Grad school? Journalism? Time to question assumptions says TheDigitalists.com
Advice, Blogs, Graduate School, Writers 
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My brother Greg, an online marketing/media expert, has another thoughtful post on TheDigitalists.com, this one offering some perspectives on graduate school and journalism, two topics of interest to many a JET alum. (Note as well the hint of sibling rivalry.)
Grad Schools and the Shifting Job Landscape
Lots of people go to grad school for the wrong reasons. My brother, who has a JD but no longer practices, has made it his mission in life to dissuade as many aspiring law-school applicants as he can. And rightly so. Far too many liberal-arts grads assume law school is the only answer to the question, “What do you do with a BA in English?”
Meanwhile, New York magazine is reporting on journalism schools, specifically Columbia, experiencing yet another “existential crisis.” (For those keeping score, this is the 54,978th such crisis in the last 30 years.) And, of course, business schools are grappling with the fact that the main industry to which they have funneled most of their graduates has suddenly imploded.
I think the fundamental problem these programs are facing is that, as professional schools, they were set up to train graduates in a profession. Lawyer. Journalist. Banker. Marketer. The problem is, the definitions of those jobs are not only changing, they’re blurring together.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF THE POST
Update: As if on cue, there’s an article in Sunday’s NY Times titled “Is It Time to Retrain B-Schools?“
Hey Folks,
Fresh from the desk of the JETAA Ongaku Connection Group, here are a few shows around NYC for music fans. Click here for more info or to join the group.
NOTEWORTHY SHOWS
– NIPPON JAZZ NYC Meet-Up – 1st & 3rd Sunday of the month, 8pm –
11pm. Yours truly hosts an event bringing together Japanophiles and
emerging Japanese talent.
Blue Owl Cocktail Lounge, 196 Second Ave @ 12th St., NYC 10003, $5
cover
www.meetup.com/Nippon-Jazz-NYC-Meetup-Group/
– CHIEMI NAKAI AFRO-CUBAN JAZZ PROJECT @ KITANO March 19, 2009, 8:00pm
– 11:00pm, The Kitano, 66 Park Ave. @38th St., NYC 10016, $15 min. www.myspace.com/chieminakai
– JAPAN NITE ’09 @BOWERY BALLROOM March 22nd, 8pm, 6 Delancey St. New York, NY 10002, NY, New York 10002, www.myspace.com/japannite
– ASOBI SEKSU @ BOWERY BALLROOM April 2, 8pm, 6 Delancey St. New York, NY 10002, NY, New York 10002, www.myspace.com/asobiseksu
Kirsten’s World: “Shake Up the Picture The Lizard Mixture”
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By Kirsten Phillips (Niigata-ken, 2005-08)
Many things in Japan were my crack cocaine. Tarako, choco an-pan, hijiki, and heated toilet seats all soon became things I could not smile without. I would do lines of kinako dust in the morning just to ease my peanut butter withdrawal. Hon maguro became my sushi requirement. In my rusty little hamlet by the sea there was no shortage of shiokara (salted squid guts) to go with the copious amounts of booze that somehow found me. The stuff was pretty tasty as long as you ate it with a heaping dose of denial.
But of all things Japanese that would make me their bitch, I owe my sanity to one ambrosial substance: 玄米茶。
That’s brown rice tea for those not in the know.
Friends, a steaming cup of genmai-cha on a colorless cold morning feels like a mini three day weekend. It tastes like autumn in a cup, like being hugged by your ample armed mother. Please have some. Read More
Here’s a JET-related tax question I received from a recent returnee. Feel free to help this JET alum (and likely many others) by posting to the comment section of this post or emailing to jetwit at jetwit dot com.
“I didnt file taxes for 2007 while I was in Japan, and I was wondering if I should file now for 2008…and if so, should I back file 2007’s as well?? Or should I just forget about it and not file at all. (That has actually been the advice from a couple of accountants, but I dont know if they full understood what I was talking about.)“
What do people suggest?
Translator’s Corner: Keep Our English Out of Your Japanese Puns!
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By translator and writer Jamie Graves (Saitama-Ken 2002-2003)
The Japanese language is notorious for having a relatively small number of phonemes compared to other major world languages, which can be a hindrance when having to learn new sounds outside that structure (the infamous “L” and “R” distinction), but results in a tremendous number of homonyms. While there are slight changes in emphasis between the words for “hair”, “god” and “paper”, they are all kami. I think we can safely assume that the Japanese have been making linguistic tricks like this into bad puns for centuries, if not millennia.
When the Chinese writing system first crash landed onto the Japanese language around fifteen-hundred years ago no one could have predicted the historical fallout: an explosion of bad puns. As Chinese characters were gradually adapted to Japanese, all of the tones that had previously distinguished words like“mǎ” (“horse”, 馬) from “má” (“hemp” 麻) were flattened out. In a language already rife with nearly identical words, this produced a new explosion of homonyms, the building blocks of puns. (The Chinese also use these for puns. In an effort to mess with government censors the phrase 草泥马, “grass-mud-horse” has gone viral on the Chinese blogosphere because the same sounds with different tones mean… something not really printable here. ( This page explains the whole phenomenon.)
Case in point, the furious Japanese tongue twister “Uraniwa niwa niwa, niwa niwa niwa, niwatori ari”. (裏庭には二羽、庭には二羽、鶏あり). Niwa in Read More
Job: Account Manager for Japanese company
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A job listing from Actus Consulting:
Account Manager(Japanese Company)
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Our client, Japanese company seeks an Account Manager for immediate hire.
Job Duties:
1) Performs all aspects of sales activities including maintaining existing accounts and also developing new clients by cold calls, visiting the clients, participating in trade shows.
2) Coordination between clients and other departments within the company such as purchasing, engineering, manufacturing, R&D, quality control. and logistics.
3) Provide technical information, quotation, and other information to customers and prepares contract accordingly.
4) Communicates with suppliers in Japan about technical, shipping, pricing, and other matters to respond to inquiries/requests from clients
5) Budget planning and managing
6) Prepares and manages/updates sales reports, customer information on regular basis
7) All other duties as needed Read More
From the 2009 Winter Issue of JQ, the JETAA NY quarterly magazine:
By Rick Ambrosio (Ibaraki-ken, 2006-08)
It was one of our last big nights in Tokyo. A well dressed crew hailing from Ibaraki descended on Roppongi for our last big hurrah. In a couple months we would all go back to our homes, be them England, Australia, America, etc. and this weekend was an all out affair. Expensive dinners, nice hotel, Jacuzzi Karaoke, Tokyo Bay cruise…it was one for the books.
Saturday night of this luxurious weekend found us at club Alife, rumored to be a hot spot for famous Japanese actresses and models. To be honest, I don’t think I’d know them if I saw them, but it was still cool to be partying where they party, and with a ¥3,000 entrance fee, it had better be fun. There were about 15 of us in total running around, having drinks, dancing, enjoying ourselves. Little did we know it would end up being one of our most talked about nights in JET. Read More
JetWit Blog Beat by Crystal Wong
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JetWit Blog Beat by Crystal Wong (Iwate-ken, 2002-04) is a recurring item featuring posts from the blogs of various JET alumni. Crystal is a former English-language writer for Kyodo News. She now works as a media planner in Chelsea and sorely misses all her favorite midtown ramen joints.
Robert P. Weston (Nara-ken, 2002-04) recommends this book as a must read for all aspiring readers.
JET alum Lars Martinson shares a piece of Japanese whimsy. If only the elevators in New York (or anything else, for that matter) were that friendly! (Note: For a good laugh, make sure to read the first comment to Lars’ blog post.)
Jobs: Director, China Programs (Cal-Long Beach) and Director, Off-Campus Study (Swarthmore)
Jobs Comments Off on Jobs: Director, China Programs (Cal-Long Beach) and Director, Off-Campus Study (Swarthmore)
Via the Chronicle of Higher Ed’s international programs job listings:
3/11/2009
- California State University at Long Beach (California) : Director, China Programs
Learn more in our Employer Profiles - Swarthmore College (Pennsylvania) : Director, Off-Campus Study
Tokyo As Seen Through the Eyes of Foreigners (film review)
Article/Journalism, Blogs, Career, Cartoon/Illustration, Reviews, Uncategorized, Writers Comments Off on Tokyo As Seen Through the Eyes of Foreigners (film review)
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By Rick Ambrosio (Ibaraki-ken, 2006-08) and Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken, 2000-03)
Sunshine Cinema is now showing the movie Tokyo!, a compilation of three short films from the French directors Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) and Leos Carax (Lovers on the Bridge) and the Korean director Bong Joon-Ho (The Host). Gondry himself made an appearance at two showings of the film when it debuted last weekend, for a Q&A session after the 7:30 show and introducing the movie at the 10:30 show. He spoke in his typically quirky way about his time shooting in Tokyo, and how things like the spaces between buildings and how Japanese people falling asleep on each other on the train fascinated him. Before starting the show, he expressed relief that his Japanese producers weren’t there so he wouldn’t feel bad about forgetting to thank them.
Tokyo! kicks off with his contribution of “Interior Design,” a Kafkaesque story about trying to find your place in the world. The story revolves around a young couple that Read More
A JET alum recently asked if anyone is aware of any scholarships for Americans to study in Japan, particularly in connection with TESOL or applied linguistics.
Any suggestions? Please post in the comments section of this post for the benefit of others, or feel free to e-mail jetwit at jetwit dot com.
Yoroshiku onegaishimasu.
Bankruptcy Bill #13 – Facebook 2
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Bankruptcy Bill is a cartoon created by Steven Horowitz (Aichi-ken, 1992-94) and Gideon Kendall. To see more strips as well as original bankruptcy haiku, go to bankruptcybill.wordpress.com.
James Kennedy “Librarian” essay sets blogosphere atwitter
Blogs, Books, Career, Celebrity, Humor, Interview/Profile, Roland Kelts, Uncategorized, Writers Comments Off on James Kennedy “Librarian” essay sets blogosphere atwitter
Following James Kennedy’s (Nara-ken, 2004-06) recent post of his essay describing the heretofore unpublicized lifestyles and rituals of librarians (a “cult” of which Kennedy’s own wife is admittedly a member) in connection with the American Library Association’s awarding of the “Best Book for Young Adults” to Neil Gaman, author of Coraline, rather than Kennedy’s The Order of Odd-Fish, the blogosphere was atwitter with commentary about Kennedy, who will be appearing in NYC March 22 for the JET Alumni Author Showcase along with Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99) and Robert P. Weston (Nara-ken, 2002-04)).
The Handless Poet’s Maria Alexander said:
I’m buying James Kennedy’s book, The Order of Odd-Fish. I’m buying it entirely because of this blog post. James Kennedy could quite possibly be the funniest man in America. http://www.thehandlesspoet.com/blogger/2009/03/james-kennedy-is-all-growed-up.html
School Library Journal’s Elizabeth Bird wrote:
Bad news for my husband. I have just fallen head-over-heels in love with James Kennedy, author of the YA novel The Order of Odd-Fish. Ladies and gentlemen of the liking men variety, I advise you to be very careful in reading this blog post of his which tells (in a fashion) of his experience with the last ALA Media Awards. He had me at “conniving sidelong lope” and now I feel compelled to read every damn word the fellow has ever written, starting from the early scribbles he scrawled out as a toothless mewling babe. Ba-bump goes my little heart. I also feel inclined to give him a bad review with the sole intention of hoping that he will write about me and do complicated things with my name. As I read through it I almost want to dedicate this entire post solely in the purpose of getting you to read this blog. Go. Now. Read. This. Man. I, for my part, am off to read his book. Even if it is YA. http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/blog/1790000379/post/1130041713.html?nid=3713
Jobs: English Teaching in Japan and Korea – Aclipse
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Aclipse is seeking English teachers for Japan and Korea. More info below. To apply go to: http://www.aclipse.net/apply_now.html
JETAA Toronto Art Exhibit
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JETAA Art Exhibit
Showcasing Japan-inspired art by former JET English teachers
JETAA Toronto is has put together a terrific event that both taps the JET alumni community’s talent and shows off the wonderful accomplishments as well.
When: Saturday, March 28 (7:30 pm) & Sunday, March 29 (1:30 pm)
Where: Gladstone Art Bar, 1214 Queen St. W., Toronto, ONFeeling sentimental about the land of rice and the rising sun? Never been and interested in an artistic adventure?
Come join Toronto’s JET Alumni Association for our first ever art show on Saturday, March 28. The art exhibit, titled Natsukashii (Japanese for sentimental), will feature a wide range of Japan-inspired art by our talented alumni members.
Have a drink with us as you admire their creativity, listen to tunes spun by a deejay and reminisce about the good times you had teaching Japanese kids the difference between Rs and Ls.
Those not members of JETAA are also welcome.
Doors at the Gladstone Art Bar, located on 1214 Queen St. W., open at 7:30 p.m. Cover is $5.
For questions, please email Amber Hildebrandt at jetaatoronto.sports@gmail.com.
More info on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/reqs.php#/event.php?eid=55540550813&ref=nf
