Mar 11

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

Mar 10

JET Alumni Author Section at Kinokuniya – more photos

Books, Celebrity, Events, JETAA Chapters, Roland Kelts, Writers Comments Off on JET Alumni Author Section at Kinokuniya – more photos

Here are a few more photos from the photo-op last Friday to promote the JET Alumni Author section at Kinokuniya in anticipation of the JET Alumni Author Showcase (set for March 22; e-mail authors at jetaany dot org to rsvp).

The books featured include:

• Japanamerica – Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99)
• The Order of Odd-Fish – James Kennedy (Nara-ken, 2004-06)
• Zorgamazoo – Robert P. Weston (Nara-ken, 2002-04)
• Learning to Bow – Bruce Feiler (Tottori-ken, 1989-90)
  
• Importing Diversity:  Inside Japan’s JET Program – David L. McConnell
• Hitching Rides with Buddha (originally titled Hokkaido Hitchhiking Blues) – Will Ferguson (Nagasaki-ken, 1991-94)
  

*See a more complete list of JET alumni authors and their works at http://jetwit.com/wordpress/library/authorsbooks/

Stop by Kinokuniya and take a look!

L to R: Noriko Furuhata (Consulate), John Fuller (Kinokuniya Store Manager), Toru Mukaikubo (CLAIR), Hirotaka Ono (Consulate), Tony McCormac, Steven Horowitz, Amber Liang, Roland Kelts, Akira Sugiyama (Japan Information Center), Ryoko Kobayashi (CLAIR)

Read More

Mar 10

KRAZY! Roland Kelts to speak at Japan Society (NY) this Thursday

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Mar 9

SWET Workshop: Problems with Presentations? The Doctor is In! (Tokyo)

Career, Events, Translating/Interpreting Comments Off on SWET Workshop: Problems with Presentations? The Doctor is In! (Tokyo)

Via the e-mail list for the Tokyo-based Society of Writers, Editors and Translators:

Problems with Presentations? The Doctor is In!

If you usually work with words, but are wondering how to make the most of your presentation software, this hands-on seminar is for you.

Date: Saturday, March 28, 2009 10:15 – 16:00 (lunch break 12:00-13:00)
Place: Sophia University, Library room 524
Price: 10,000 (SWET members), 15,000 (non-members)
Presenters: Hugh Ashton & Shuji Yoshida
Language: English
Participants: Up to 12 Read More

Mar 8

Kinokuniya sets up JET Alumni Author section

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In anticipation of the upcoming JET Alumni Author Showcase (set for March 22; e-mail authors at jetaany dot org to rsvp), Kinokuniya has set up a table featuring books by JET alumni authors.  The table is on the ground floor in the main aisle, right by the magazine section and features the following books:

• Japanamerica – Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99)
• The Order of Odd-Fish – James Kennedy (Nara-ken, 2004-06)
• Zorgamazoo – Robert P. Weston (Nara-ken, 2002-04)
• Learning to Bow – Bruce Feiler (Tottori-ken, 1989-90)
  
• Importing Diversity:  Inside Japan’s JET Program – David L. McConnell
• Hitching Rides with Buddha (originally titled Hokkaido Hitchhiking Blues) – Will Ferguson (Nagasaki-ken, 1991-94)
  

*See a more complete list of JET alumni authors and their works at http://jetwit.com/wordpress/library/authorsbooks/

Stop by Kinokuniya and take a look!

Other Kinokuniya-related information that may be of interest to you:

1. Kinokuniya now offers an Anime/Manga Membership Card – for $15 you get 10% off all of your purchases.  You can find the application form at the checkout desk in their stores.
2. Anime Day @ Kinokuniya – Sunday March 15  (1073 Avenue of the Americas & 40th St. in NYC) – 11am to 6pm – First 10 fans dresses as Zetsubou-Sensei will win Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei Vol. 1 from Del Rey Manga!
3. Japanese Young Artists’ Book Fair_3rd – Feb 15 thru March 8 – Comics, graphic books, picture books, art books, phtoograph books, poetry books, art object books and more at 4 different locations in NY:  Kinokuniya (Midtown), Printed Matter (Chelsea), St. Mark’s Bookshop (E. Village), Spoonbill & Sugartown, Booksellers (Williamsburg) and

Mar 7

JETAA DC Bookclub Update

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Via JETAA DC:

Hi all,

After a great first meeting in February, our book club is officially alive and kicking. The March meeting will be on Monday, March 30 at 6:30 location TBA (please let me know if you have any thoughts). We will be discussing Out by Natusuo Kirino.

Here is a brief summary courtesy of Publishers Weekly:  “Four women who work the night shift in a Tokyo factory that produces boxed lunches find their lives twisted beyond repair in this grimly compelling crime novel, which won Japan’s top mystery award, the Grand Prix”

Let me know if you are interested in coming or if you have any questions. Here are some discussion
questions to consider along the way.

I hope to see you on the 30th.  Happy Reading,

Jillian

Mar 5

Japanese art and anime festival at the Orlando Public Library

Events, Japan Trends, JETAA Chapters Comments Off on Japanese art and anime festival at the Orlando Public Library

Via JETAA Florida:

There will be a Japanese art and anime festival at the Orlando Public Library Friday, March 13 through Saturday, March 14. Check it out.   http://ld-e.com/jclub/J.Fair2009.jpg

Mar 4

JET Alumni Author Showcase: Kelts, Kennedy and Weston – March 22!

Books, Celebrity, Events, JETAA Chapters, Roland Kelts, Writers Add Comment (5)

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Big news to announce.  This event is a direct outgrowth of the Writers Interpreters Translators (WIT) Group and JetWit.com.

Click on image to go to jetaany.org/authors to access full-size PDF of the poster.

Read on for more details about the event and the authors.

Read More

Feb 26

Roland Kelts upcoming appearances: Pasadena, CA, Hobart College and NYC

Books, Celebrity, Events, Roland Kelts, Writers Comments Off on Roland Kelts upcoming appearances: Pasadena, CA, Hobart College and NYC

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For the West Coast JET set out there, Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99), author of Japanamerica, will be speaking this Sunday, March 1, at the Pacific Asia Museum in Pasadena.  Full details here:  http://www.pacificasiamuseum.org/calendar/calendar-next.htm

And for the Upstate NYers, on March 4 Roland will be at Hobart and William Smith Colleges.  Full details here:  http://www.hws.edu/academics/fisher_center/fc_events.aspx#09s_kelts

And a reminder for the East Coast Elitist JET Alumni community that on Sunday, March 22 Roland will take part in the first ever JET Alumni Author Showcase, along with James Kennedy (Nara-ken, 2004-06), Robert Weston (Nara-ken, 2002-04) and Randall David Cook (Fukui-ken, 1991-93).  (Space is limited.  RSVP to authors at jetaany dot org.)

*To rsvp via the event listing on Facebook, just click:  http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=56484206967&ref=nf

Feb 25

Bloody Panda (the band) at Santos’ Party House 2/26

Events, Japan Trends, Music Add Comment (1)

JET alum and NY-based Japanese band otaku Ilya Blokh is going to this show on Thursday night and welcomes anyone else who’s interested to join him.

Bloody Panda – A doom band from NYC with a Japanese female vocalist @ Santo’s Party House (96 Lafayette St in Manhattan), 2/26, 7pm.

BLOODY PANDA
Driven by the mournful, melodic vocals of Japanese frontwoman Yoshiko Ohara, Bloody Panda’s transcendent sound finds its roots in the dirge-like power of Swans, the amplifier-worshipping textures of Earth, and the ethereal tension of Skepticism, as well as in various traditional styles from around the globe. The band synthesizes its esoteric influences into focused, powerful, anthemic songs, hailed by Decibel Magazine as “Khanate-caliber doom metal” and by CMJ New Music Monthly as “New York microtonal funeral doom”.

See their MySpace page here:  http://www.myspace.com/bdpanda

Feb 20

JETAA Philly: KyoDaiko

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Via the JETAA Philadelphia subchapter:

On Friday, March 6, 2009 there will be what looks like an amazing and fun taiko performance taking place – cosponsored by KyoDaiko, a group in which Therese Stephen (fellow Philly JETAA member) is a member.  We are hoping to support this performance as a group!  Please let me know if you are interested in going, and we can hopefully arrange for a fun night out!  Please see the details below…   Thanks!

Renay & Natasha

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http://streettalkin.com/asian-arts-initiative-and-kyo-daiko-taikoproject/

This is to let you know Philadelphia’s first community taiko group, KyoDaiko, is co-sponsoring, with the Asian Arts Initiative, a performance by Taiko Project at the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts. We’d love it if you could support the event by coming, or by passing this information along to your friends and family!

Asian Arts Initiative and Kyo Daiko present TAIKOPROJECT in concert

Friday, March 6, 2009, 8 p.m. Read More

Feb 18

Japan Society (NY) presents KRAZY! (March 13 to June 14) – Reduced ticket price

Art, Article/Journalism, Cartoon/Illustration, Events, Uncategorized Comments Off on Japan Society (NY) presents KRAZY! (March 13 to June 14) – Reduced ticket price

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KRAZY! The Delirious World of Anime + Manga + Video Games

KRAZY! (March 13-June 14) now contains a whopping 200 objects; we’ve reduced the ticket price from $12 to $10 ($8 students/seniors and FREE for children under 16); on the weekends we will hold back-to-back screenings of 7 full-length anime films in our 262-seat theater free to ticket-holders, and patrons will be able to sit and play the featured video games (including a console table Pac-Man) as well as browse hundreds of manga comic book titles.

See the full details below:

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Pac-Man, Paprika, Super Mario, and Afro Samurai: Welcome to New York!

Japan Society Gallery Celebrates the Japanese Art Forms of Anime, Manga, and Video Games in Spring 2009

New York, NY — Once considered the preserve of an insular youth culture, within the last decade Japanese animated cartoons (anime), comics and illustrated narratives (manga), and interactive video games have migrated into the mainstream, with reverberations both high and low. In a first for New York City, Japan Society explores this phenomenon in KRAZY! The Delirious World of Anime + Manga + Video Games from March 13 through June 14, 2009. Read More

Feb 17

JETAA Book Clubs: D.C. Re-born

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The JETAA book clubs continue to make a comeback.  JETAA DC is the most recent chapter to revive its book club, following in the footsteps of New York, Northern California and Portland.

What is your chapter’s book club reading?  And did I leave any chapters out?  Let us know in the comments section of this post.

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First Meeting of the Reincarnated Book Club

Hi All,

I know it is rather short notice, but I finally ironed out the details for the first meeting of the Japan themed book club.

Book:  Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman by Haruki Murakami– This is a collection of 24 short stories. Even if you only get chance to read a few of the stories, please join us. Read More

Feb 3

Roland Kelts in Boston for “Grave of Fireflies” Event Feb. 11

Academic, Article/Journalism, Audio, Blogs, Books, Celebrity, Events, Interview/Profile, Japan Trends, Reviews, Roland Kelts, Uncategorized, Writers Comments Off on Roland Kelts in Boston for “Grave of Fireflies” Event Feb. 11

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Roland Kelts (Osaka, 1998-99), author of Japanamerica, will be at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston on Wednesday, February 11 for a screening + discussion of the animated film Grave of the Fireflies.  More details here.  (Side note:  Lyle Sylvander (Yokohama-shi, 2001-02) wrote an excellent and succinct review of Grave of the Fireflies for the Spring 2008 JETAAA NY Newsletter.)

BONUS:  Roland’s story on Japanese Youth Pathologies for WNYC’s Studio 360 will air on NPR nationwide as part of this coming weekend’s special Japan edition of the show.  (See the recent JetWit post on last week’s Studio360 Japan feature.)

Correction:  This post previously listed the date of the MFA event as February 9, but it has now been corrected to February 11.  Apologies for any confusion.

Jan 30

Hofstra Marketing and International Business Career Fair

Career, Events, Jobs, Networking, Uncategorized Comments Off on Hofstra Marketing and International Business Career Fair

I received the below information in an e-mail.  I have no connection to Hofstra, so no idea how they got in touch with me.  It looks rather JET-relevant, though, so take a look if you’re in the market.

Hofstra University Frank G. Zarb School of Business

MARKETING & INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS CAREER FAIR

Sponsored by The Career Center at Hofstra University, Alpha Kappa Psi – The Professional Business Fraternity, The Hofstra American Marketing Association, The International Business Association, and The Advertising Club

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

11 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Student Center, Multipurpose Room

TO REGISTER FOR THE FAIR… Read More