Guilty Verdict for Edmund Ko (in National News) Retired Asian American Judge to Fill Insurance Post (in Bay Area News) Streaming Media--Primetime and Online (in Business) The Big Bang of Bay Area Butoh (in A&E) Emil Amok: A Sudden Eraption (in Opinion)

Lead Editorial

---

Butoh and the Art of Publishing

Strange things happen in San Francisco. And this week was no exception as butoh dancers nationwide gathered for an annual festival of this mysterious art form, which sprang from the collective despair experienced during post-World War II Japan. In traditional butoh, performers adopt a spare style and technique. Heads are shaved. Bodies are naked and powdered white, while movements drag along, reflecting the conscious, the subconscious, dreams and nightmares, and perhaps even mere existence. One dance critic said of butoh: “In this grotesque ugliness and corruption…there can be found an irreducible beauty and sweetness…” Considering its origins, this dance celebrates the humanity that quietly lurks, bringing a sense of calm amidst chaos.

For the staff at AsianWeek, the quiet waiting of our boss James Fang kept our office sane, as all around us rumors and accusations swirled during the Hearst trial. Beneath all the hype and hoopla, perseverance and patience won out. With the Examiner transfered to the Fang family, Asian Americans have reason to cheer: It will be the first mainstream paper in a major metropolitan area owned by an Asian American family. Expect the best from the new Examiner. Expect our voices, and those of every other minority group, to echo on its pages. After critics’ pessimistic views regarding the future of the Examiner come to a silent halt, there will be “irreducible beauty and sweetness” for the Fangs and all San Franciscans who value diversity.