Soft Power, Hard Truths: From Akihabara to Katsucon
Article/Journalism, Books, Celebrity, Japan Trends, Roland Kelts, Writers 
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The latest Soft Power, Hard Truths Daily Yomiuri column from Roland Kelts (author of Japanamerica) in which he describes taking his Tokyo U. students on a field trip to Akihabara (i.e., the heart of otaku culture) reflecting on their reactions.
WIT Life #29: International Recognition to Wipe Away Domestic Woes
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WITLife is a periodic series written by professional Interpreter/Translator/Writer Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken, 2000-03). Recently she’s been watching Fujisankei’s newscast in Japanese and sharing some of the interesting tidbits and trends together with her own observations.
For those of you who didn’t tune in to the Academy Awards last night, Japan cleaned up in all the categories in which it received nominations. Going against heavily favored Waltzing with Bashir from Israel, Director Yojiro Takita’s Okuribito (Departures) took the award for Best Foreign Language Film. Since the establishment of this award in 
1957, Japan Read More
By Kirsten Phillips (Niigata-ken, 2005-08)
This rant is in reaction to yet another Gaijin in a Strangeland vehicle starring Brittany Murphy. Ramen Girl. The mythicization of Japanese culture or should I say, Tokyo. “Put tears in the broth.” Augh!
I suppose there is some part of us that wants it to be true. After all, we don’t want the Japanese to be “just like us”. Noooo. That’s buzzkill for the exotic hard on. Barred behind a wall of cultural differences, a needy bitch of a language barrier and a society oft coined as “repressed”, it’s downright fucking magical to buy into the wax on/wax off charms of the Floating Kingdom. Where there are question marks, there are bound to be intrigue and lies and after all, what is Hollywood for?
Ohhh, Mr. Keisuke (yes, you have a first name) Miyagi:
You have forever damned your race with your awesomeness! Your humble janitorial exterior and invincible hidden dragon have created fantastical expectations for Japanese everywhere in cinema. Japanese people must all have two identities now. Every ramenya san must be a tough yet secretly kindhearted sage, every high school girl a porn star, every businessman a casual ninja, every sushi artist a contraband swordsmith for the likes of vengeful blondes. Come now. Let us stop making a fetish out of the entire nation. I propose some indie film maker focus on the truly lethal demographic of Japanese society:
Obaasans.
These dames are not. fucking. around. Read More
JETAA NY Quarterly Magazine (JQ) Interviews JetWit
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From the 2009 Winter Issue of JQ, the JETAA NY Quarterly Magazine:
JetWit.com: Taking the JET Alumni Community to Another Level
After spending the last several years growing the JETAA NY Quarterly newsletter into a full-fledged alumni magazine, Steven Horowitz (Aichi-ken, 1992-94) began focusing his efforts on JetWit.com last fall. JQ caught up with Steven to learn more and see how he’s doing.
JETAANY Quarterly: Hey, what is a JetWit, anyway?
It’s just “JET” plus the acronym for “Writers Interpreters and Translators.” I started the WIT e-mail group last May to find more writers for the JET alum publications and also to help freelance translators find more work opportunities. I wanted to create a sort of public face for the WIT group to be able to do these things on a more consistent basis. I also wanted to create an online archive of newsletter articles that editors from other JETAA chapters could easily access and copy and paste for their own chapter newsletters.
JQ: Then why does JetWit look like an elephant?
[Laughs] I knew I wanted a Japanese-style mascot, so I went to graphic designer and Web developer Zi Mei (Saitama-ken, 2002-05) because I’d seen some of the excellent characters he created on his site (sugarcloud.com). I told him I wanted a cute little furry animal, and he somehow he came back with an elephant that he named A.J. which I love anyway. Read More
Bankruptcy Bill #11 – Organic Bankruptcy
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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.
By Kirsten Phillips (Niigata-ken, 2005-08)
Dudes, I have a confession.
I am scared shitless of the yaki-imoyasan.
Granted, I am a petit pussois and many things creep me out. But I will chalk this up to sheer cultural ignorance and unexplainable skeevies. The potato man is out to get me.
For those not in the know, a yaki-imo is a roasted sweet potato and a yaki-imo ya san is the elderly chap designated by some hellish force to peddle it. Oh, the sweet potato man ain’t lookin’ for your money or to warm your cramped fingers, friend. Nah-uh. He wants your soul. You’ve been warned. Read More
From the 2009 Winter Issue of JQ, the JETAA NY quarterly magazine:
A JET Alum’s Experience Makes its Way to the Stage: JQ Catches Up With Playwright Randall David Cook
By Lyle Sylvander (Yokohama-shi, 2001-02)
Three years ago, the Gotham Stage Company produced the terrific play Sake with the Haiku Geisha by JET alum Randall David Cook (Fukui-ken, 1991-93). The entire evening consisted of five one-act vignettes, all involving cross-cultural conflict among expatriates in Japan. As I noted in my review for JQ at the time, what made the play so successful was its exploration of the psychological issues confronting the main characters.
At first glance, Randall David Cook does not fit the profile of the typical playwright. As a human resources specialist with an international MBA, he was working in a corporate capacity at Newsweek magazine when two random events set him on a play writing course.
“I was dissatisfied with most of the new plays I was seeing at the time,” Cook says in his native South Carolina accent. “I kept insisting that I could do better, and one of my friends set me up on the challenge. At the same time, I was heartbroken over a relationship that had just ended and writing seemed like a good way for me to channel my emotions into a more productive pursuit.” Read More
A JET alum shared with me a very moving and thought-provoking column by Haruki Murakami on Salon.com. Murakami recently decided to accept a literary award in Israel despite the potential for controversy and a boycott of his books. He addresses the issues in his column.
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Julie Matysik (Yamanashi-ken, 2006-07) is a freelance copy editor and aspiring in-house editor who recently moved to NYC with her husband (also a JET alum). She is the midst of an internship in editing/publishing/writing. Editorial Pursuits chronicles her job hunting efforts, experiences and lessons learned.Well, it’s official: I am in internship junkie!
My inability to land a full-time job in publishing has left me with little options but to continue to pile on the internships. And my newest addition: Skyhorse Publishing.
In mid-January I realized that I wanted to gain experience in an actual publishing company (in addition to my literary agency internship) and so I turned to Craigslist.com for help. Finding an add for Skyhorse Publishing, a company I’d never even heard of before, I wrote my letter of interest and forwarded my resume and heard back a few days later. After a brief phone interview, I was awarded Read More
Request: Seeking self-employed, freelancers, telecommuters, and start-up entrepreneurs who work at home or at coffeeshops for a graduate research project
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This request is from Lee-Sean Huang (Oita-ken, 2003-06), webmaster for both JETAA NY and JetWit. He is currently a masters candidate at the Interactive Telecommunications Program at New York University.
Hi JetWit’ers,
I am working on a research and design project targeting the self-employed, freelancers, entrepreneurs and others who work at home, in coffeeshops, or in a co-working space (basically anywhere that is not a traditional office environment). If any of the above describes the way you do your work, I would love to ask you a few questions about your physical work space and professional networking needs.
Please email me at leesean /atto/ nyu /dotto/ edu if you are interested in helping out. I could meet in person over coffee, schedule a quick interview over the phone or we could just have a conversation over email, whatever works for you. Thanks!
Traveling Tastebuds: Rice Spoon: An Alternate Use For Those Who Don’t Have Mixers
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Devon Brown (Tokyo-to, 2002-04) is a freelance writer with a focus on food. You can read more of her writing at TravelingTastebuds.blogspot.com.
Call me jealous because I am. I do not have a mixer. I have neither the counter space nor an extra $300 for one of those beautiful KitchenAid mixers that comes in so many lovely shades. The only good thing about being mixer-less, is that I get to be really self-righteous when it comes recipes that call for mixers, but could easily be done by hand. For those of you who suffer from this same affliction, there is a nice consolation prize.
Living in Japan I baked a lot…
*Click here for the rest of the story and a great cookie recipe.*
Writing Opportunities: Sushi and Sake; JETAA Chicago
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Two writing opportunities: One for LA-based Sushi & Sake Magazine and the other for the JETAA Chicago Newsletter.
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Dear JET Alumni,
Greetings from the JETAA Southern California Media Coordinator (Toyama-ken, 1995-98). I act as the liason with Sushi & Sake Magazine, a monthly publication that features a JET alumni column in each of its publications. Sushi & Sake’s primary goal is “to introduce Japanese culture to the non-Japanese residents of Southern California with particular emphasis on cuisine, language, its business community, and geographic regions…” I am seeking JET alumni who would like to share stories about the JET experiences (in 450-500 words or less) and be featured in Sushi & Sake. This is a great way to impart one of your unique memories about your time in Japan with a broad readership. You don’t have to be a professional writer…just willing to put some words down on paper and send them to me. Please contact me with any questions and dozo yoroshiku onegai shimasu!
Sincerely,
Elizabeth White, JETAASC Media Coordinator
slo_white /atto/ msn /dotto/ com
*****************
My name is Elizabeth Friedman and I am the new editor of the JETAA Chicago’s newsletter. I would like to invite all JET alums to submit articles for the spring edition. I have listed some ideas for submissions, but feel free to send in whatever you feel would be appropriate to include in a JETAA newsletter.
The deadline for submissions is March, 20th.
Please send your articles to me at jetaachinewsletter /atto/ gmail /dotto/ com.
Submissions can include:
–Comic strips
–Restaurant reviews
–Japanese cultural activities in Chicago (music, movies, theater, art exhibits, etc…) reviews or thoughts on
–Announcements about JET alumni (marriages, graduations, jobs, etc…)
–Short stories (maybe a series–one page per issue), poetry, visual art, etc… done by JET alums that was inspired by Japanese culture
–Reflections on returning home from your JET experience
Feel free to contact me at jetaachinewsletter /atto/ gmail /dotto/ com if you have any questions.
Rose Symotiuk was a JET in Akan, Hokkaido from 2003-2005. She works in publishing in New York City. You can follow her blog at http://roseinnewyork.wordpress.com/.
Repeat After Me is the first fiction book by Rachel DeWoskin. DeWoskin went to Beijing in 1994 to work as a public-relations consultant and was quickly recruited to star in a Chinese nighttime soap opera, titled Foreign Babes in Beijing, which was watched by approximately 600 million viewers. At the time, she was one of the few foreign actresses working in mainland China and was considered a sex symbol. You can pick up her popular book about her experiences, titled Foreign Babes in Beijing: Behind the Scenes of a New China, here.
Repeat After Me follows the lead character, Aysha, a young New Yorker, after a mental breakdown causes her to drop out of Columbia and start teaching at an English school. There she meets Da Ge, a young Chinese man with his own problems. The story starts somewhere in the middle and unfolds in wonderous ways: from Aysha’s parents’ divorce, to her life in Beijing years later with a stunning surprise, always returning to her tragic, vivid romance with Da Ge.
Splashed across this story in bright color is China, in mouth watering Read More
NPR’s Studio360 Features Bankruptcy Haiku by Steven Horowitz
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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.
Listen to one of Bankruptcy Bill’s haiku read on the “Haiku-ing It To The Man” feature on NPR’s Studio360. (Starts with about 1:31 left in the feature.)
Here’s the story lead from the Studio360 website:
Haiku-ing It to the Man
A few weeks ago we asked listeners to submit original haiku inspired by the state of the economy. Dozens poured in: our own unscientific proof that the financial crisis is a boon for creativity. Here are some of our favorites. (http://www.studio360.org/episodes/2009/02/13)
JETAA Southeast (South Carolina Subchapter) Shinnenkai Recap
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Via the JETAA Southeast e-mail newsletter:#
JETAA/SE South Carolina Chapter Shinnenkai Recap
South Carolina Sub-Chapter holds first event
By Daniel Stone
Saturday, January 24th, 2009
Clemson, SC– With several small and informal gatherings with alums meeting separately, JET alums residing in South Carolina finally met everyone under the same roof.
Clemson University’s Roderick International House was the site of this year’s Shinnenkai. Four South Carolina JETs and one Georgia JET were joined by ten other “Friends of JET”. This group ranged from a Japanese expatriate from Kyoto working in Greenville as a sushi chef, a German businessman who works in Greer, a Japanese grad school student from Fukui, a TESOL instructor from Seneca, a Japanese translator working for a textile company in Gaffney, a Personal & Business Coach from Greenville, and several undergraduate Clemson students that were interested in learning more about the JET Program.
“Back in 2007, Lee Ferrell and his wife, Cheryl, met me Greenville. We ate at a Korean restaurant on Woodruff Rd. The meeting was very Read More
