I have been doing the largest list of Chinese New Year Events in the US and Canada since 2004. What I have noticed is there is an increase in the number of events. The question is why?

Some guesses:

1. Casino's have figured out many Chinese love Chinese love to Gamble. So it makes economic sense. Casino's in Las Vegas have been having Chinese, HK, and Taiwan pop stars play at their Casino's.

2. Increase in the Chinese population in the US. Around 3 Million in the US in 2005 per census figures. Asian's are 3% of the US population.

3. Number of parents who have adopted Children from China. Around 62,000 adoptions in the US of Children from China.

4. Increased interest in China due to it's increased economic power.

5. Perhaps the Internet has made it easier to find Chinese New Year events.

Labels: chinese new year

Some suggestions:

1. Have the teacher read a book on Chinese New Year and or Zodiac. Here is a Chinese New Year Lesson Plan I put together that includes the Red Envelope Idea. Another project is have them make their own Red Envelope out of construction paper.


2. Have them play some Chinese Games
http://www.childbook.com/Chinese-Children-Game-Instructions-s/79.htm

3. Coloring Projects for kids including Chinese New Year Symbols


4. Bring in Chinese Food for the kids to eat for lunch (using Lunch Specials). If you can, but 8 items since 8 is a lucky number (and can be part of the lesson). If you can get the rice sticky rice cakes with a sweat filling inside would be something exotic. Chinese bakeries carry them wrapped in banana leaves (this may be too authentic, which leaves Panda Express or equivalent).

5. Fortune Cookies are not Chinese, but kids probably won't know the difference.. Interesting history. Post of mine on Fortune Cookies and where they are from.


6. There are a lot of customs for Chinese New Year. That would make a great lesson and activities. Like cleaning up the class room.


7. A book I have that has more activities for project is:
Celebrating Chinese New Year An Activity Book

You can also I am sure find them on the Internet. Making a paper lantern is a fun activity and I have seen some wonderful paper lanterns.

8. Per the Good Luck Life, The Essential Guide to Chinese American Celebrations and Culture

Tangerines sound like Luck in Chinese.
Oranges deliver sweetness and wealth. When giving fruit, it should always be in even numbers and avoid the number 4 (unlucky number because it sounds like Death in Chinese). 8 sounds like Wealthy and Father.

9. Chinese Supermarkets also have cookies and candied fruit for Chinese New Years. The cookies are at reasonable costs. The rolled ones that look like egg rolls would be a good choice (and don't cost a lot).

I hope this helps!

Labels: chinese new year

From the Orange County Register Fat epidemic hits Asian kids, too

Key Points from the article:

• Asian American families tend to be less physically active, more home-oriented and more screen-oriented than other groups
• Asian teens consume more fast food than their white counterparts
• Asian and Pacific Islander children compared to other ethnic and racial groups are also least likely to get their daily portions of fruits and veggies
• Overweight Asians develop diabetes and other chronic diseases at lower thresholds of obesity.

An additional problem becomes peer pressure. When the kids want to fit in, so they demand junk food. I remember once when I was growing up at an Asian friends house, a friend's mother had cooked something really nice (the mother is an A+ cook). And the younger brother wanted McDonald's. Another problem is a lot of Chinese Fast Food, is really not very Chinese. Many dishes are deep fried and add a sweet sauce to them.

Another issue not mentioned in the article is how some Chinese parents like to have fat kids. They are cuter and seen as healthier. Not to mention the issue of single children from China, the little emperors and empresses that are spoiled by the entire family.

Labels: chinese children books, weight

Interesting article in the NY Times Sunday Magazine. Definitey food for thought.

Labels: china's future

Per the author she is going to work on levels 5-8 in Simplified of the Learning Chinese Ten Level Series called Practical Chinese. The series is selling well. The best seller is the workbooks in both Traditional and Simplified Chinese that are a great way to start learning Chinese for Kids:

Learning Chinese Coloring/Activity Book, Traditional Characters
Learning Chinese Coloring/Activity Book, Simplified Characters

I probably have to do some tweaking on the products, because each level of the series has a textbook, workbook, and CD. I have noticed some people buying the textbook and Workbook, but not getting the CD. Or the Textbook and Workbook, but no CD. So I need to somehow remind customers of the related products

Links:

Learning Chinese Coloring/Activity Book, Traditional Characters
Learning Chinese Coloring/Activity Book, Simplified Characters
Beginner 1 - Numbers, People, Occupations, Family Members
Beginner 2 - Sel-Introduction, greeting, animals, likes/dislikes.
Level 1 - My family, schools, friends and myself
Level 2 - Self-introduction and self description
Level 3 - calendar, interests, occupations, toys, animals...
Level 4 - Daily conversation (shopping, directions, time, ...)
Level 5 - Introduction to the Chinese Festivals
Level 6 - Introduction to the Chinese Dynasties
Level 7 - Introduction to the Chinese famous people, inventions, and events.
Level 8 - Introduction to the Chinese Idioms and phrases

Games for Learning Chinese, Traditional Characters provides more than 50 learning activities to make learning fun, easy, and more effective meant for those who can already read Chinese for leading games.

Labels: Learning Chinese, practical chinese

The challenge is Asian's, as a percentage are over represented at the best colleges in the United States. 10-30%, even if they are only 4% of the population. So in order to keep the right racial mix, Asian students at many colleges need to have higher test scores than any other ethnic group, including white, to attend. In state colleges, many states have banned the use of racial quotas for college admissions including California and Michigan. The result at UC Berkeley has been an increase in Asian students attending. An article about Asians at Berkeley called Little Asia on the Hill that I just found from the NY Times! Last time I found the article my blog died, with a post I had been working on for over an hour. Which resulted in a much shorter post :-) My daughter's school sent 30 students to UC Berkeley last year, and her choir graduates seem to go to UCLA or UC Berkeley.

One Chinese student even filed a lawsuit against Princeton for discrimination in admissions. Good quote "are the Chinese being treated as Jews were in the 1920-1940 for College Admissions?"

Another related post:
Chinese American Education Expectations

My opinion. The historical definition of race is getting all messed up and institutions have not caught up with how fast society is changing in an extremely positive way. Examples include mixed races, adoptions, etc. The competition for getting into colleges is getting more and more. Grades, Study Skills, and College Admission Books is a new section I just added.

Labels: college admissions, Education

At the local Hong Kong Market Plaza in Rowland Heights, there were three restaurant suites all empty. Dragon Noodle, also known as Supreme Dragon , then empty suite, then Good Time Cafe, then empty, empty, and the market. In another part of Rowland Heights, it appears a
Vietnamese Restaurant that used to be a Taco Bell has closed.

Supreme Dragon is a great place for Beef Soup and Steamed Dumplings at a pretty good price. It's survived by having fast service and good prices. Good Time Cafe is a Taiwanese Cafe. My favorite their is pork chop rice, that is actually a fried pork chop over rice that includes a soy sauce egg. The name makes you think fried rice. A place opened right next to it one time, also selling Taiwanese Food. Not very nice of the plaza management to allow this. Good news was Good Time Cafe survived this, and their competitor is no longer there.

Restaurants have a high degree of risk. That is one of the challenges with chinesediner.com was how to keep it up to date, with restaurants going out of business all the time. The challenge is people could falsely enter a restaurant has gone out of business. And who would have time to check if a restaurant has truly gone out of business. chinesediner.com was a Chinese Restaurant Finder I had set up for a while, but closed down because of the maintenance issue.

				Dim Sum For Everyone!
				Our Price: $6.99 Sale Price: $5.99 You Save $1.00!
				Dim Sum For Everyone! Great book about a little girl's visit to a Dim Sum restaurant.
				Cooking with Kids - Exploring Chinese Food, Culture, and Language
				Our Price: $24.95
				Should your kids Learn Chinese Cooking? And some Chinese? Then get this DVD for ages 8-12 that includes much more than just Chinese cooking! It gives your kids a fun way to learn Mandarin Chinese tones, words, and phrases.
				The Ugly Vegetables by Graced Lin
				Our Price: $6.95
				A little girl wonders why she and her Mom are growing plants in their garden that are so different from their neighbors'. Recipe for Ugly Vegetable Soup included!
				Fortune Cookie Fortunes by Grace Lin
				Our Price: $6.99
				After a young Chinese American girl opens fortune cookies with her family, she notices that the fortunes seem to come true, in a story which includes brief notes on the history of the fortune cookie.

Labels: chinatowns, Chinese Food

Los Angeles Zoo is having some Chinese New Year Activities! The graphic they have done is very cute.

February 9 & 10, 2008
10am - 4pm

Lunar New Year Celebration

Join us in celebrating the Lunar New Year at the Los Angeles Zoo!

• Visit the Zoo's rodents and learn more about them in celebration of Year of the Rat
• Enjoy Asian delicacies at the Lunar New Year buffet
• Visit artisan booths and shop for authentic souvenirs
  
  
• Receive lucky red envelopes, fortune cookies, and other fun sponsor giveaways
• Take part in an origami workshop and make your own animals

Comment/Editorial. A bit frustrating, I checked out the LA Zoo Web site beginning of this month to update my Chinese New Year Event Information. No info. Then I go to my bank and get a coupon with Information yesterday. At least now I have the information!
100+ Chinese New Year Events/Calendar for the US and Canada

Labels: chinese new year

Labels: disneyland

Nice service - VGP Travel Guides in Chinese for New York, Boston, and Washington DC. A customer asked me if I knew of a travel guide for NY in Chinese. So I did a bit looking and did not find anything. So I sent E-Mails to the Chinatown Web Sites for NY and the NY Visit Web Site. The NY Visit Web site replied to me with the VGP site.

New York also has three Chinatowns located in Flushing (Queens), Brooklyn, and Manhatten. My list of Chinatowns of the United States. There is even a museum MOCA - Museum of Chinese in the Americas!

Associated Products:

Exploring Chinatown: A Children's Guide to Chinese Culture
Our Price: $22.95 Sale Price: $19.95 You Save $3.00!
This is a book for kids, families, and teachers who’d like to get more out of their visit to Chinatown than an “I escaped Alcatraz” t-shirt or oversized pencil. It’s a guide to what makes Chinese culture, well, “Chinese.” It covers almost everything, from how to order in a restaurant, and what not to do with chopsticks, to how to write characters in Chinese and how to make potstickers. It tells about herbal medicine shops, temples, and tearooms.

Labels: chinatowns, Travel Guides

A new book I am carrying is Animals In The Stars - Chinese Astrology For Children by Gregory Crawford. The illustrations are well done as are the descriptions on each page. It's nice to see a dragon done right. There is a page for each of the animals of the Chinese Zodiac and also goes over the story of the Zodiac (why Rat is first). The only minor suggestion would have been explaining how the Chinese Calendar actually is a lunar calendar, so the first day of it is not the same as the Gregorian Calendar which is what most people use. So for this year for example,Chinese New Year is on February 7th. So if have a child who is born February 6th in 2007, they are actually still in the Year of the Pig. My wife for example is still the same sign as I am in the Chinese Zodiac, even though we are born in different years of the Julian Calendar. Calendar of Dates for the Chinese Zodiac.

Labels: chinese new year, chinese zodiac

The speach by Martin Luther King - I Had A Dream is incredible and every time I read it I appreciate it more. It is hopeful, truthful, and still relevant today - 45 years after it was delivered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC.

Only in 1967, 4 years after Dr. Kings speech did the Supreme Court in Loving vs. Virginia overturn anti-Miscegenation Laws that barred marriage between races saying it violated the equal protection and due process clauses of the 14th amendment.

14th Amendment
Section. 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Relevant Links:
Racism Against Chinese in the US

Labels: martin luther king, Mixed Race, Racism

Good Reason to Learn Chinese by Chris Lin. Nice article.

Chris is the author of Mandy and Pandy say, "Ni Hao Ma?" Board Book with CD. Chris is an ABC (American Born Chinese, FOB is Fresh of the Boat, which should be updated to Plane). I am looking forward to their next book in the series. I like how Mandy and Pandy is a cardboard book (tough for small kids) and includes a CD.

				Mandy and Pandy say, "Ni Hao Ma?" Board Book with CD
				Our Price: $12.95
				Mandy and Pandy say "Ni Hao Ma" is a stimulating children's book with CD that teaches kids Chinese in a fun and easy way.

Labels: Why Learn Chinese

Most Diversity Training Ineffective, Study Finds from an Article in the Washington Post.

Key Points:

1. If mandatory training, result is actually less diversity.
2. If voluntary, training is actually beneficial.
3. Companies require training due to fear of lawsuits.
4. Successful programs focus on the business benefits of diversity.
5. Per one consultant, 75% of diversity training is junk.
   

Take Aways: 80/20% rules applies to this. People don't like to be forced to do something. Fear of lawsuits drives much of corporate behavior.

Relevant Information:

• Chinese Culture- Teaching my daughter
• Racism Against Chinese in the United States

Labels: Racism

Good read - Chinese Food: A Wok On The Wild Side has information on the calories and sodium in Chinese food found in US restaurants. Traditionally, Chinese food does not use a lot of oil. The reason is oil costs. NY Times article about how increases in oil used for cooking is affecting the poor worldwide. In the US, oil for cooking is relatively cheap so most Chinese Restaurants use lots of oil in cooking. It's easier for cooking and traditionally, it's a sign of wealth. If you have the industrial Wok Food Burner (much bigger than a regular stove), food is quickly cooked resulting is less oil absorption. Chinese houses will often have a separate room for cooking with huge powerful fans. My in-laws brought over from Taiwan a burner for use in cooking so they get enough heat.

A standard cooktop may be up to 14,000 BTU, where one made for Chinese Cooking may be up to 30,000+ BTU. I am finding commercial ranges that go up to 50,000 BTU.

Chinese Food Related Products:

				Dim Sum For Everyone!
				Our Price: $6.99 Sale Price: $5.99 You Save $1.00!
				Dim Sum For Everyone! Great book about a little girl's visit to a Dim Sum restaurant.
				Cooking with Kids - Exploring Chinese Food, Culture, and Language
				Our Price: $24.95
				Should your kids Learn Chinese Cooking? And some Chinese? Then get this DVD for ages 8-12 that includes much more than just Chinese cooking! It gives your kids a fun way to learn Mandarin Chinese tones, words, and phrases.
				Everyone Cooks Rice
				Our Price: $6.95
				Everyone Cooks Rice
				The Ugly Vegetables by Graced Lin
				Our Price: $6.95
				A little girl wonders why she and her Mom are growing plants in their garden that are so different from their neighbors'. Recipe for Ugly Vegetable Soup included!
				Fortune Cookie Fortunes by Grace Lin
				Our Price: $6.99
				After a young Chinese American girl opens fortune cookies with her family, she notices that the fortunes seem to come true, in a

Labels: chinese cooking, Chinese Food

Bilingualism in the US has an interesting history. A community that had a huge amount of a second language presence was Germans in the US before World War I. Peter F. Drucker mentioned this to me when I was presented my paper on what became Childbook.com With World War I, instruction in German was banned in many schools, German newspapers in the US stopped publishing. An online book covers the subject. A German American was even lynched. German Americans were the largest immigrant group at the time who were still keeping their original language. Around 9 Million in 1910 still spoke German. In England, the Royal Family changed it's name from the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha became the House of Windsor, Battenberg became Mountbatten and the German Shepherd was renamed the Alsatian (only going back in 1977 to German Shepherd).

Bilingual Education in the US is usually associated with Spanish. Title VII in 1968 and 1977 gave funding for children who had low English proficiency. At the time this was known as ELS - English Language Learners, but the current terminology is LEP - Limited English Proficiency. It used to be ESL, English as a Second Language. 1974 Equal Education Act of 1974 was interpreted that limited English Proficiency should not bar students from getting a good education. In 1967, Ronald Reagan (California Governor) signed a law allowing the other languages to be used for education besides English, overturning an 1872 law. In 1998 in California, Proposition 227 passed that basically banned using Bilingual Education as a method for teaching English in public schools.

Proposition 227 was passed by voters because they felt that public schools were not doing a great job of teaching English to students using bilingual education. There is a lot of debate on this still, but the politics in my opinion is proposition 227 is going to stay in force for the foreseeable future. Scores of students whom were Learning English have improved since the passage of Prop. 227, the reason for this is hotly debated. Smaller class sizes were implemented, increases in funding, new teaching methods, etc.

The preferred method for Learning English currently is called SDAI, or Structured Designed Academic Development. Translation - classes are taught in English, but with a lot of body language and easier words so students can understand. It's like the ESL classes I taught for adults. How bilingual education was originally done in the US, was classes would be done in a foreign language so the students understood, then theoretically they would be gradually introduced to English. The prior widespread idea, that was labeled Bilingual Education being if they were proficient in a subject in their native language, it would be easy for them to understand it in English. What happened was many students never graduated from the bilingual classes.

There are some schools that are doing some very exciting work to be true bilingual schools. This is where students are taught for example both in English and another language. Private schools have done this for a while, but some public schools are now doing this. I will have some names in a future post.

Some of them off the top of my head:

• Cupertino - Northern California, public school

• International School of the Peninsula in Palo Alto, California - Private

• Chinese American International School in San Francisco

Unfortunately I don't know of any full time bilingual schools in Souther California. Lots of weekend schools.

Labels: Bilingual History in the US, Peter F Drucker

Mini one day vacation today with my family. At the Korean Friendship Bell in San Pedro somebody was doing children's clothes shots. Beautiful shots! Cost a pretty penny too.

There were 5 models, all toddlers with their mothers, an RV (clean changing area, place to eat, looked expensive). Camera crew, light reflectors. My guess on cost is around $1000 per hour.

Having the right photographs is so important for products. For ChildBook.com that sells Learning Chinese books, music, and video's that pretty easy. Just scan the product. Of course when the item is too big for scanning, then it's time to get the camera out. Such as for the Chinese Harry Potter Book set. I usually do two images (front and back) of products for ChildBook.com

For EliteDresses that sells Girl's Dresses at discount prices, learning photography was challenging. My wife started on eBay taking photographs which was great training! She takes multiple images of a girl's dress so the buyer knows exactly what they are getting. The Girl's red/burgundy sleeveless formal dress is a great example. She did photo's for the girl's dress for the front, back, close up of the flower belt (detachable), and of the flower on the shoulder. For the lilac girl's dress (great for Easter), my wife took 6 pictures.

Another challenge with Girl's Dresses is getting the color just right. So a red dress looks like a red dress - I mean Gil's Burgundy the green girl's dress the right color green - I mean sage, and the purple girl's dress (oops I mean Lilac) the right color. Lighting is key! It is so hard over the phone to explain what shade of sage a dress is. And it does vary with lighting, so what you see in an office with fluorescents, will look differently outside in natural light.

Then there is the names of colors. I just don't get it. Dark Red is Burgundy. Light Green is Sage. Lilac is purple. And then the shades! Scanning Chinese Books is so much easier than girl's dresses. And then the girl's Chinese Dresses, also called Qipao or cheongsam.

The headache for taking photo's for the Chinese Girl's Dresses is the fabric is shiny due to the satin fabric! This can cause reflections. This red girl's Qipao photo's are good with four product photo's including closeups showing the frog buttons and mandarin collar,

Labels: girls dress photography

LA Times has an article China's reality check on Long March

Key Points:

• Historians inside and out of China are examining the Long March and some of their research is contradicting the official version.
• The march may not have been heroic as the official history portrays. Purges, miles traveled, mistakes are all issues with the official version.

Challenges of knowing what is true in history. I remember reading when I was small a story of a Soviet sniper and a dual with a German one in Stalingrad, and I recently found out it was all Soviet propaganda.

Relevant Link:

Chinese History Books for Children
			Zheng Le who may have discovered American before Columbus Chinese Inventions from gunpowder to the printing press Chinese immigration to Gold Mountain (America) in 1840's Building of the Transcontinental Railroad

Labels: Chinese History

Nanking': How valley engineers raised awareness of 'forgotten holocaust'

ENGINEERS RAISE AWARENESS OF MASSACRE;

Not a film for those with queasy stomaches I would guess. The book by Iris Chang was eye opening. If you wondering what I am talking about, just do a google search on images for Nanjing Massacre. Sad the author committed suicide.

Iris Chang also wrote The Chinese in America, A Narrative History by Iris Chang

Labels: Chinese History

New York Times - Solving a Riddle Wrapped in a Mystery Inside a Cookie

Cute article on Fortune Cookies.

Key Points:

• 3 Billion Fortune Cookies made per year.
• Fortune Cookies basically unknown in China
• May have originated in Japan
• The popularity of Fortune Cookies soared after WW2
• The author of the article is writing a book about Chinese Food in the US.

Related books:

Fortune Cookie Fortunes by Grace Lin
Our Price: $6.99
After a young Chinese American girl opens fortune cookies with her family, she notices that the fortunes seem to come true, in a story which includes brief notes on the history of the fortune cookie.

Labels: Chinese Food, fortune cookies

Toxic Factories Take Toll On China's Labor Force from the Wall Street Journal. Good article.

Key Points:

1. More that 10% of China's arable land is contaminated with heavy metals such as cadmium, according to the State Environmental Protection Agency, and the metals are entering China's food supply. Take Away - Food Safety Issue...

2. GP quit making them at its plants, and now outsources that production to independent factories in China. Shows the use of sub-contracting in China's manufacturing.

3. A person present at the Huizhou police station says the workers were told they would be charged with treason if they spoke to the media again. The Huizhou government says its police detained no battery workers. Somebody is lying... Local governments that have factories that don't meet safety requirements don't want this exposed/published outside the country.

4. A second test showed Ms. Wang's cadmium level in the normal range, disqualifying her for assistance. With her later health problems, I would not be surprised if the second test results were faked. Government-run occupational-disease hospital did the testing, the same government that may have asked the local police to have a talk with Ms. Wang's party.

5. The article shows the inability of Western companies to monitor the safety of workers producing their products. Especially with sub-contracting.

6. Toys are an incredible cost competitive area, where what matters for most company is just the price since how do you know when a product has been responsibly made, verses one that has not been.

Links:
Toxic Factories Take Toll On China's Labor Force - Wall Street Journal
Pollution in China - Lesson Plan From Childbook
More than 10% of arable land polluted - From China Daily.

China Faces a New Worry: Heavy Metals in the Food - Wall Street Journal

More links on Heavy Metal in China - Foreign Policy Blog
1 Million factories and 50,000 personnel (and all are not inspectors).

Labels: China Toys, chinese environment

Free Resources on the Web for Learning Chinese:

http://www.chinese-tools.com/learn/chinese - 10 Free audio lesson for learning Chinese Lessons
http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/chinese/real_chinese/ - Lessons from the BBC including video clips.http://www.travlang.com/languages/index.html - Interesting site. Even has Taiwanese.
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Chinese - Free online textbook for Learning Simplified Chinese.
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Chinese_(Mandarin)/Traditional - Free online textbook for Learning Traditional Chinese.
http://onlinelearning.lingnet.org/chinese/default.htm - From Defense Foreign Language Institute, Foreign Language Center. More advanced.
http://www.ezlearnchinese.com/1stclass.html -
http://www.language-exchanges.org/ - Arrange online lessons via Skype. Free.
247yak.com - English-Chinese language exchange website
wordbuddy.com/ - Site for learning foreign languages including Chinese.

This has a great collection of links:http://www.csulb.edu/~txie/online2.htm

Free Learning Chinese Language and Culture from ChildBook:
Free Chinese Children Coloring Characters Pages - Printable
Free Chinese Children Coloring Graphics, Pictures Printable
Chinese Character Worksheet
Chinese Children Game Instructions


Relevant Products/Links (they are not free):
Learning Mandarin Chinese Products for Kids

Labels: Learning Chinese

Nice article from a local paper about how expensive a local Dumpling place, Din Tai Fung is, but the quality is wonderful.

Din Tai Fung is not your regular Chinese food place. It is part of a chain of restaurants (may be publicly traded) that include locations in Taiwan (founded), Singapore, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, and Indonesia. It is also zagat rated and best of LA for dumpling houses.

What I noticed about Din Tai Fung is they have great marketing. They do a lot of advertising in Chinese papers and TV, and have the cooking area so you get a show of the dumplings being made. The experience inside is a clean restaurant that is super efficient. At the Arcadia location (next to Live Plaza and JJ Bakery), there is usually a line.

I tried the Din Tai Fung not to long after the Arcadia branch opened, and it came across as expensive, but good. For price I liked Dumpling Master in Monterey Park. In Rowland Heights (where I live), Dragon Noodle does a nice job and has great soup.

I have not tried these, but interesting thread of good dumpling places around Southern California:
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/81295

Chinese restaurants in Southern California I have noticed seemed to for two extremes. Either pricey, or cheap. What I like is the cheap and great food ones.

Products:

				Cooking with Kids - Exploring Chinese Food, Culture, and Language - DVD for cooking kids Chinese Cooking for ages 8-12.

				The Ugly Vegetables by Graced Lin - Cute book, softcover that includes a reciple for Chinese Vegetable Soup. The ugly vegetables are Chinese Vegetables (the same type my Mother in law grows in our back yard).

				Dim Sum For Everyone! Another cute book that teaches all about Dim Sum.

Labels: Chinese Food

Good article from the NY times Lives of Poverty, Untouched by China’s Boom as well as a post on a blog on global poverty. China has done an amazing job of increasing the size of their economy and lifting so many people out of poverty. There is still a ways to go because China is a huge country. The economic disparity is one the Chinese Government is aware of, but they only have so much power. Chinese proverb to remember: "The mountains are high and the Emperor is far away"Which means basically as long as you don't cause major problems, the Chinese government is going to leave you alone. Cause problems enough to get noticed and action will be taken. An example of this was the Toy company CEO committed suicide because he got noticed after he embarrassed China, resulting in his company being shut down.

Labels: china economy

Business Week has an article about China's Spiritual awakening. I would give the article a C+ (which is why I subscribe to the Economist). The articles major point is there has been an increase in Buddhism in China and some of it has become trendy.

What the article did not include:

1. The two words, Cultural Revolution, were not included at all. In discussing religion in China this is huge due to the impact on culture and organized religion in China. Destruction of thousands of temples and churches, displays of religious images were not allowed, impact on Tibet, etc.
2. Any mention of the Dalai Lama.
3. Any mention of Christianity in China including underground churches. 40 Million Christians in China (at least), may be up to 65 Million or 5% of the population (and growing).
4. Any mention of Islam in China. 1.5% of the population. Side note - There are a couple of Chinese Islamic restaurants in Southern California that are great. One in Rowland Heights, China Muslim changed their name to VIP China Restaurant.
5. Relations between the Catholic Church and China and from the Economist.
6. Falun Gong
7. Taoism
8. Government control of religion in China
9. Religion in the Chinese diaspora (overseas Chinese). In Rowland Heights for example, there is a huge amount of Chinese Churches.
10. Festivals in China

Relevant Books:

• Good Luck Life: The Essential Guide To Chinese American Celebrations And Culture
• Exploring Chinatown: A Children's Guide to Chinese Culture
• The Chinese in America, A Narrative History by Iris Chang
• Monkey King wreaks havoc in Heaven (great way to know who is who For Chinese gods and what is Taoism, as well as being a fun read).
  

Labels: Chinese Religion

I just got an E-Mail asking for resources from somebody writing a paper.

Based on my families experience in the US with health care.

1. Chinese Americans vary a lot. Chinese American - Who are they? For example from a 1st generation immigrant working here illegally as a nanny or in a restaurant to another first generation immigrant who owns a Billion Dollar Electronics reseller. Differences include culture (1st generation Taiwan vs. 1st Generation China vs 3rd Generation ect.), Language (both written and verbal), not to mention location. There are many more differentiators.

2. On hospitals and what they could improve on. Being able to get real Chinese breakfasts at a Hospital would be nice after childbirth. Not being assigned rooms that are considered unlucky (such as the number 4). Giving out material on breastfeeding in Chinese. Traditional Characters should be used, since a person who reads Simplified can also read Traditional. But a person who reads Traditional will find it more challenging to figure out Simplified. That is why most newspapers in the US are in Traditional Characters. Those that are not are making a political statement. Post of mine on the subject Simplified vs. Traditional Chinese Characters - Which to Learn Again the needs for Chinese American really vary from a third generation who speaks no Chinese and may prefer the typical American breakfast to a traditional Chinese one to a person who only speaks Chinese and wants a Chinese breakfast. Many Chinese have their own businesses, so often when they visit the hospital they don't have health insurance, so understanding this is helpful. Having a translator available for Mandarin (the main Chinese dialect) helps. Hospital paperwork can be challenging even for people fluent in English. In Taiwan, a family member will often stay with a person in the hospital to help them. Making this possible helps. It's annoying when the recorded message for a patient who does not speak English, is in English. Hopefully it gets caught on an answer machine and a relative gets to translate it.

3. Traditional Chinese medicine is used by many Chinese Americans including Accupuncture and herbs. China has a long history of medicine that is different than the traditional Western Medicine. The ethnic Chinese I know do not see this as as either/or situation, but as an AND situation where they take the best of both.

4. Mental Health Services - mostly not very well done due to cultural issues. A service that impressed me I have heard about for years, and actually included in a paper I wrote for my teaching credential is Asian Pacific Family Center.

5. Taiwan has universal health care, so many people who qualify when they have medium to major medical issues will fly back to Taiwan. This way they can go to a first rate hospital, no language issues (and insurance headaches), and free.

Labels: Chinese American Health Care

January 9, 2008 - Weaverville Chinese New Year Dinner
February 16, 2008 - Lion Dance at 11AM.

100+ Chinese New Year Events for the US and Canada

Labels: Chinese New Year Dinner, Chinese New Year Events, chinese New Year Lion Dance

Lots of updates today. Got New York updated as well as a few others. The telephone is still needed, even in the age of the Internet.

A great sounding Chinese New Year Event is in Wyoming. You may ask Wyoming, what does that have to do with Chinese in the US? Actually lots. There were two famous historical events that involved Chinese in Wyoming. One positive, and one negative. One was the building of the Transcontinental Railroad that employed a lot of Chinese (6000). The other was the Rock Springs Massacre where 28+ miners were killed and parts of the Chinatown were burned (75 houses). Chinese were working as coal miners.

The event is at a Joss House. Joss Houses were Taoist temples that doubled as community centers that were built in Chinatowns during the Gold Rush. I know of only a couple of Joss Houses that are still around. This one in Wyoming, another in Weaverville, Mendocino Joss House, and Handford. Lots more I just found a list of Historical Chinese Temples in California.

My daughter built a model of a Joss House Weaverville Model Project that you to can build (budget about 24 hours of parent time plus your students time). Yes, it was explained to the teacher that my daughter only did the landscaping and the rest was done by me, my parents, and my Father In Law (who did the Chinese Characters on the door). It was built instead of the usual California Mission.

Wyoming

Chinese Joss House Museum

February 8, 2008. 5:30PM with Dragon Parade starting at library. Ends at Joss House. Will be Rickshaw races on Main Street. Dinner afterwards at Beaming Cashing Building. - 920 Front Street (in Depot Square), Evanston, Wyoming 307-783-0370
www.evanstonwy.org or www.etownchamber.com

Associated Products/Resources:

Racism Against Chinese in the United States

				The Traitor by Laurence Yep, Gold Mountain Chronicles 1865
				Our Price: $6.99
				Story with background of the Rock Springs Massacre in Wyoming of Chinese Workers.

				Ten Mile Day
				Our Price: $7.95
				Building of the Transcontinental Railroad that linked the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Over 6000 Chinese worked on it at one point.

Labels: Chinese History, chinese new year

I noticed a link to the article on http://defreses.blogspot.com/ when I was looking for info. on Chinese New Year events in Alabama.

Cost puts damper on this Olympic event

For many Americans with adopted Chinese children, dreams of a visit during the Games in Beijing prove too pricey.
By Mark Magnier, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
January 2, 2008
BEIJING -- It seemed like a good idea. Bring your adopted Chinese daughters (and they're almost all daughters) back to Beijing to experience the glories of the 2008 Summer Olympics, connect with the homeland and watch the Middle Kingdom at a key moment in its history.

Then parents started checking the prices, which can run to $15,000 per person or more, including airfare, inflated hotel bills and tickets.

"The Olympics are great exposure for China, which is changing so quickly," Brandon Cozier, from Houston, said recently outside the White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou with his wife, Juliette, having come to pick up Kyra, their second adopted daughter. "But $15,000 is almost as much as we spent for her adoption."

For the rest of the article:
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-fg-olympics2jan02,1,3704914.story?coll=la-news-a_section

Labels: China Olympics

News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Date: January 8, 2008

Rowland Heights, CA 2006

ChildBook.com announces publishing online the most complete list of Chinese New Year Events with over 90+ events across the US and Canada. Chinese New Year is the important holiday for Chinese and is a time for families to gather. It is based on the Lunar Calendar and occurs at the end of January or beginning February. Chinese New Year occurs on the first day with a new moon and ends with the Lantern Festival for a total of 15 days of holiday. Chinese New Year this year occurs on February 7, 2008. The Chinese New Year events listed range from festivals to dinners to parades for 25 states and vary in dates from the beginning of January through the end of February. The list of events is available free at www.childbook.com

Locations for events range from a Joss House in Evanton, Wyoming to the largest Chinese New Year Parade parade in San Francisco to Washington DC to New York City. Celebrations range from dances to performances to parades.

Chinese New Year Information on www.childbook.com including recommended books, calendar of events, customs, lesson plans, and more. The Chinese New Year is also called the Lunar New Year, since it's based on the Lunar Calendar.

Contact: Ray www.ChildBook.com, Tel. 909-595-8882, ray@childbook.com

About www.ChildBook.com
ChildBook.com for over 10 years has been helping Children in the United States learn more about Chinese Culture and Language through selling Learning Chinese Language and Culture books, music, and video's in English and Chinese.

Labels: chinese new year

Chinese New Year Crafts & Projects

Has projects from ChildBook. Below is a project my daughter made in Chinese School a while ago. Pretty Easy to make and looks great.

Chinese Spring Symbol Paper Cut
			Paper Cut you can hang in your house of the Chinese Symbol for Spring!

Related Links:
Chinese Children Projects


Related Products:

				Celebrating Chinese New Year: An Activity Book (Paperback)
				Our Price: $7.95
				Celebrating Chinese New Year is a fun-filled craft, activity and resource book for the Chinese New Year

Labels: chinese new year, chinese new year craft

Butte Montana has a Chinese New Years parade! On February 9, 2008. One more state to add to my lists of Chinese New Year events for 2008. My Grandfather was born in Montana. Pleasant surprise! And they even have a Chinese Museum. It is surprising at how many Chinese were in the Western United States during and after the Gold Rush.

Related Books:

				Ten Mile Day
				Our Price: $7.95
				Building of the Transcontinental Railroad that linked the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Over 6000 Chinese worked on it at one point.

				Dragon Parade
				Our Price: $6.95
				Dragon Parade, a Chinese New Year Story. Story of the First Chinese New Year Celebration in San Francisco in 1851, great illustrations. English, Soft Cover

Links:
Chinese American History
Racism Against Chinese in the United States

Labels: chinese new year

I was reading some posts about eBay's new DSR Feedback system and many of the posts were frustrated on the feedback on shipping costs and that customers don't understand shipping costs.

Shipping Costs:

1. Cost of actual shipping from UPS, FedEx, US Post Office, etc.
2. Cost of box (around 50 cents each), except if you use priority mail then it's free.
3. Cost of material (bubble wrap tracks the price of oil, so it's increased).
4. Costs vary depending on zones (how far it is from you) and weight.

Childbook offers free shipping as an incentive to customers and because it's expected (right or wrong) because the major book & music seller do. This cost is in addition to the cost of materials. If a customer opts for Priority Mail (2-3 days) of ships internationally, I charge the same amount for shipping a DVD that weighs 6 ounces, as the latest Harry Potter book. Even if the cost for shipping is considerably different. ChildBook also charges the shipping charge for a customer in California that is local, as one in New York.

What I have done to make this fairer is increase the price for items that are bundled on shipping (unless a customer chooses free shipping) with the goal of just covering the cost on shipping. The goal is to make shipping break even, and not be a profit or loss area. In practice, sometimes I make money on shipping on an order and other times lose money. It evens out.

EliteDresses.com Is a separate site (run by my wife) that sells Girl's Dresses including Girl's Chinese (Qipao) Dresses. She does charge a shipping charge because she ships out Priority Mail which costs. Plus she checks each dress before it ships to make sure all the flowers look great, zippers work, irons if needed, wraps it in tissue paper, then seals it in a plastic bag. This adds up to extra labor that a small charge is added in the shipping and handling cost.

Labels: fFeight Charges

A voice for rural women of China, Good article from the LA Times that was on the front page.

I am surprised with the rising percentage of male births due to ultrasound, that baby girls are not valued more in China. India and South Korea have the same issue (to many boys, not enough girls). I would think with supply and demand this would increase the worth of women in the rural areas.

Key parts from the article:

Three of four Chinese women -- more than 450 million -- still live in the countryside, where rigid social customs breed loneliness and abuse.

Domestic violence rates are high. Each year 150,000 women commit suicide in rural China -- the only place on Earth where more women kill themselves than men, according to the World Health Organization.

Xie's readers are country women taught to refer to male spouses not as husbands but masters. They inhabit a world where the emphasis on bearing sons is so strong that women bear names such as Zhaodi ("looking for a little brother") and Aidi ("loving a little brother").

"Rural women in China are everyone's somebody," she said. "They're somebody's wife, somebody's mother, somebody's daughter-in-law. I encourage them to follow one simple rule:

"You are yours. You are not anybody else's."

Related Products:

				The Seven Chinese Sisters
				Our Price: $6.95
				When a dragon snatches the youngest of seven specially talented Chinese sisters, the other six come to her rescue, in a delightfully illustrated update of a classic Chinese folktale

Labels: china's future

Venetian replied back to me fast, under an hour, on if they had any events for Chinese New Year (answer was no). Wow! Great customer service!

Caesar's Palace - promised they would respond within 3-5 days. Plus it was a frustrating process to figure out the E-Mail them process. Venetian was easy! I was surprised that a company that has such as beautiful image in person and the web experience for me was just horrible.

Labels: chinese new year

I am still working on updating the Events list for Chinese New Year and getting a bit frustrated.

I know Chinese New Year is big in Las Vegas, but why can't I find any information about what the Casino's are doing on the web?

Here is a great example, neat web site if you have the time http://www.taolasvegas.com/ but nothing on what they are doing for Chinese New Year. Tao is at the Venetion.

Another example, Caesar's Palace - horrible looking web site. My guess is they did not get the memo about Las Vegas profits coming from more than just booking rooms and gambling. Shows, shopping, etc. are profit makers.

Articles about Chinese New Year in Las Vegas.

Las Vegas Sun about Chinese New Year events at Las Vegas Casinos - 2006

NY Times about Chinese New Year events at Las Vegas Casinos - 2007

So what is the solution? E-Mail each one? Go down to the local Chinese bakery and look at the posters?

Labels: chinese new year

Chinese New Year Event Calendar for Events in the US and Canada for 2008 is up!

Over 100 events are listed across the US and Canada. From Parades to Festivals to Street Fairs to Banquets. From Maine, Iowa, New York to California.

Feedback appreciated!

Ray

Related Products:

				Happy New Year! Kung-Hsi Fa-Ts'Ai by Demi book about Chinese New Year
				Our Price: $6.99
				Happy New Year! Kung-Hsi Fa-Ts'Ai by Demi. A colorful book for children to learn about the Chinese rituals and ideas to celebrate the New Year. Find out the animal zodiac sign based on the birth year. English, Soft Cover
				Awakening the Dragon - The Dragon Boat Festival
				Our Price: $9.95
				Arlene Chan, a respected librarian and an experienced dragon boat racer, explores the origins of the festival, it’ s customs, and the races themselves. Beautifully detailed illustrations by Song Nan Zhang let you experience the beauty and energy of this ancient festival, The Dragon Boat Festival
				Celebrating Chinese New Year: An Activity Book (Paperback)
				Our Price: $7.95
				Celebrating Chinese New Year is a fun-filled craft, activity and resource book for the Chinese New Year
				Celebrating Chinese New Year
				Our Price: $6.95
				Celebrating Chinese New Year, English, Soft Cover
				Happy Happy Chinese New Year by Demi (hardcover)
				Our Price: $8.95
				Firecrackers explode and the Dragon Dance begins during Chinese New Year. The activities and traditions that make up the Chinese New Year festivities are portrayed in beautiful, full-color detail. Each spread contains a brief explanation of the significance of each custom, telling how it fits into the month-long celebration.
				Cat and Rat: The Legend of the Chinese Zodiac (softcover)
				Our Price: $7.99
				Cat and Rat: The Legend of the Chinese Zodiac (softcover). Why Rat comes first in the Chinese Zodiac of 12 animals.
				Cloud Weavers: Ancient Chinese Legends
				Our Price: $19.95 Sale Price: $17.95 You Save $2.00!
				This unique collection of 23 legends and myths from China will introduce young readers to magic monkeys, goddesses and immortals, heroines and patriots, poets and philosophers. These stories have entertained and educated many generations of Chinese children and provide today’s readers a window to China's traditional values and beliefs.
				Good Luck Life: The Essential Guide To Chinese American Celebrations And Culture
				Our Price: $14.95 Sale Price: $13.95 You Save $1.00!
				Provides a readable introduction to the legends, customs, traditions, festivals, and celebrations of Chinese culture and heritage, complete with trivia, drawings, charts, tables, recipes, and informative sidebars. Original. 20,000 first printing.
				Exploring Chinatown: A Children's Guide to Chinese Culture
				Our Price: $22.95 Sale Price: $19.95 You Save $3.00!
				This is a book for kids, families, and teachers who’d like to get more out of their visit to Chinatown than an “I escaped Alcatraz” t-shirt or oversized pencil. It’s a guide to what makes Chinese culture, well, “Chinese.” It covers almost everything, from how to order in a restaurant, and what not to do with chopsticks, to how to write characters in Chinese and how to make potstickers. It tells about herbal medicine shops, temples, and tearooms.

Labels: chinese new year

In Chinese Factories, Lost Fingers and Low Pay - Good article.

Labels: china food safety, China Toys, china's future

Great article in the NY Times on Giving Disorganized Boys the Tools for Success. Basic point is by being organized including the infamous back-pack (black hole) will lead to better grades. The a students being tutored range from Middle School to High School.

Great quote from the article:

“I would ask, What’s the class that troubles you the most?” she said. “I would ask to see the binder, and it would always be the messiest.”
Ms. Homayoun Green Ivy Educational Consulting based in the San Francisco area.

Related Products:

A Is For Admission by Michele A. Hernandez
Acing The College Application by Michele A. Hernandez
How to Get Straight A's In School And Have Fun At The Same Time
50 Successful Harvard Application Essays

Labels: Education, Improving Grades

It's an obsession among many Chinese in the US for their kids as is getting them into the right school. Harvard, Stanford, Berkeley are preferred.

At a dinner at my daughter's Elementary School, the Principal was very proud that graduates of the associated High School went to Loyola, Citrus, Mt. Sac, Cal State Fullerton, and equiv. The problem was for the Chinese parents, those colleges were either community colleges or local colleges, or state. Good colleges, but not at the level of a Harvard, Stanford, Princeton, MIT, or even UCLA. This type of misunderstanding probably explains why most students left the school after fifth grade to go to public schools for Middle and High School.

After school programs are also done by many ethnic Chinese parents in order to help their children's chances into great schools. As well as the outside activities. And yes, some students do get burned out with all the extra activities they are doing.

I have started a new Category for School Advice Books such as getting good
Grades, Study Skills, and College Admission Books .

Related Products:

A Is For Admission by Michele A. Hernandez
A Is For Admission updated and revised by Michele A. Hernandez. The insider's guide to getting into the Ivy League and other top colleges. A former admissions officer at an Ivy League university reveals the secrets of being admitted to the nation's best schools, covering such topics as the importance of SAT scores and how applications are reviewed and interpreted. English. Paperback. 266 Pages.

Acing The College Application by Michele A. Hernandez
Acing The College Application by Michele A. Hernandez. Offers a step-by-step guide to the college application process with an analysis of the common application, a detailed study of application essays, and a look at common myths and misconceptions about the on-campus interview. English. Paperback. 262 Pages.

How to Get Straight A's In School And Have Fun At The Same Time
How to Get Straight A's In School And Have Fun At The Same Time by Gordon W. Green Jr., Ph.D. English. Paperback. 224 Pages.

50 Successful Harvard Application Essays
50 Successful Harvard Application Essays. What worked for them can help you get into the college of your choice. A compilation of fifty effective and diverse college application essays that offer students insights into what makes an essay compelling. English. Paperback. 180 Pages.

Labels: Education

A comparison of American and Chinese Supermarkets in the US.

Chinese Supermarkets that my family shops at include Hong Kong Supermarket and 99 Ranch Market. Both have live fish in them.

American Markets I have been at recently include Stater Brothers, Von's Pavillion, and Albertsons.

Vons Pavillion is aiming at higher quality goods. Albertson's has the annoying Video Monitors in my local store. It reminds me of a bad experience with Teddy Ruxpin when working as a sales clerk in a department (it was kept on during the entire day so you heard the same songs time after time and the gears were grinding).

Characteristics of Chinese Markets in the US:
1. Live Fish, Shrimp, etc.
2. Chinese Bakery with small loaves of bread that are freshly baked. Breads includes raisin, red bean, walnut, etc. Crust is very thin (like white bread).
3. 99 Market has a recording announcing sales (bilingual).
4. Chinese Vegatables
5. Regular American products (baby food, etc.) are usually more expensive than if bought in an American restaurant.
6. Mexican food section
7. Cashiers in our area are Chinese, with Hispanics doing the bagging.
8. Often have a Chinese Food Area (99 market always does, HK Market does not but located in a shopping center with lots of restaurants).
9. Will cook your fish for you in the store.
10. Vegetables are usually better priced than in US stores.
11. Usually located in a plaza with lots of Chinese restaurants and other stores.
12. When built from scratch, have a modern style of architecture that is ostentatious (pretty fancy).

Note where these Chinese Supermarkets are located, Rowland Heights area, has 5+ Chinese Supermarkets, 3 Korean, 1 Japanese, and 3 American. American supermarkets have been closing and Chinese and Korean supermarkets have moved into their stores. When we first moved to the area there was only one store in the area selling Chinese groceries and it was small. Amazing the changes!

Chinese Food Related Items:
Cooking with Kids - Exploring Chinese Food, Culture, and Language DVD, for around 12 years old.
Dim Sum For Everyone! - Super cute book!
The Ugly Vegetables by Graced Lin - Another cute book where you find out more about Chinese Vegetables!

Labels: Chinese Food, chinese supermarkets

China's 2008 Rose Parade Entry Pictures































































The float by Rount Table of Southern California Chinese Association, and Avery Denison "One World One Dream" won the Theme Trophy in the 119th Rose Parade in Pasadena on Tuesday January 1, 2008. (Photo by Keith Durflinger).

From the San Gabriel Tribune

Labels: Rose Parade

Taiwan's Pasadena's Rose Parade Float





























































China Airlines "Carnival of Taiwan" float won the International Trophy in the 119th Rose Parade in Pasadena on Tuesday January 1, 2008.

From the San Gabriel Tribune

Labels: Rose Parade

The city of Cerritos also had an entry in the Rose Parade that won a prize at the Pasadena Rose Parade.

Tournament Volunteers Trophy: Best Floral Design of Theme 35 feet or Under - City of Cerritos: Theme: Festival of Lanterns; Fiesta Parade Floats

Cerritos has a large proportion ethnic Chinese in their population. Why - schools. Their school district has some schools that require testing to get into and are highly ranked. Some families move halfway around the world to go to school here. Some of my daughter's friends from Kindergarten the Rowland Heights area moved to Cerritos because of their great school system.

Related Posts:
Chinese American Parental Involvement - Mentions a book about the experience teaching at a High School in Cerritos.

Related Products:

Moonbeams, Dumplings & Dragon Boats: A Treasury of Chinese Holiday Tales, Activities & Recipes

Good Luck Life: The Essential Guide To Chinese American Celebrations And Culture

Exploring Chinatown: A Children's Guide to Chinese Culture

China's entry:
Theme Trophy for excellence in presenting parade theme: Roundtable of Southern California Chinese-American Organizations and Avery Dennison's "One World One Dream"

Taiwan's Entry:
International Trophy for most beautiful entry from outside the continental U.S.: China Airlines Ltd.'s "Carnival of Taiwan."

China Airlines is currently owned by the government of Taiwan.

Previous Related Posts:
China's Rose Parade Challenges
China Airlines Rose Parade Entry
Kids Dressing in Middle School - Fashion Bullies
China Airlines Rose Parade Entry

Related Links:
Picture of the billboard against China's Rose Parade Entry
Planned protests at Rose Parade against China's float from CBS
Dissent on Parade - from Pasadena Weekly (local paper).
Avery Press Release on their float - Avery's web sites had nothing on their float, not even a picture. One way to attempt escaping controversy.

Questions:
Why is it so hard to find a picture of China and Taiwan's Float? I"ll add these later as they come available. Looks like the Tournament of Roses site has bandwidth issues.

Humerous:
1. When I did a search on google for a picture of China Airlines 2008 Rose Parade entry, my blog came up. I did a previous post on China Airlines Rose Parade Entries with the pictures I could find noting my frustration on finding photos.

2. The float builder for both the Taiwan and China floats is the same. Festival Artists (which needs to improve their web site. Sugestions - Pictures! List of clients with drawings. Other float builders are doing this).

Related Products:

Moonbeams, Dumplings & Dragon Boats: A Treasury of Chinese Holiday Tales, Activities & Recipes

Good Luck Life: The Essential Guide To Chinese American Celebrations And Culture

Exploring Chinatown: A Children's Guide to Chinese Culture

Labels: Rose Parade