in Korea. Sulki has appeared as a soloist with a number of orchestras, including the Sung-Nam Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre Nationale de Lille, Yalta Symphony Orchestra, Budapest Symphony Orchestra and the Southwest Sinfonietta.

In 2006, she gave a highly acclaimed recital at the Queen Elizabeth Hall performing a programme including a world première of Soliloquy 3 by Edwin Roxburgh. Future engagements include performances with the Pecs Chamber Orchestra in Hungary, and an evening recital at the Purcell Room. She recently appeared in the Spring Chamber Music Festival in Seoul where she performed with artists including violinist Dong-Suk Kang, cellist Antonio Meneses, and clarinettist Charles Neidich.Sulki currently holds a fellowship at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, from where she graduated in 2007 with First Class Honours.

Discover Korean Food #23: Dr. Sook-Ja Yoon's "Yaksik", Sweet Rice with Nuts and Jujubes

Yaksik is a sweet dish made with steamed glutinous rice, honey, soy sauce, jujubes, chestnuts and pine nuts.
It may also be called yakbap (medicinal bap).
It is said that yaksik was prepared and served to the crows as a reward for saving the king’s life in the Silla Dynasty.

Ingredients & Quantity
270 g (1½ cups) glutinous rice, 1.6 kg (8 cups) rice steaming water
Salt water: 45 g (3 tbsp) water, 2 g (½ tsp) salt
20 g (5 ea) jujube, 45 g (3 ea) chestnut, 3.5 g (1 tsp) pine nuts
Jujube stone tea: 5 ea jujube stone, 200 g (1 cup) water
Sweet steamed rice seasoning: 15 g (2½ tsp) soy sauce, 32 g (2 tbsp) sweet steamed rice sauce, 36 g (3 tbsp) yellow sugar, 0.5 g (¼ tsp) cinnamon powder, 6.5 g (½ tsp) jujube stone tea, 38 g (2 tbsp) honey, 24 g (2 tbsp) sugar6.5 g (½ tbsp) sesame oil
Sweet steamed rice sauce: 24 g (2 tbsp) sugar, 4 g (1 tsp) edible oil, 2 g (½ tbsp) starch powder, 45 g (3 tbsp) warm water

Preparation
1. Wash the glutinous rice and soak in water for about 3 hours, drain water through a strainer for 10 min (330 g).
2. Wipe the jujube with damp cotton cloths, cut the flesh round and cut it into 6 pieces (16 g). Skin the chestnut and cut it into 6 pieces (30 g).
3. Remove tops of the pine nuts and wipe the nuts with dry cotton cloths.

Recipe
1. Pour water into the steaming pot, heat it up for 8 min. on high heat. When it gives off steam, layer a damp cotton cloths on the bottom, put the glutinous rice and steam it for 20 min. Sprinkle salt water, mix well with wooden scoop, steam it for another 30 min.
2. Put the jujube stones and water in the pot, cover the lid and simmer it for 15 min. on medium heat, strain it (19 g).
3. Put the sugar in the pot, heat it up for 3 min. on medium heat. When the sugar melted, coat the pan with edible oil. When the sugar turns to brownish liquid, add the starch powder and boil it with stirring for 1 min. to make sweet steamed rice sauce.
4. While the steamed rice is still warm, add soy sauce, sweet steamed rice sauce, yellow sugar, cinnamon powder, jujube stone tea, honey, regular sugar and sesame oil into the steamed rice and mix them well. Mix them well again after adding chestnuts, jujube and pine nuts.
5. Put the mixture of above steamed glutinous rice into the steaming pot for steaming in boiling water, steam it for 10 min. on high heat. Then lower the heat to medium, steam for 20 min. mix it well. Reduce the heat to low, steam it for 20 min. mix it again to be admixed with seasonings evenly and steam it for another 10 min.

Tips
*To cook good taste steamed rice, rice should be steamed to be pretty tender, neither too hard nor too soft or watery.
*Steaming in boiling water would produce deeper brown colour, better taste and sweet smell.
*Two hours may be proper for steaming in boiling water.
*For the sweet steamed rice sauce, caramel sauce may produce good colour and sweet smell.

YELLOW ACADEMY 2010

Yellow Academy 2010 is an exciting new initiative between Yellow Earth (UK’s leading East Asian theatre company) and ALRA (The Academy of Live and Recorded Arts). Outreaching to Belfast, Birmingham, London, and Manchester through February to May 2010, we will be bringing together a group of enthusiastic and curious young people down to London for a free week of acting training in Summer 2010. Activities are free and open to all British East Asians aged 16-30 curious or interested in actor training. No previous experience necessary.

Round One - Taster TalksIn early 2010, Yellow Earth’s co-Artistic Director Jonathan Man and ALRA’s co-Director Clive Duncan will visit Belfast, Birmingham, London, and Manchester, to reveal secrets on how to get into the industry and provide a taste of what it really takes to be a successful professional actor. They will also introduce the work of both organisations.

Round Two - Audition WorkshopsIn Spring 2010, we return to Round One cities and offer a practical ‘taste’ of actor training through interactive workshops. Selected participants will be invited to the Acting Summer Camp.

Round Three - Acting Summer CampIn Summer 2010, the successful participants will go to London to take part in an intensive week’s training. Free tuition and accommodation will be provided. Participants will work in classes with professional practitioners from Yellow Earth and ALRA, covering Movement, Voice, Acting and Mask.

For more details please visit: Yellow Earth Theatre

Fun, friendly computing: Compact, easy-to-use new 15.5”(39.4cm) VAIO E Series with ‘no-boot’ Quick Web Access

Power, looks and multimedia performance – they’re in perfect harmony with the easy-to-use new VAIO E Series of multimedia notebook computers from Sony.
Compact and easy to carry, stylish new VAIO E Series boast many features that you’d expect to find on bigger, bulkier notebooks. Beautifully designed to look great in your home or on the move, VAIO E Series makes mainstream computing brilliantly affordable. Delivering all the processing power, graphics muscle and easy-to-use productivity features you need, it’s a great value way to enhance your digital life.
Brand-new VAIO E Series is packed with luxurious design touches that add to its premium feel. The high-contrast VAIO Display is bordered by an extra-narrow bezel, boosting available screen size while adding to the new PC’s desirable looks.
Despite its compact chassis size, the new E Series features a responsive, full size keyboard with isolated keys for comfortable, positive typing. For the first time in a VAIO notebook computer with such space-saving dimensions, the keyboard is enhanced further by a full-sized numeric keypad. Ergonomically laid out with evenly-pitched columns, it’s a pleasure to use – whether you’re gaming or entering long lists of data at speed.
Inside every VAIO E Series you’ll find the all-new 2010 Intel® Core™ processor family, partnered with up to 4GB of high-speed DDR3 memory to make light of everyday computing tasks. And with up to 500GB of hard disc capacity on board, there’s plenty of space to store your personal media collection. Complemented by up to 1GB of video RAM, all-new ATI Mobility Radeon™ 5000 series graphics handle image editing, HD movie playback and media-rich web sites with ease.
Whether you’re editing photos or just browsing the web, you’ll enjoy a high-contrast, detail-packed picture on the generously-sized 39.4cm (15.5”) VAIO Display. Selected models feature VAIO Display Plus with 1920x1080 resolution for a breathtaking view of Full HD video clips or images from your DSLR camera.
A thrilling home cinema experience is enhanced further by latest Dolby® Home Theater v3 for a powerful, immersive soundtrack with music, games and movies.
Despite its compact footprint, there’s no shortage of connectivity options. An HDMI output adds an extra dimension to enjoying your HD media collection on a connected BRAVIA™ TV. Three side-mounted USB ports are joined by a fourth high-speed eSATA/USB port. Hook up an external SATA hard disk drive to enjoy super-fast file transfers up to 6x faster than via USB2.0. It’s a far more efficient way to back up your media files or edit video on an external drive. Alternatively, use the additional port as fourth USB connection if you don’t need eSATA just yet.

Despite its powerful features, new VAIO E Series delivers a computing experience that’s even more convenient and reassuring. Just press the WEB button and you’ll be surfing within seconds, without even needing to boot up your PC. Saving time and battery power, it’s perfect for casual surfing or checking e-mails while you’re on the move. New Quick Web Access now goes even further with multiple tabbed browsing and a new ‘split window’: click a button to browse two web pages side-by-side on the wide 16:9 display.

THE RED CHAPEL (UK premiere)

Date: 19 March 2010

Venue: Institute of Contemporary ArtsThe Mall, London SW1Y 5AH
Fee: £9 / £8 Concessions / £7 ICA Members

Comics Jacob and Simon were born in Korea and adopted by Danish parents when they were still children.

Together with Mads Brügger, who poses as their manager, they get permission to put on a show in Pyongyang as a form of cultural exchange.

As bizarre an expedition as it may seem, The Red Chapel gives us a rare insight into North Korea through the eyes of two hilarious and sensitive individuals and the behaviour of the people they meet on their journey.

Asiana, KOICA to Form Partnership for Global Social Contribution

Asiana Airlines (President: Young-Doo Yoon) and KOICA (Korea International Cooperation Agency) will be establishing a joint partnership in the areas of overseas social contribution activities, international aid relief and successful hosting of the “2010 G20 Seoul Summit” to rise the nation’s class among international social activities. The partnership signing ceremony was held on the 4th of February at Incheon International Airport.
According to the cooperation contract, Asiana will have the ‘2010 G20 SEOUL SUMMIT” wordings and a KOICA logo imprinted on all of Asiana’s international boarding passes starting from the 1st of July. Asiana will also support KOICA’s overseas aid relief and PR activities. Asiana, along with KOICA will also attend KOICA’s overseas social contribution once on a yearly basis and learn from KOICA’s 18 years of experience. Furthermore, Asiana will fully support KOICA’s future international aid activities.
During the signing event, Asiana Airlines CEO (President Young-Doo, Yoon), KOICA’s President (Dae-Won, Park), 2010 G20 Seoul Summit Leader (Shi-Hyoung, Lee), and Presidential Council on National Branding’s Leader were among the present. The participants agreed that recent disaster like the earthquake in Haiti, the quickness and enthusiastic aid activities shown by a nation, raises the image of a nation and largely influences a nation’s brand image in the international field. The participants agreed upon to provide aid activities and promote the nation’s brand on a governmental basis.
In addition, Asiana Airlines have been actively contributing to the International society through events such as UNICEF’s ‘Change for Good’ campaign since 1994 in which a total sum of 49 hundred million won of funds have been contributed to help the needy children around the world, Vietnam’s ‘Love House’ where employees of Asiana directly participate in building houses for the needy in Vietnam, and supporting the Aeta tribe in the Philippines.

Asiana Airlines and Air Busan will be code sharing flights on the routes of Busan~Fukuoka, and Busan~Osaka.
Asiana Airlines and Air Busan, held a signing ceremony at the Busan Chamber of Commerce and Industry Building located in Busan, Korea. The two arilines agreed to jointly operate international passenger routes from Busan to Fukuoka and Busan to Osaka which Asiana Airlines originally operated in which Air Busan will now be inaugurating flights from the 29th of March and 26th of April to these routes.
With the inauguration of the flights, passengers from the Yeongnam (South Eastern region in Korea) district are now able to choose from a variety of convenient schedules, but a one day life zone from Busan to Japan will now available with flights provided once per morning and afternoon(See Attachment).
Previously, passengers travelling from Busan to Fukuoka and Osaka had to transit from Incheon International Airport in which inconvenience and unwanted accommodation had to made due to the flight schedule. But with Air Busan’s inauguration and code share with Asiana Airlines, it is anticipated that a one day life zone passengers between Korea and Japan are expected to increase.

Meanwhile, Asiana Airlines announced that the company in strengthening the convenience for passengers, will be opening a new homepage starting from the 9th of February for passengers out bounding from CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) region. The service for the CIS area will be provided in the Russian language (ru.flyasiana.com)
The new CIS region homepage will offer a variety of services from reserving and purchasing tickets, checking mileages, and the variety of Asiana services in the Russian language. Online ticket purchasing for the CIS routes (Sakhalin, Khabarovsk, Almaty, and Tashkent) that Asiana operates is also available.
By opening the CIS region homepage, Asiana Airlines have increased its overseas homepage to seven (U.S, South East Asia, Japan, Europe, China and Oceania). Korean, English, Chinese, Japanese and Russian languages are now provided.
In celebration to the opening of the CIS homepage, Asiana has developed a screen saver program which can be downloaded. The screen saver shows images from CIS region (Sakhalin, Khabarovsk, Almaty, and Tashkent) that Asiana operates.
Asiana currently operates Incehon~Sakhalin (3 Weekly), Incheon~Khabarovsk (3 Weekly), Incehon~Tashkent (3 Weekly), Incheon~Almaty (2Weekly) flights to the CIS region.

Japan in Late Victorian London: The Japanese Village in Knightsbridge and The Mikado, 1885

Date: Thursday 25th February 2010 from 6.30pm
Venue: Embassy of Japan, 101 - 104 Piccadilly, London W1J 7JT
Organiser: The Embassy of Japan and the Japan Society

Hugh Cortazzi explores two fascinating episodes in Anglo-Japanese cultural relations in late Victorian London. The Japanese Native Village in 1885 was a commercial venture that demonstrated Japanese life and crafts to Londoners through the creation of a ‘make believe’ village in Knightsbridge. In the same year Gilbert and Sullivan’s operetta the Mikado was the first attempt to use Japan as a theme for a British Theatrical production. These two examples of the growing fascination for Japan in Britain and Europe are brought to life with contemporary posters, cartoons and photographs. He will also discuss the concern of the Japanese authorities that Japan's image would be damaged by these popular manifestations.

Honda Begins Operation of New Solar Hydrogen Station

Honda began operation of a next generation solar hydrogen station prototype at the Los Angeles Center of Honda R&D Americas, Inc., intended for ultimate use as a home refueling appliance capable of an overnight refill of fuel cell electric vehicles.

Designed as a single, integrated unit to fit in the user's garage, Honda's next generation Solar Hydrogen Station reduces the size of the system, while producing enough hydrogen (0.5kg) via an 8-hour overnight fill for daily commuting (10,000 miles per year) for a fuel cell electric vehicle.

The previous solar hydrogen station system required both an electrolyzer and a separate compressor unit to create high pressure hydrogen. The compressor was the largest and most expensive component and reduced system efficiency. By creating a new high differential pressure electrolyzer, Honda engineers were able to eliminate the compressor entirely - a world's first for a home use system. This innovation also reduces the size of other key components to make the new station the world's most compact system, while improving system efficiency by more than 25% (value calculated based on simulations) compared to the solar hydrogen station system it replaces.Compatible with a "Smart Grid" energy system, the Honda Solar Hydrogen Station would enable users to refill their vehicle overnight without the requirement of hydrogen storage, which would lower CO2 emissions by using less expensive off-peak electrical power. During daytime peak power times, the Solar Hydrogen Station can export renewable electricity to the grid, providing a cost benefit to the customer, while remaining energy neutral.
Designed for simple, user-friendly operation, the intuitive system layout enables the user to easily lift and remove the fuel hose, with no hose coiling when the hose is returned to the dispenser unit.

Engineered for an 8-hour, slow fill for overnight refilling of a fuel cell electric vehicle, the home-use Solar Hydrogen Station would replenish the hydrogen for a typical daily driving, meeting the commuting requirements of many drivers. As with the previous generation system, the hydrogen purity from the new station meets the highest SAE (J2719) and ISO (14687) specifications. Installed at the Los Angeles Center of Honda R&D Americas, the new Solar Hydrogen Station will employ the same 48-panel, 6.0kW solar array that powered the previous system.

Sejong City to have many business, investment drawcards, says Korea.net

To realize the goal of making the new Sejong City in South Chungcheong Province a global business and investment hub, the government has designated two specialized zones in the plan -- a "global investment attraction zone" in the northeast and an "international cooperation zone" near the city center.

Other than these two zones, the city of Sejong will also include a "high-tech green industry zone" in the northwest, an "international science and business belt" in the west, a "commerce and culture zone" in the south, and finally a "university and research center zone" in the east.

The government recognized that foreign investment is most critical in making Sejong a self-sufficient high-end city and has placed the global investment zone right next to the green industry zone.

This is based upon the assumption that quality products made in the industrial zone will be easily transported and promoted to foreign investors and enterprises based in the nearby investment zone, thereby expediting the globalization of Sejong City.
Situated on 1.9 million square meters of land, the investment attraction zone will induce headquarters and research institutes of major international corporations to set up here, as well as providing schools, housing and hospitals for their staff and families.

The government plans to speed up the inducement of foreign investors as soon as the National Assembly passes the amendment of the law on foreign investment promotion in February.

In ways to further activate foreign investment in Sejong City, the government has pledged to provide special tax breaks for incoming corporations.

For example, the corporations will be exempted from paying acquisition, registration and property taxes for the first 15 years.

Then at the heart of Sejong City, close to the planned green central park, will be placed the "international cooperation zone."

The government plans to invite international organizations, including those charged with solving the problems of climate change, and Asian headquarters offices of multinational corporations into the zone.

Convention and exhibition centers, hotels and commercial facilities will also be built in the region, and a special English speaking district will be designated as well.

Astro Boy (PG)

Date: 23 February 2010

Venue: Barbican Centre, Silk Street, London EC2Y 8DS

Tickets: Standard - £7.50 online (£9.50 full price) / Barbican Members - £6.50 online (£7.50 full price) / Concessions £7.50 / Under 15 £4.50

Helen McCarthy introduces the latest version of Osamu Tezuka’s enduring young super-hero nearly half a century after he first appeared on Japanese TV screens. A brilliant scientist creates a child-robot to replace his young son who died in a tragic accident but despite his super-human powers, the innocent little Astro Boy fails to fulfill his grieving father’s expectations. Rejected, he runs away and is enslaved in an underworld of mechanical gladiators. Here he begins his battle against prejudice and greed, returning to Metro City to save Earth from alien invasion. With the voices of Nicolas Cage, Samuel L. Jackson, Kristen Bell, Bill Nighy and Donald Sutherland alongside Freddie Highmore’s (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) Atom, Tezuka’s legacy is revived in this all action big screen anime.

Discover Korean Food #22: Dr. Sook-Ja Yoon's "Unpolished Rice - Korean Epimedium - Dioscorea Batatas - Porridge"

Unpolished Rice - Korean Epimedium - Dioscorea Batatas – Porridge is boiled glutinous unpolished rice porridge mixed with Dioscorea Batatas in Korean Epimedium water. It helps the preventon of amnesia and keeps bones and muscles strong by providing energy. The seeds grow on the leaves, similar to ginkgo, and the stem looks like a rice straw. The leaves are picked and dried in May.

Ingredients
1 cup of glutinous unpolished rice
6 cups of water
60 grams of Dioscorea Japonica
3 grams of Korean Epimedium
9 cups water
1 tablespoon of salt

Recipe
1. Wash the glutinous unpolished rice and leave in water for 5 hours. Then Drain the water.
2. Wash the Dioscorea Japonica and cut it into 0.5cm thick, 1cm wide and 1.5 cm long pieces.
3. Wash the Korean Epimedium and brew it for 1 hour.
4. Put the glutinous unpolished rice and Korean Epimedium water in the pot and heat for 8 minutes on a high setting. When it boils leave it on a medium setting for 30 minutes stirring ocasionally. Then, reduce the heat to low and steam for 20 minutes.
5. When it gets sticky put in Dioscorea Japonica and salt and boil for a further 2 minutes.

Hiroshi Suzuki - Silver Waves

Date: February 8 - March 6, 2010, Monday - Saturday 10am - 5pm
Venue: Goldsmiths’ Hall, Foster Lane, London EC2V 6BN
Tel: 020 7606 7010
Email: promotion@thegoldsmiths.co.uk
Web: http://www.thegoldsmiths.co.uk/
Organiser: The Goldsmiths’ Company

A major exhibition of stunning silver vessels at Goldsmiths’ Hall celebrates the remarkable career of contemporary silversmith Hiroshi Suzuki. In the ten years since graduating from the Royal College of Art, Hiroshi has taken the silversmithing world by storm and his rise to prominence has been as remarkable as his extraordinary hand-raised silver vessels. It is not just the superlative skill of his craftsmanship but the monumental size of the majority of his pieces that makes his work so unique.