Jul 29

Life After the B.O.E.: Have an Awesome Time!

Life After the B.O.E. is a comic series about the JET experience by David Namisato (Aomori-ken, 2002-2004), a professional illustrator currently living in Toronto.
Visit David’s website at www.namisato.org.

Have an Awesome Time!


Jul 5

Manga tells incredible tale of Hiroshima atomic bombing

A quick book recommendation from current Hiroshima-ken JET Gail Cetnar Meadows

Now and then I read a book that’s so good I want to tell everyone I meet about it, and I’ve recently finished one such book. For those interested in learning more about the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, I highly recommend a graphic novel written by atomic bomb survivor Keiji Nakazawa. Barefoot Gen: A Cartoon Story of Hiroshima is a 10-volume graphic novel loosely based on Nakazawa’s experiences and those of other Hiroshima residents who survived the bomb. The book taught me a lot about what happened in Hiroshima in the year’s following World War II — things beyond what I learned visiting Hiroshima’s Peace Memorial Museum or listening to the accounts of hibakusha. For those who are interested, I’ve written a piece on the Wide Island View talking a little more about it and encouraging others to check it out.


Mar 29

Bankruptcy Man vs. Mortgantua, Part 7 – by Steven Horowitz

Bankruptcy Man and Bankruptcy Bill are cartoons created by Steven Horowitz (Aichi-ken, 1992-94) and Gideon Kendall.  For more cartoons, original bankruptcy haiku and even a bankruptcy country song, go to bankruptcybill.us.

Do you work in bankruptcy or restructuring?  Now you can join the JET Alumni Restructuring & Bankruptcy Group on LinkedIn.

Additionally, if anyone would like to take a stab at translating the cartoon into Japanese for JetWit’s Japanese fans out there, feel free to post in the comments section of this post.  Some cultural explanation might be helpful as well, given that Japanese bankruptcy laws are very different than the U.S.


Mar 19

Roland Kelts column in Daily Yomiuri: Censorship of manga – What’s ok?

Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99), author of Japanamerica, has published his latest SOFT POWER/HARD TRUTHS column for The Daily Yomiuri–this one about last month’s sentencing of American Chris Handley for possession of ‘obscene manga’ in Iowa–and this month’s proposal by the Tokyo Government to censor ‘virtual porn’ (read: manga and anime) in Japan.

Is this another example of ‘gaitsu‘–Japan being affected by foreign pressure?

Column is here:  http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/arts/20100319TDY11101.htm


Mar 3

Roland Kelts to speak at Kinokuniya (NY) on March 6 as part of “Ponyo Day”

Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99), author of Japanamerica, will be speaking at Kinokuniya in NYC as part of “Ponyo Day.” The event is this Saturday from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm, and Roland will be speaking at 4:00 pm.  (This appearance hot on the heels of his Atlanta book signing on March 4!)


Mar 2

Bankruptcy Man and Bankruptcy Bill are cartoons created by Steven Horowitz (Aichi-ken, 1992-94) and Gideon Kendall.  For more cartoons, original bankruptcy haiku and even a bankruptcy country song, go to bankruptcybill.us.

Do you work in bankruptcy or restructuring?  Now you can join the JET Alumni Restructuring & Bankruptcy Group on LinkedIn.

Additionally, if anyone would like to take a stab at translating the cartoon into Japanese for JetWit’s Japanese fans out there, feel free to post in the comments section of this post.  Some cultural explanation might be helpful as well, given that Japanese bankruptcy laws are very different than the U.S.


Feb 28

Tom Baker (Chiba-ken, 1989-91) is a staff writer for The Daily Yomiuri. A big part of his beat is the Pop Culture page, which covers manga, anime and video games.  You can follow Tom’s blog at tokyotombaker.wordpress.com.

Here is his latest manga review, of Ooku by Fumi Yoshinaga:

With its shrinking population, chronically depressed birthrate and rising average age, Japan is fated for major social changes in the fairly near future. How that will play out remains to be seen, but Fumi Yoshinaga’s manga series Ooku: The Inner Chamber is an example of how popular art can tap into real-world social anxieties.

Ooku is set in an alternate-history Japan that also faces a demographic crisis, but of a different type. In the 1630s, a mysterious epidemic called Redface Pox kills 75 percent of Japan’s men, while leaving women physically unharmed.

The disease lingers, the gender imbalance never rights itself, and Japanese society comes to resemble a colony of bees or ants, in which the large female majority does every kind of work while the male minority are seen as delicate creatures valued only for their “seed.”

With women forced to share the limited supply of men, the institution of marriage largely disappears, as only a rich woman can keep a husband all to herself. The wealthiest and most powerful woman of all is the shogun, who keeps a crowded male harem in the innermost chambers–the Ooku–of Edo Castle…

Read the rest of the review here.


Dec 17

BAPCPA Man #17: BAPCPA Man vs Mortgantua – Part 5 – Mortgage Cramdown Fail

BAPCPA Man and Bankruptcy Bill are cartoons created by Steven Horowitz (Aichi-ken, 1992-94) and Gideon Kendall.  For more cartoons, original bankruptcy haiku and even a bankruptcy country song, go to bankruptcybill.us.

Do you work in bankruptcy or restructuring?  Now you can join the JET Alumni Restructuring & Bankruptcy Group on LinkedIn.

BM17_BMvsMortg#5-MtgCrmdwn

Additionally, if anyone would like to take a stab at translating the cartoon into Japanese for JetWit’s Japanese fans out there, feel free to post in the comments section of this post.  Some cultural explanation might be helpful as well, given that Japanese bankruptcy laws are very different than the U.S.


Dec 16

Roland Kelts’ Japanamerica reviewed by Fan-to-Pro blog

japanamericaHere’s a nice review of Japanamerica (by Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99) on the blog Fan-to-Pro:  The Blog of Professional Geekery, which describes itself as “a blog about jobs, career and economics for ambitious fans, progeeks, Otariimen and other members of the Modern Literati.”

http://www.fantopro.com/blog/2009/12/book-review-japanamerica.html

Just in time for the holidays, in case you’re looking for that special gift for that special JET friend or Friend of JET!


Dec 8

BAPCPA Man #15 – BAPCPA Man vs Mortgantua Part 4 – Mortgage Cramdown!

BAPCPA Man and Bankruptcy Bill are cartoons created by Steven Horowitz (Aichi-ken, 1992-94) and Gideon Kendall.  For more cartoons, original bankruptcy haiku and even a bankruptcy country song, go to bankruptcybill.us.

Do you work in bankruptcy or restructuring?  Now you can join the JET Alumni Restructuring & Bankruptcy Group on LinkedIn.

BM16_BMvsMortg#4-MtgCrmdwn

Additionally, if anyone would like to take a stab at translating the cartoon into Japanese for JetWit’s Japanese fans out there, feel free to post in the comments section of this post.  Some cultural explanation might be helpful as well, given that Japanese bankruptcy laws are very different than the U.S.


Dec 2

Here are two videos of Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99), author of Japanamerica, from a keynote speech he gave at the University of Missouri in St. Louis back in October.

In the first, he talks about the connection between manga and anime and traditional Japanese line-based aesthetics–or what Takashi Murakami now calls “Superflat”:

And in the second video, he discusses the fundamental differences between American visual iconography and Japanese sensibilities, with a reference to Pokemon in America and McDonald’s in Japan:


Nov 29

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 in online marketing in New York and relishes her constant hunt for the best cheap(ish) eats in the city.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving weekend and that you’re all enjoying autumn. Let’s take a peek at what our favorite JET bloggers have been posting lately.

JET alum Suzanne Kamata (Tokushima-ken, 1988-90) at Gaijin Mama shares a decidedly Japanese first in twenty one years of living in Japan, as well as an eye opening take on a day with a wheelchair in Japan.

Kevin Kajitani (Kyogo-ken, 2006-07) over at iSpeakJapanese has moved to Japan – check out the first video from his new home here.

JET alum Lars Martinson finishes up his series on the beauty of East Asian calligraphy. Check out part one and part two.

Here’s another delici4098807470_f29b12a88aous recipe derived from a productive bout of insomnia from Elizabeth White (Toyama-ken, 1995-98), adventure writer.

Just in time for the holidays – JET alum Chen Reichert has new holiday cards at botodesigns.


Nov 28

BAPCPA Man and Bankruptcy Bill are cartoons created by Steven Horowitz (Aichi-ken, 1992-94) and Gideon Kendall.  For more cartoons, original bankruptcy haiku and even a bankruptcy country song, go to bankruptcybill.us.

Do you work in bankruptcy or restructuring?  Now you can join the JET Alumni Restructuring & Bankruptcy Group on LinkedIn.

BM14_thanksgiving_BM

(Click image above to see larger version.)

Additionally, if anyone would like to take a stab at translating the cartoon into Japanese for JetWit’s Japanese fans out there, feel free to post in the comments section of this post.  Some cultural explanation might be helpful as well, given that Japanese bankruptcy laws are very different than the U.S.


Nov 16

Roland Kelts radio interview with Tyler Brule of Monocle Magazine on manga and Japanamerica

RolandKeltsMonocle***********

Here’s a radio interview Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99), author of Japanamerica, did in Tokyo this past weekend with Tyler Brule, founder and editor of the UK-based Monocle magazine, about manga in Japan and overseas, and Japanamerica:

http://www.monocle.com/The-Monocle-Weekly

The Japanamerica segment is introduced at 1:00 and starts at 22:00


Nov 12

Pittsburgh-Steelers-300109Just received a subarashii email from Smitha Prasadh (Tokushima-ken, 2005-07) who is part of an effort to revitalize JET alum activities in Pittsburgh-shi (which is officially part of the JETAA New York chapter).  JetWit wants to say good luck to “yins guys” (that’s Pittsburgh-ben, fyi :-) and keep us updated on how everything is going.

A small but determined group of us in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA are attempting to jump-start the JETAA – New York sub-chapter here. We’re located kind of in the middle of a rough triangle composed of New York, Washington DC, and Detroit (all of which are at 200-400 miles away), and would like to restart the subchapter to establish a local JETAA presence, form ties with the Japanese community, and spread awareness of the JET Programme.

In the last couple of weeks, we’ve gotten official permission from JETAANY and established affiliations with the Japan-America Society of Pennsylvania and the Asian Studies Center at the University of Pittsburgh, and we’re currently in the process of choosing officers and getting the word out. (We’ll be putting up a website in the near future, too.) At the moment, we know we’ll be hosting a Nihongo Dake dinner (date/time/location TBA) and quarterly events/meetups.

Like other JETAA chapters, we’re open to all JET alums, prospective applicants, and any friends of the JET Programme. We’re based in western PA, but people in neighboring areas who are also too far from their regional JETAA chapters to participate actively (eastern Ohio, West Virginia, etc.) are welcome to join us.

Any interested parties can send an e-mail to pittsburghrep [/at/] jetaany [/dot/] org.

Smitha Prasadh (Tokushima-ken, 2005-07)

Note: JetWit just checked out Smitha’s website (http://skprasadh.com) and realized that Smitha also does sugoi design work (graphic and web), illustrations and photography.


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