International youth reporter Kevin Tain reports live from the 11th annual Sakura-Con, the Northwest's premiere Japanese Animation and Cultural Festival, this weekend from the Washington State Convention and Trade Center.

Today at 3pm, talk to the high school junior live on his online talk radio show.



To listen to Kevin's Sakura Con podcasts, select what you want to hear on the above menu and click the play button.





Friday Photos: Sakura-Con Attendees CosPlay Costumes.





Resources

gia: The Original Weeabitch is LiveBlogging from workshops and the show floor.
Anime Pulse is posting podcasts of workshops and show recaps

Labels: event, Japanese, youth

Rinku Sen, Applied Research Center President, comments on Barack Obama's speech about race.

Jennifer 8. Lee, author of The Fortune Cookie Chronicles, talks on The Colbert Report. Lee reads in Seattle on Monday, March 31 at Elliott Bay Book Company.

Interview with Chinese American councilman from NJ who is running for Congress.

"I am pleased that Obama's run for the presidency has captured the
imagination and commitment of both of my children, who enthusiastically cast
their first votes in precinct caucuses for Senator Barack Obama last
weekend.

Barack's message of hope and unity, his belief in people, and his optimism
are inspirations to not only young people but all of us who are energized by
his candidacy and are working passionately for his election..."

-Ruthann Kurose, who flew out to Washington DC after the Washington
state caucus to meet and canvas a precinct and phone bank for Obama with her
daughter Mika (see video) in Fairfax, Virginia. Mika, who is from Seattle, traveled from NYC with a group of students from NYU to spend a long weekend campaigning for Obama before today's Virginia caucus.

Labels: Barack Obama politics presidency youth vote

IE interviews Executive Chef Cliften "Loetree" Berry of Huggo's Restaurant in Kona, Hawaii. www.huggos.com

IE interviews Jessica Ferracane of the Big Island Visitors Bureau. www.bigisland.org

IE interviews Jessica Ferracane of the Big Island Visitors Bureau. www.bigisland.org

By BRAD WONG
P-I REPORTER

One by one, at the Wing Luke Asian Museum, supporters carefully placed black-and-white photographs, faded articles, a book about Filipino-American history and a red menu into boxes -- all items they said told the story of Asian Pacific Americans in the region.

The Saturday afternoon packing was part of a closing ceremony to mark the end of the 20 years that the museum has spent at Seventh Avenue South and South Jackson Street in Seattle. Next year, it will re-open in a new 59,000-square-foot home at the East Kong Yick Building at Eight Avenue South and South King Street.

The new location, scheduled to open May 31, will provide more space for exhibits, library and storage compared to the estimated 10,000 square feet the museum currently occupies. (Read More)

Labels: id

Southeast Asian nations pledge to strengthen environmental efforts in region - International Herald Tribune: "SINGAPORE: Southeast Asian nations declared Tuesday they would increase efforts to reduce pollution and strengthen the conservation of their resources, saying the effects of climate change must be urgently addressed. 'ASEAN cannot ignore the increasingly obvious and worrying signs of climate change,' said Lee Hsien Loong, prime minister of Singapore, which is hosting the annual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Leaders of the 10-member bloc issued a declaration to promote their efforts toward a sustainable environment. The measures include achieving an 'aspirational goal' of planting trees to cover at least 10 million hectares (25 million acres) in the region by 2020 to absorb greenhouse gases, according to the declaration signed Tuesday. Members said they would promote the use of renewable and alternative energy sources, such as solar, hydro and wind, as well as civilian nuclear power, the declaration said."

BEIJING (Reuters) - A Chinese anti-virus company has warned against free downloads of Ang Lee's steamy spy thriller, 'Lust, Caution', saying several hundred sites offering the service were embedded with viruses.

And Chinese doctors have warned moviegoers not to try some of the more ambitious sexual positions featured in the uncut version of the film.

The movie has been a big hit in China, reaping 90 million yuan ($12.12 million) in its first two weeks, despite losing seven minutes to the censors, and has been tipped by some to be the year's biggest box office success. Read More