Artist at 2010 Anime Expo AX in LA

Animator Brianne Drouhard attends Anime Expo this weekend at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Brianne (www.potatofarmgirl.blogspot.com) is a veteran artist who has contributed to popular Cartoon Network TV series such as Teen Titans, Batman Brave and the Bold, Class of 3000, and Transformers Animated, Brianne will dispense pearls of wisdom on a boffo panel:

Breaking In! Working in Animation!

(July 3rd, Saturday, 8pm, room lp2):

Giving tips on how to break into the domestic animation industry. Speakers will discuss how they got in and how anime influenced their work. Guest speakers will vary from writer, creator, director, character designer and production.

Brianne will hand out super cute buttons and postcards of her Spring 2011 children's adventure Billie the Unicorn (website www.billietheunicorn.com to come!).

Contest Alert! The first person who pre-orders Billie from us gets a special prize! Get free copy of Brianne's brand new "Girly Poo" sketchbook iPhone app (33 pages, $2.99, free with redeemable promo code for the iTunes store)! Take a peek and you will be happy!

The Kung Fu Kid showing at a bookshelf near you

Such is the fate of Generation X - to watch another wave of recycled stories from our youth. Oh, where do new stories come from? It seems the path of least resistance is clear. It is easier, cheaper, and less risky to bank on nostalgia and name recognition by redoing the Flintstones, Josie and the Pussycats, and Scooby Doo on the big screen. Yeech. What we're they drinking? Freddie Prinze Jr. and Rachael Leigh Cook were better off imitating Valley Girl, which copied Pygmalion. Next up are the A-Team and The Karate Kid.

Plus it is even savvier to appeal to the world's most populous nation and biggest emerging consumer market. The NBA opened the doors to the Middle Kingdom with the Trojan Horse of Yao Ming. Kung Fu Panda won over the hearts of the Forbidden City by denaturing the ideal a revolutionary action hero into a fat furry toy. Cue Will Smith and Jada Pinkett who wish to establish gainful employment for their son Jaden. Studios want their films to be #1 for their first weekend at any cost (creative or otherwise), so I'm sure that Columbia Pictures loves it when a plans comes together.

I never equated Jackie Chan with Pat Morita. But I'm sure that Jackie would have been better off reprising the role of Arnold from Happy Days. Jackie was a great Drunken Master, but I don't think Bruce Lee would have been caught playing a shadow of his former self, while simultaneously following the footsteps of a former burger flipper. Despite his prominent turns talking pidgin-English, at least Pat Morita helped raise the profile of Asian Americans as a lonely actor among a homogeneous eggshell-tinted cast. Mr. Miyagi was authentic in his limited way. Jackie just seems caught in a cycle of diluting whatever made him notable in the first place. (What else could have been the reasons to make Rush Hour 3 and Shanghai Knights?) You can blame it on aging or economic opportunism, but whatever it is, P.T. Barnum must be laughing because of it.

Let's forget for the time being the disingenuous mis-titling of the retelling of Ralph Macchio redux - that this weekend's remake is set in China with kung fu, as opposed to Japan (or Japantown or Okinawa) with karate. Or that the original writer of the screenplay was denied a credit. Or that Jaden only got the job because of his famous parents or that he acts like a typical 12 year old (i.e. not good enough to get the job in the first place). Or that we have a new target for the whole Avatar social-political criticism (i.e. a Westerner comes to a "native" culture, and shows he's the new savior and best warrior and gets the girl). The question is why can't we have some new stories with new characters. Do we have to swallow reheated leftovers from the cinematic microwave?

Sure, a movie can serve a good purpose - this flick can inspire children to take a martial arts class and learn discipline, good listening and exercise habits, and piety for peers and elders. (These are all laudable goals.) Or it can exploit the actual opposite values like a wolf in sheep's clothing - promoting the sexiness of violence, instant gratification, and egotism while ostensibly upholding the values of self-defense, self-respect, and self-mastery. Let viewers be the judge, but don't settle for the concept of "voting" with your pocket book by refusing to open it. That's like trying to tell Arizona that you disapprove of their recent immigration law by saying you won't vacation there.

If a movie piques your curiosity, great! Take some time, search some more. Dig a little deeper, beyond the superficial layer of merchandising (though Toy Story 3 may be a unique case now that Pixar was assimilated by the Disney Borg).

Check out www.julieblackbelt.com - we're proud of the book and Charlene Chua's dazzling artwork - and how that is based on a real story and a real kid. Here a girl can be the heroine (and not just a prize). Here a both man and a woman, and a mother and a father, can be inspirational teachers. Here stereotypes are challenged, not pandered to. Plus there's our itty bitty You Tube trailer :)

Though Julie Black Belt was published a few years ago, it may be new to you - and still seem new after the 10th reading.

If so, that's great too.

May = Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

We're halfway through May, but it's not too late to remember that it is officially Asian Pacific American Heritage month (APAHM).

Our friends at Asian American Curriculum Project (AACP), Japanese American Citizens League (San Mateo, JACL), and the Organization of Chinese Americans (San Mateo, OCA) have helped organized a commemoration at the Foster City Public Library (1000 E. Hillsdale Blvd, Foster City, 94404) on May 22nd (10 am - 6:30 pm).

Throughout the day many authors will present and artists will peform their work. The event is free so come and enjoy!

AACP helps distribute some of Immedium's books to schools and libraries, and we've participated in APAHM events in the past. AACP's mission is to:

to educate the public about the great diversity of the Asian American experience, through the books that we distribute; fostering cultural awareness and to educate Asian Americans about their own heritage, instilling a sense of pride. AACP believes that the knowledge which comes from the use of appropriate materials can accomplish these goals.

Unfortunately, we can't attend this year due to a prior commitment. But we wholeheartedly support May's theme and celebrations such as this!

Learn more at:

http://asianamericanbooks.com/apahac/apahac.htm

Immedium at CAIS Institute conference on Chinese Education

This weekend, we’ll present this weekend (April 11th at noon) at the Chinese Education Conference in San Francisco, CA.

The conference is sponsored by the CAIS Institute, founded in 1989 to advocate Chinese language and culture education nationwide. It is related to the Chinese American International School (CAIS), the nation’s first Mandarin-English immersion school.

Our session is titled “Immedium: Bringing Chinese Culture Alive through Children’s Picture Books”. Here's the official description:

We’ll share how modern children’s literature can bring Chinese culture into the classroom and energize students, teachers and parents. The popular series “Tales from the Chinese Zodiac” (The Year of the Rat, Pig, Dog, Ox, Tiger) dovetails perfectly with annual New Year celebrations at elementary schools. Other titles on martial arts, “Julie Black Belt”, sports “The Tao of Yao: Insights from Basketball’s Brightest Big Man” and graphic novels “9 of 1: A Window to the World”, can engage middle and high school students and provide rich opportunities for classroom discussion, group activities and self-exploration. Learn how a new wave of children’s books can invigorate traditional subject matter, and inspire both kids and adults to learn more.

Whew! It sounds like a mouthful but we'll spice it up with the books' lovely illustrations, useful handouts (which we're diligently working on), and reader feedback. We share our new stories with first graders at CAIS every year (as well as those enrolled in other Chinese language programs), so we're glad to meet more teachers from around the nation and introduce our tales to them.

Barbara Traub revisits Desert to Dream

Photographer Barbara Traub will present a 25 year slideshow survey of her work at Books, Inc., 2251 Chestnut Street, San Francisco, CA 94123 on Tuesday, March 30th at 7:30 pm.

Following her presentation, she will gladly sign copies of her recent book Desert to Dream: A Decade of Burning Man Photography.

You're welcome to join this meetup group and rsvp or else just show up!
http://www.meetup.com/SF-Travel-Book-Club-and-Lecture-Series/calendar/11863578/

During the publication of Desert to Dream, Traub presented at venues such as the Commonwealth Club of California with Burning Man co-founder and director Larry Harvey, Litquake, and the Crucible's Fire Arts Festival. Afterwards Traub became a photographer teacher at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.

Larry Harvey said, "This book is a landmark. It does more than illustrate a so-called counter-cultural event. Rather, it exhibits the integrity and singleness of vision of a complete work of art...It does not merely display Burning Man in pictures or explain it in words: It manifests the spirit of our culture through its style."

Relive the magic all over again, and get inspired for another glorious Labor Day Weekend 2010!

Immedium talks about Kid Lit at Book Passage

Join Immedium as we share our children's books at the Kid Lit Salon, held at the literary landmark Book Passage in Corte Madera, CA. We present on Monday, March 22nd, from 7 - 9 pm.

Hosted by moderator extraordinaire Lissa Rovetch, The Kid Lit Salon is for both established and beginning children’s book writers, illustrators, and lovers of fun kids’ books. (New members welcome! Just $10 per meeting.) Previous guests have included Lemony Snicket, the brothers Robert San Souci and Daniel San Souci, and Ashley Wolff.

Now come socialize with like-minded, creative types for an evening of casual conversation with author Oliver Chin, soon-to-be author Attaboy, and graphic designer Stefanie Liang.

As you may know, Atta is a boffo vinyl toy creator and co-founder of the cutting-edge (increasingly popular) art magazine Hi-Fructose. Now he is concocting his first children’s picture book, You Might be a Monster: and Other Stories I Made Up!, due to be published with us in the oh so near future!

Stefanie is one of our treasured Adobe InDesign gurus, and has designed books ranging from Desert to Dream: A Decade of Burning Man Photography and Julie Black Belt to Welcome to Monster Isle and the newest Octonauts adventures.

We'll provide a colorful PowerPoint and be pleased to autograph scintillating stories and sundry swag!

Reading all day 3/16 at College Park Elementary, San Mateo, CA

We're honored to be invited to College Park Elementary School (715 Indian Ave, San Mateo, CA 94401) to celebrate Literacy Week. We visit tomorrow, March 16th, and stay for the entire day!

Immedium has visited a few San Mateo public schools during the past few years, so we're pleased to see College Park's Gate (California's program of Gifted & Talented Education) and Mandarin Magnet Programs in person. Mandarin Immersion education is a hot topic nowadays, as schools nationwide are incorporating Chinese language curriculum. College Park is unique because it also houses a preschool program on site, which then feeds into the elementary school (kindergarten-5th grade).

Given the latest news of the severe budget cuts to California public schools next year and the resulting statewide protests by teachers, parents, and students, it is more important than ever to support our schools. Having traveled recently to dozens of schools, both public and private, we take great pride in sharing our stories and reinforcing an enthusiasm in kids for writing, drawing, and creating. Certainly parents and teachers have challenging jobs, so it is rewarding when they tell us that our books' themes reinforce their instruction and spur their students to love reading.

Never let it be said that we don't "put out" - we've been training for months for this day! Three presentations to six grades, another visit to the pre-K tykes, a book signing in the library, staff luncheon, plus a special drawing workshop to "lottery" winning 4th & 5th graders. Whew! By the time this day is over, our Powerpoint and PDF files will be melted, Teddy the Tiger will be officially put out to pasture, and we'll feel how it is to be a teacher...for one day.

We appreciate their kind staff and generous PTA for hosting us, and continued good luck to them.