More to the Story of Jackie Robinson West

Southern Chinese Lion Dancing for the New Year

"Southern Chinese lion dancing comes from an ancient tale,"Andrew Boryga wrote Friday for the New York Times "Lens" blog. "Terrorized by a mythical monster, a horde of villagers descended from the mountains and huddled under an enormous monster of their own in an attempt to repel the beast. Year after year, to the accompaniment of firecracker bursts and drums, the ritual is repeated as protection against evil spirits. At least that's one version.

"'Everyone tells it differently,' said Jason Lam.

"For him, lion dancing was an easy transition from martial arts, and from middle school to college. He was a regular practitioner of the quick-footed routine performed under heavy and intricate costumes. Like most lion dancers, he took to the stage during anniversaries, birthdays, store openings and parades for celebrations like the Chinese New Year, Feb. 19 this year.

"While studying at the International Center of Photography last year, Mr. Lam decided to step outside the lion costume to view the tradition he said serves as a hinge between his Asian ancestry and American upbringing. . . ."

"SNL40" Sets Record, but How Many Latinos?

"It's hard to capture people's attention for three-and-a-half hours (four if you include the red carpet), but Saturday Night Live's 40th Anniversary Special did just that, and it easily broke two Nielsen Twitter TV Ratings records,"Adam Flomenbaum reported Monday for LostRemote.

However, Félix Sánchez, chairman and co-founder of the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts, noted Sunday on the Latino Rebels blog that "SNL has never hired a Latina cast member, yet they have brown-faced actors to play Latinas in skits. Only two Latinos have ever been cast on the show: Horatio Sanz and Fred Armisen, and the show's recent Latino-themed skits have only highlighted the problems." On Twitter, some guessed how long it would be before a Latino appeared.

In a scripted portion of the show, Ellen Cleghorne, one of only a handful of black female SNL alums, asked Jerry Seinfeld, "So, how many black women were on the Seinfeld show?" Seinfeld replied, "Good point, Ellen, we did not do all we could to cure society's ills, you are correct. Uh, mea culpa. [He turns away.] Other questions?,"Ross Miller reported Monday for theverge.com.

Short Takes

• "Bobby Brown in a statement today slammed members of his family who have been providing updates to the media about his daughter, Bobbi Kristina, without knowledge of her condition,"Janelle Griffith reported Saturday for NJ Advance Media for NJ.com. "'At this time it is requested that the media cease speaking with unauthorized members of the family,' reads a statement from Brown's attorney. . . . None of them have firsthand knowledge of Bobbi Kristina's treatment and the medical staff at Emory University Hospital has not communicated with them.' . . ."
  
  
• "Telemundo news correspondent Carlos Botifoll is leaving the network after a 22-year run based out of the Los Angeles bureau,"Veronica Villafañe reported Friday for her Media Moves site. "'I have been in the same job, same bureau, doing the same thing for 22 years. Even though I've done things that interest me, I felt it was time for a change, to try something new,' Carlos tells Media Moves. . . ."
  
  
• "Reportage [broadcast] this week by the Swiss national television shows the case of Azeri journalist and human rights defender Emin Huseynov, secretly hidden in the Swiss Embassy in Baku (Azerbaijan) since last August due to a wave of repression in the country," the International Federation of Journalists reported on Monday.
  
  
• "Ecuador's media regulator on Friday ordered the daily newspaper El Universo to issue a public apology over a political cartoon satirising a lawmaker from President Rafael Correa's party," the International Press Institute reported on Friday. "In a statement, the Superintendent of Information and Communication (Supercom) said the cartoon amounted to 'socio-economic discrimination' against the Afro-Ecuadorian community and therefore violated Ecuador's Communications Law. . . ."
  
  
• "Christopher Vambo had been accused by Catholic church officials and others of being responsible for the 1992 murder of five American nuns,"T. Christian Miller reported Friday for ProPublica. "Prince Johnson had overseen the torture and death of Samuel Doe, the former president of Liberia. Neither man was ever charged or otherwise held responsible. Today, Johnson is a legislator in Liberia and Vambo is a security guard for one of the country's largest communications firms. Frontline and ProPublica found both men and talked with them about their pasts and the elusive question of justice in Liberia. . . ."
  
  
• The International Press Institute said Monday it was calling on Colombian authorities "to immediately open an investigation into the murder of radio journalist Luis Peralta Cuéllar. Peralta was shot various times while leaving the offices of his radio station, Linda Stereo 95.1, on Saturday, Feb. 14, in the department of Caquetá. According to the Press Freedom Foundation (FLIP), a Colombian NGO, Peralta, 63, told a colleague that he had received death threats but had not believed them to be significant and did not alert authorities. . . ."
  
  
• "Libertito 'Bert' Pelayo, 78, of Jamaica Estates, the founder of a weekly Filipino newspaper, the Filipino Reporter, died after a long illness on Feb. 3,"Liz Rhoades reported Thursday for the Queens (N.Y.) Chronicle. "Born in the Philippines, he was a graduate of the Far Eastern University in Manila. He first worked as a reporter for the Manila Times and later was a correspondent in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. . . ."
  
  

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