WIT Life #129: Maui Manju and other Hawaii discoveries
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WITLife is a periodic series written by professional Writer/Interpreter/Translator Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken CIR, 2000-03). She starts her day by watching Fujisankei’s newscast in Japanese, and here she shares some of the interesting tidbits and trends together with her own observations.
I find myself lucky enough to be finishing my current interpreting assignment here in Honolulu. I head home tonight but was able to spend my last afternoon with my local JET friend, who took me to the Don Quijote behind my hotel. I was expected the kind of zakka they have in Japan, but here it is a full-fledged supermarket stocked with a plethora of Japanese and other goods!
One item I found there that I have never Read More
JET alums at Japan Writers Conference in Tokyo
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The ４th annual Japan Writers Conference will be held Oct. 10-11 in Tokyo with 30 writers giving 50-minute presentations about the artistic and business sides of their respective fields, which inlcude fiction, poetry, journalism and even EFL textbook writing. At least four of the presenters are former JETs.
The venue is the Ekoda Campus of Nihon University College of Art. You can find full details by visiting http://www.japanwritersconference.org/or following the event on Twitter via http://twitter.com/JapanWritersCon
Here are some slightly shortened versions of the official descriptions of presentations to be made by JET alums:
DWAYNE LIVELY (Niigata-ken, 1996-99) “My Freeware Life.”
The lecture focuses on my experiments with various freeware writing programs, some of which promise to help improve the writing process. The first part of the lecture introduces a number of freeware writing programs that have been suggested by and/or designed by fellow writers. I will explain the results of my experiments with each program and will demonstrate how easy, or not, they are to use, how they changed my writing process and whether or not I intend to keep using them. Next, I will describe what happened when I attempted to follow a handful of “how to write a novel” plans offered free online. Finally, I will introduce the moral if the lecture, including what I learned and what I managed to accomplish during all the experiments.
Dwayne Lively’s fiction has appeared in Twister, Kansas Quarterly, and The MacGuffin. His non-fiction and reviews have appeared in Transitions Abroad, Literary Magazine Review and online at Notebookism.com. He has been a writer, teacher and editor for the better part of 20 years and worked and taught in Japan, the USA and Albania. In his dwindling free time he’s been finishing up a novel and, on occasion, writing the online journal The Crazy Japan Times ( http://www.crazyjapan.com).
SUZANNE KAMATA (Tokushima-ken, 1988-90): “Marketing for Beginners.”
Getting your book into print is the easy part. Publishing it – making your work known to the public – takes a bit more effort. These days, writers are often expected to submit a marketing plan along with manuscripts, and most publishers expect writers to take an active role in marketing. So how do you market a book if you’re living in rural Japan, far from your target audience? Suzanne Kamata, author of five books with meagre advertising budgets, will suggest some easy, cheap, and not so obvious ways for expats to spread the word about their books.
Suzanne Kamata again: “Kickstart Your Creativity”
Suzanne Kamata will lead participants in writing exercises meant to warm up the writer and/or kickstart creativity when the muse is absent. Bring a notebook and a writing implement.
Suzanne Kamata is the author of the novel Losing Kei (Leapfrog Press, 2008) and editor of three anthologies – Love You to Pieces: Creative Writers on Raising a Child with Special Needs (Beacon Press, May 2008) The Broken Bridge: Fiction from Expatriates in Literary Japan (Stone Bridge Press, 1997), and Call Me Okaasan: Adventures in Multicultural Mothering (Wyatt-Mackenzie Publishing, 2009). She also serves as fiction editor of the popular on-line journal literarymama.com from Tokushima, Japan, where she lives with her family.
TODD JAY LEONARD (1989-92): “So you want to publish an EFL textbook?–Four Points of View to Consider when Writing a Proposal–The Myths and Realities of EFL Publishing in Japan.”
Most likely, every language teacher in Japan has (at some point during his/her tenure) contemplated writing a textbook to fill a void in the market…in that constant search for the perfect, all encompassing textbook. What are publishers looking for in the current market? What appeals to editors who ultimately decide which titles go to production and which ones do not? What are the salespeople on the front lines hearing from their market base? What must an author do in order to get his/her book published? This presentation focuses on these very questions, offering inside insights from all the various points of view that must be considered when writing a proposal to publish a textbook–the publisher, the editor, the salesperson, and the author.
Todd Jay Leonard has been actively involved in book publishing for twenty years and has published twenty books. He lives, writes, and teaches on the southern island of Kyushu, where he is a university professor at Fukuoka University of Education. He has published extensively in academic journals, magazines and newspapers on cross-cultural, historical, and Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) themes.
TOM BAKER (Chiba-ken, 1989-91), “Interviewing Creative Subjects: Actors, Authors, Artists and Auteurs.”
Interviewing a creative subject requires thorough preparation to elicit original and interesting quotes. My talk will explain how to do the research, write the questions and conduct the interview. It will briefly touch on turning quotes into a story. A well-prepared interviewer will be familiar with the subject’s previous interviews, online self-expression and body of work. The interviewer will look for themes and connections in the work to ask probing questions about its meaning. The interviewer will prepare questions ranging from basic to technical to off-the-wall, but will use the list only as a guideline to the conversation. The interviewer will tolerate digressions (within reason) and allow thoughtful silences to bear fruit. The interviewer will look for local angles and connections to current events.
Tom Baker has been a staff writer for The Daily Yomiuri since 2001, and has interviewed Sylvester Stallone, Liv Tyler, Marlon Wayans, John Woo, Nicholas Sparks, Barry Eisler, Brian K. Vaughan, Michael Sowa and many others. He is a coauthor of Tokyo Chic and The Sushi Lover’s Cookbook.
Job: Teaching Position at Doshisha International (Kyoto)
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Via JETAA Western Japan LinkedIn group:
Tenured position from April 1st, 2011 at Doshisha International Jr./Sr. High School for fluent Japanese-English bilingual teacher. Teach classes for Returnee students, homeroom and club duties. Check school homepage for details.
Job: Fujisankei Communications International (FCI) Position
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via the JETAASC monthly newsletter:
Looking to get your feet wet in the entertainment industry?
Fujisankei Communications International (FCI) seeks a temporary worker to assist their TV development department. The ideal candidate is Japanese/English bilingual, both written and spoken. This candidate will assist in compiling materials to present to Hollywood executives.
Duties include translating TV program material (game shows and comedies) mainly from Japanese to English, as well as, interpreting in meetings between Japanese and American TV executives. Business-level/native-level fluency in both languages is desired. Knowledge in Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Final Cut Pro is a plus. This is a temporary position (9 months) with no benefits.
Please send resume and cover sheet to aoki@fci-la.com. No calls, please.
Interview with ‘Assholes Finish First’ author Tucker Max
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Author Tucker Max. (Gallery Books)
By JQ magazine’s Justin Tedaldi (CIR Kobe-shi, 2001-02) for Examiner.com. Visit his NY Japanese Culture page here to subscribe for free alerts on newly published stories.
In 2006, Duke Law School grad Tucker Max published I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell, a real life roundup of his drunken, sexual misadventures that unexpectedly shot him to the top of the New York Times Best Seller list and cemented him as the leader of the “fratire” (male chick lit) literary genre.
Following last year’s release of the film version of IHTSBIH, Max is back with a new digest of debauchery, Assholes Finish First. The book’s launch this week kicked off a coast to coast 34-date signing tour, and I spoke with the controversially hilarious author about his interest in Japan and future plans.
What kinds of things do you enjoy about Japanese culture?
Well, obviously, I love Japanese food. My favorite TV show of all time, without exception, is Iron Chef. Not the stupid American version; Iron Chef Japanese, like, the real one; the one that was on in Japan…my DVR for years was set to record almost every single Iron Chef episode. I can talk to you about Battle Porcini, when [Chef Masaharu] Morimoto did the porcini crème brûlée…the original Iron Chef is, quite literally, along with The Wire, my favorite TV show of all time.
Have you ever been to any of Morimoto’s restaurants?
I actually know Morimoto pretty well. Like, in a total weird coincidence, his restaurant in Philadelphia, Morimoto’s…the GM of that place for a couple of years was my buddy Paul Ardaji. So Paul knew that I loved Iron Chef Japan; he brought me in one night [with] Morimoto and we had dinner. And Morimoto, for whatever weird reason, like, we kind of hit it off and became friends. And Morimoto actually did a charity event with me in New York.
And this is a true story…this [is] actually going into my third book; it’s not in the second book. But Morimoto and I—it was basically like we were supposed to be, like, celebrity bartenders, and so of course everyone wanted us to mix, like, cool shots and stuff…so we did it like Iron Chef. He would have them pick an ingredient so people would bring, like, nacho chips over from the kitchen, and then he would make a shot with nacho chips that was, like, amazing…we got fu*kin’ plowed. Anyway, long story short, one guy over there got belligerently drunk, and he got into kind of like into a scuffle with one of the bartenders who worked there, and ended up getting me and him kicked out of my own charity event…I could not have been, like, more happy that I got kicked out of something with Iron Chef Japan when I’m not Japanese; it was the best.
Read the rest of the interview here.
Career: JETAA Northern California Career and Networking Forum (CNF) – October 3
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Posted by JETAA Northern California’s Mark Frey:
Join us for a great opportunity to meet professionals from both Japanese and U.S. organizations that play active roles in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond, as well as recent JET returnees and fellow alumni. The JET Alumni Association of Northern California (JETAANC) Career & Networking Forum will take place on Sunday, October 3, 2010, at the Kabuki Hotel, 1625 Post Street, San Francisco, from 1:30-5:00pm. Registration begins at 12:30pm. A networking happy hour will follow starting at 5pm in the hotel’s O! Izakaya lounge. The event is free for JET alumni and non-alumni may attend for $5.
The event will feature keynote speaker Andrew Hattori (Miyazaki, 2002-04), JETAANC Board Member and member of the Public Policy Institute of California; a panel discussion featuring JET alumni; and a networking session where attendees can meet representatives from various organizations, companies and members of the Bay Area professional community. During the networking session, participants will also have the opportunity to discuss resumes and job hunting techniques with alumni and recruiting professionals.
Recently returned JETs cannot afford to miss this event. For veteran alumni, this is a great opportunity for you to make career contacts, catch up with old friends, and help recently-returned JETs—your second chance to be a sempai all over again! If you are interested in attending, RSVP here: http://tinyurl.com/3xsg2lr.
For more information on this and other JETAANC events, contact president@jetaanc.org or visit www.jetaanc.org
Job: Japanese to English in-house reviewer/coordinator (Full Time)
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Job posting via MultiLing Japan. Posted by Dipika Soni (Ishikawa-ken, 2003-06). Dipika currently works as an in-house translator for PFU (a Fujitsu company) in Kahoku-shi, Ishikawa-ken. She is also the vocalist for the Japanese hardcore punk band DEGRADE.
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Job Position: Japanese to English in-house reviewer/coordinator (full time)
Job Details:
MultiLing Japan Y.K., located in beautiful downtown Yokohama is looking for a native US English speaker with translation experience to join our team. The right candidate will have a strong background in mechanical, chemical, or electrical engineering, an eye for detail, and the ability to adapt to the working culture of a small Japanese company. We will support a visa for the right candidate. Salary is based on performance during a 3-month training/evaluation period. Areas of focus include patent, IT, and general legal translation. Intermediate to advanced computer skills are appreciated.
Contact:
Please send your resume and cover letter as well as a sample of your translation to the email address provided.
マルタイリングジャパン有限会社
info-japan@multiling.com
http://www.multiling.com
横浜市中区海岸通4-17東信ビル
045-315-3135
Person to Contact: ビゲロー or 江嶋
Job: Program Officer for Japan Leadership Program (US-JAPAN Foundation)
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Job posting via JET alum Elizabeth Gordon (Iwate-ken 2003-05). Posted by Dipika Soni (Ishikawa-ken, 2003-06). Dipika currently works as an in-house translator for PFU (a Fujitsu company) in Kahoku-shi, Ishikawa-ken. She is also the vocalist for the Japanese hardcore punk band DEGRADE.
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Job Position: Program Officer for Japan Leadership Program at US-JAPAN Foundation
The US-Japan Foundation is announcing a search for an energetic, self -starting, well-organized person to serve as program officer for the US-Japan Leadership Program.
The Leadership Program, now entering its 12th year, brings together some 20 American and 20 Japanese leaders in the age group 28 -42 for intensive weeklong conferences each summer, alternating between Seattle and Kyoto.
For a full description of the program, visit our website at www.us-jf.org
Click ‘Read More’ for more job details and requirements
Department of Education to the Rescue? Proposed CFR Changes to account for “Program Integrity” and “Gainful Employment”
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Matt Leichter (matt [dot] leichter [at] gmail [dot] com) (Saitama-ken 2003-05) is a renegade attorney who plays by his own rules. He operates a think tank of one, The Law School Tuition Bubble, where he archives, chronicles, and analyzes the rising cost and declining value of legal education in the United States. He also maintains the “Bankruptcy Legal Topics,” and, “Bankruptcy Billables,” sections for Steven Horowitz’s Bankruptcy Bill. For further reading regarding JETs and the law, he recommends JETs with J.D.s.
Unlike Japan, the United States has no trouble filling graduate degree programs, as this NYT article on Japanese higher education points out. The student debt situation in the U.S. is so dire that the Department of Education is adopting a new regulation to require some schools to demonstrate their graduates are employed and paying down their debts after graduation. Can this rule apply to the ever more expensive law schools?? Find out here.
Japan America Society Roundup 9.27.10
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Gail Cetnar Meadows (Hiroshima-ken, Hiroshima-shi 2007-10), co-founder of Hiroshima JET webzine the Wide Island View, shines a light on some of the upcoming events of Japan America Societies…
Godzilla and Japanese Culture – Since the monster’s first appearance more than 50 years ago, Godzilla has become a cinematic icon and a globally recognized symbol of Japan. Southern Methodist University’s new dean and Godzilla expert, Dr. William Tsutsui, will give a talk exploring the serious lessons to be learned from the 28 Godzilla films and the abiding worldwide popularity of the King of the Monsters.
- Date: Tuesday, Oct. 5
- Time: Registration at 6:30 p.m.; Lecture at 7 p.m.; Reception at 8 p.m.
- Place: McCord Auditorium, 3rd Floor, Dallas Hall, Southern Methodist University, 3225 University Drive, Dallas
- For more information: http://www.jasdfw.org/downloads/godzilla.pdf
Japan Career Day – This fall JASM will host its first Japan Career Day, aimed at students and young professionals looking to use their experience with Japanese language and culture in a future profession. This event will feature speakers, panel discussions and workshops on how to leverage your Japan experience into a successful career. Cost is $5 for JASM members or $10 for non-members. Following the Career Day will be a Sushi Social networking event where attendees can network with established Japan professionals from around the metro area. The social costs $30 for JASM members or $35 for non-members.
- Date: Saturday, Nov. 6
- Time: Career Day from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Sushi Social from 5 to 7 p.m.
- Place: Career Day will be at Macalester College, Alexander Hill Ballroom, 1600 Grand Ave., St. Paul. The Sushi Social will be at Sakura restaurant, 350 Saint Peter St., St. Paul.
- For more information or to RSVP: Call the JASM office at 612-627-9357 or e-mail jasm (at) us-japan (dot) org.
US-Japan Business Luncheon – The keynote speaker at this luncheon will be Shuhei Aoki, Bank of Japan’s General Manager for the Americas and Chief Representative in New York. Mr. Aoki will explore the topic “Can Japan Prosper Again?” With China having passed Japan as the world’s second largest economy, Aoki will address questions about whether Japan can regain its economic momentum by expanding trade with China, or whether the U.S. is a more reliable partner.
- Date: Thursday, Oct. 28
- Time: Registration at 11:30 a.m.; Lunch and Networking at noon; Lecture and Q&A at 12:30 p.m.
- Place: The Union League of Philadelphia, 140 S. Broad St.
- For more information: http://jasgp.org/newsletter/current.html
Does your Japan America Society have an upcoming event that you’d like to share with JetWit readers? Email Gail the info.
JET ROI: JET alum creates “Smile Kids Japan” program for JETs to volunteer at orphanages in Japan
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Check out this article from The Japan Times on Fukui JET alum Mike Maher-King who started Smile Kids Japan (www.smilekidsjapan.org), a web-based network that enables JETs to volunteer at orphanages around Japan. The idea came from Mike’s own experience volunteering at an orphanage in his area, which he then expanded to bring other JET alums to the orphanage as well.
Here’s the URL for the article: http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20100925a1.html
(Also of note, the article is by a JET alum journalist, Jody Godoy.)
Examples like this do a wonderful job of demonstrating the Return on Investment that Japan continues to reap from the JET Programme and its alumni. If you have other examples to share, please email them to jetwit@jetwit.com and we’ll post them for the JET alum community and others to read about.
Update 09/29/10: Turns out Interac is not “belly up” afterall. According to a comment received (posted below):
When companies merge and/or or change their names in Japan, they send out announcements that the previous entity is dissolving. I would get announcements like this from a fund-managed client of mine in Tokyo twice a year. My contacts there never changed. Interac wants Maxceed and Selti and Selnate to all be called Interac for marketing purposes. Nothing has changed.
JetWit apologizes for any confusion.
The General Union Interac Branch announced last week that private ALT recruitment and dispatch firm, Interac, plans dissolution. Having been bought up by Advanced Partners, AP intends to dissolve and liquidate the company.
The fall of Interac, in the midst of questions about the future of the JET Programme, raises interesting questions and concerns. As one of the largest private dispatch companies to go under– Interac has about 1,500 ALTs in the Japanese education system. Will any boards of education choose to direct-hire their ALT, or are we looking at a massive influx of jobless former ALTs as their contracts expire? Will other dispatch companies step in to fill the void, or is this a signal of the end times for the work of ALTs as it exists today?
With the JET Programme’s unclear future, and the private sector’s dispatch model cashing out– what does the future really hold for native speakers in the classroom?
The General Union announcement is available here.
Lengthy (albeit colorful) commentary is available on BigDaikon.
Tom Baker covers the 2010 Tokyo Game Show
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Tom Baker (Chiba-ken, 1989-91) is a staff writer for The Daily Yomiuri. As another example of JET ROI, he is one of at least four former JETS to have been on the newspaper’s staff in recent years. He usually writes for DYWeekend, the arts and leisure section. You can follow Tom’s blog at tokyotombaker.wordpress.com.
Earlier this month he covered the Tokyo Game Show, Japan’s biggest video game industry trade show. His story focused on new motion-sensing control systems from Sony and Microsoft, and also on innovative games by indie creators such as Minori Yokota (shown in the photo). Here is an excerpt:
Some of the freshest and most radically creative offerings at this year’s Tokyo Game Show were part of the Sense of Wonder night, a showcase for innovative indie games from Japan and overseas.
Minori Yokota, a graduate student at Kanagawa Institute of Technology, declared that he “hates” dating simulation games, which surprised the audience who watched him demonstrate a game called Love Press++: Massage for Your Truelove that he developed together with Prof. Akihiro Shirai and fellow student Taisuke Yamashita.
The game uses a Wii balance board to represent the torso of an imaginary woman, whom the player massages. As Yokota pressed and kneaded, a recording of a voice actress sighed, squealed and cooed–until he rubbed her the wrong way, when she scolded him for his clumsiness.
Humor of a blacker sort was seen in Ulitsa Dimitrova, a German cartoon simulation of the life of a homeless child, while MusicMineSweeper is a whimsical Japanese game that makes music based on the semirandom patterns players create in the popular Minesweeper game.
Players of Record Tripping, by American creators John and Dan Bell, use the scroll wheel of a computer mouse to scratch a record, deejay-style. Then, the same motion is used to contol the rotation of other round objects, such as a windmill, a clock face and safe’s combination dial, with each phase of the game having a different objective.
The youngest presenter was 17-year-old Mahdi Bahrami from Iran, whose elegant Everything Can Draw! uses lines to trace the paths of moving objects. He said he was inspired to create it in geometry class.
Such games might seem to offer hope in a sequel-swamped gaming world, but when a member of the audience asked Bahrami if he intended to pursue a career in video games, the whiz kid gave a one-word answer: “No.”
Read the full article here.
WIT Life #128: All’s well that ends well?
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WITLife is a periodic series written by professional Writer/Interpreter/Translator Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken CIR, 2000-03). She starts her day by watching Fujisankei’s newscast in Japanese, and here she shares some of the interesting tidbits and trends together with her own observations.
The recent Japan/China conflict came to a resolution quicker than anticipated as it was announced that the Chinese fishing captain will be released today. He was being held in Okinawa, and a prosecutor there said, “We have decided that further investigation while keeping the captain in custody would not be appropriate, considering the impact on the people of our country, as well as the Japan-China relations in the future.” However, the case will not be officially closed in order to leave room ‘for some ambiguity that would allow both countries to save face.’ Some in Tokyo showed dissatisfaction with the decision, including conservative governor Shintaro Ishihara who claimed that Japan had caved in to Chinese pressure. Online communities in both countries were buzzing, with the Chinese side saying “Yatta!” and the Japanese side being more critical. Things may not be over yet though. Currently four employees of the construction company Fujita are being questioned by authorities in China after traveling there to prepare for a project to dispose of chemical weapons abandoned in China by the Japanese military during World War II. They have been charged with entering a military zone without authorization.
WIT Life #127: The plot thickens
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WITLife is a periodic series written by professional Writer/Interpreter/Translator Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken CIR, 2000-03). She starts her day by watching Fujisankei’s newscast in Japanese, and here she shares some of the interesting tidbits and trends together with her own observations.
Tensions have increased between Japan and China over the former’s prolonged detention of a Chinese fishing trawler captain. In response, China has put an embargo on shipments of rare earth minerals, which are used for various manufacturing purposes such as solar panel glass and Prius motors. The conflict has escalated to the point that Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao stepped in early this week to personally demand the captain’s release. Stay tuned to see how this diplomatic crisis pans out.
