October 27, 2013

Rumors floating on the web say that Jackie Chan's 101st movie 'Chinese Zodiac' is his last major action comedy, but we hope those rumors are false.

Ryan Pearson, AP Entertainment Writer sheds some hope. He reports that the 59 year old isn't quitting anytime soon, and just completed filming another installment for his "Police Story" franchise, and is in talks to do a movie with his "Rush Hour' co-star Chris Tucker. 

Click here to the movie's trailer:

http://youtu.be/4YtAbUU5jk8

Chan wrote, directed and starred in his action comedy 'Chinese Zodiac' about a team trying to steal some of the bronze statues representing the twelve animals of hte zodiac from the Chinese Palace which were stolen from Beijing in the 1860s.

The film is now in theaters in the U.S., and was released in China last year. Since the movie's release two of the statues were returned to China by the head of Gucci's parent company, Francois Pinault.

Related:

JackieChan.com - Jackie Chan's Official Website

Los Angeles Times (video)

AP Story on Jackie Chan

The Washington Post on Jackie Chan

Note: July 29, 2017

Journalist Ann Curry's comments back in 2013 are as current and urgent as ever.

If anything, journalists are being challenged now more than ever. 

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New York City

Veteran broadcast journalist Ann Curry inspired and encouraged journalists to 'hang on.' She says while there is strain in the journalism industry there will also be opportuniity.

Photo by Lia Chang for AsianConnections.com

The  NBC network television reporter, anchor and international correspondent was the keynote presenter at the closing night gala of the Asian American Journalist Association's 23rd annual convention in New York City August 24, 2013.

The seven-time Emmy award-winner, wife and mother of two opened the gala with her passionate commentary about the state of journalism.

WPIX-TV's Arthur Chi'en introduced her to the audience. Here are excerpts of Curry's remarks (with more coverage of the convention to be posted soon):

Arthur: Let's get right into it. What is the state of journalism?

On Thursday, August 22, 2013, don’t miss Elusive Paradise: National Geographic photographer Michael Yamashita’s Shangri-la at 10:00am at the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) Convention at the New York Hilton.

National Geographic photographer Michael Yamashita at a book signing at the Asia Society on February 21, 2013 for his new book Shangri-LA. Photo by Lia Chang

Yamashita will start off the session with a short presentation on putting together and selling a book project, followed by a slideshow of his images of a rare and fast-disappearing view of Tibet which are featured in his new book, Shangri-La (along the tea road to Lhasa).

Yamashita fell in love with the region over fifteen years ago, and his photographs offer a record of a way of life that has flourished in the rarefied heights of the Himalayas for centuries but is now threatened with extinction.

AAJA-NY chapter members Michael Yamashita, Lia Chang, Henry Moritsugu, Marilynn K. Yee and Stan Honda at the opening reception for the AAJA Convention at The New York Hilton on August 21, 2013.

Michael Yamashita has been shooting for National Geographic magazine for over 30 years, combining his dual passions of photography and travel. After graduating from Wesleyan University with a degree in Asian studies, he spent seven years in Asia, which became his area of specialty. Returning to the United States fluent in Japanese, he began shooting for National Geographic as well as many other U.S...

Arlington, VA

This summer, Broadway vet Thom Sesma (Titanic, The Times They Are A’Changin’) is busy appearing in three shows all hailing from Thailand. In July, he appeared as The King in the critically acclaimed Music Theatre of Wichita’s new production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s classic The King and I.

Kim Huber and Thom Sesma. Photo by Christopher Clark, Music Theatre of Wichita

Production Photos: Music Theatre of Wichita’s The King and I Starring Thom Sesma, Kim Huber, Alan Ariano, Karl Josef Co, Kay Trinidad, Tami Swartz at Century II Performing Arts Center through July 14, 2013 

Thom Sesma as The Engineer in Miss Saigon. Photo by Christopher Mueller

Tonight, Sesma revisits the role of The Engineer for the first time since leaving the Second National Tour of the Tony Award-winning musical Miss Saigon in 1997, in Signature’s production of Miss Saigon, directed by Signature Artistic Director Eric Schaeffer at the MAX Theatre, 4200 Campbell Avenue in Arlington, VA., August 16- September 22, 2013.

The day after Miss Saigon closes, he begins a 29 hour reading of a musical called Behind The Painting, which hails from Thailand. It stars Thai pop sensation “Bie”, and was presented in Bangkok by Broadway producer Thakonkiat Veerawan. The American adaptation is by Richard Maltby (with whom Sesma worked with on Broadway’s Nick and Nora) and David Shire in collaboration with Thakonkiat (“Tak”) and is being produced by Tak and Jack Dalgliesh.

Signature’s...

A team led by Nobel Laureate Dr. Susumu Tonegawa, including scientists Drs. Xu Liu, Steve Ramirez, Pei-Ann Lin, Junghyup Suh, Michele Pignatelli, Roger L. Redondo and Tomas J. Ryan have reported in the journal Science that they have created a false memory in a mouse, a monumental discovery which sheds light on how such memories can form in human brains. 

For the full report click here to the story by James Gorman of the New York Times.

Dr. Tonegawa is the founder of the Picower institute for Learning and Memory, affiliated to the Riken-M.I.T. Center for Neural Circuit Genetics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.