Aug 9

What I Like About JetWit

Advice, Career, Networking, Translating/Interpreting, Uncategorized, Writers Add Comment (19)

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(Originally posted on April 28, 2009.)

Here’s your chance to help JetWit.  Just share a comment on this post saying what you like about JetWit.  (Or email your comment to jetwit [at] jetwit [dot] com and I’ll post it.)

Thanks for your help and yoroshiku onegaishimasu.

Update: Thanks to everyone who has posted comments so far!

Aug 9

Sake World e-Newsletter by John Gauntner (August 2009)

Celebrity, Food & Drink, Japan Trends, Uncategorized, Writers Comments Off on Sake World e-Newsletter by John Gauntner (August 2009)

The August 2009 issue of the Sake World E-mail Newsletter by JET alum and leading sake expert John Gauntner (aka “The Sake Guy”) is now available online.  In this issue:

• Cost of Sake & that of Rice
• Did You Know?
• Guided Sakagura Tours
• NEW! Sake Professional Course in Las Vegas
• Sake Events
• Learn More About Sake eBooks
• Odds-n-Ends

Aug 8

JQ Magazine’s Summer 2009 “¼ Cheap Trick” Issue Is Out Now!

Anecdote Article, Article/Journalism, Celebrity, JETAA Chapters, JQ Magazine, Music, Reviews, Translating/Interpreting, Writers Comments Off on JQ Magazine’s Summer 2009 “¼ Cheap Trick” Issue Is Out Now!

The leader of a band that’s sold over 20 million records and brought the words “At Budokan” to the big time, the new Japanese ambassador to New York, a tour of Philadelphia that’s uncannily Zen, and chats with award-winning writers, French pastry operations managers and even a maid-outfitted cosplay superstar complete with bunny ears. All this and more in the new summer issue of JETAANY’s JQ magazine.

To preserve our budget for alumni events, and in an effort to be greener and save paper, JETAANY will begin charging for print copies of JQ Magazine. The cost is $12 for 4 issues and you will only have the opportunity to sign up once a year – annual subscriptions will occur each fall.  Please note that the magazine, in its entirety, is also available online. If you would like to sign up to receive a paper copy by mail, please follow the PayPal link below (Add to Cart) or e-mail magazinesubscriptions@jetaany.org for more information. Remember you must put “JQ subscription” and your desired mailing address in the Paypal comments box.

Editor: Justin Tedaldi – magazine@jetaany.org

Aug 7

Jobs and blog post from the JETAA Student Services Google Group

Jobs Comments Off on Jobs and blog post from the JETAA Student Services Google Group

Via Clara Solomon (Tottori-ken, 1999-2001), founder of the JETAA Student Services Google Group:

First, a blog post about breaking into the field of international education: http://blog.academic-solutions.com/?p=351

Second – jobs at Wellesley, Northeastern, SUNY New Paltz, and University of Texas.

-Clara Read More

Aug 7

Roland Kelts column in Daily Yomiuri on manga program in Switzerland film festival

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Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99), author of Japanamerica, has a good column in today’s Daily Yomirui titled “Anime with Texas Roots Debuts in Switzerland.”

According to the column:

Manga Impact: The World of Japanese Animation, a special program at the 62nd annual Locarno International Film Festival in Switzerland, will include next Friday’s world premiere of the Japanese anime Redline in the city’s historic central square, which can accommodate more than 8,000 viewers.

And Redline is:

a film that piles hybrid upon hybrid–a racing film that blasts into sci-fi apocalypse, as a corrupt alien government seeks to destroy the mortal drivers who dare to compete on their alien planet. The action is relentless, allowing you to catch your breath only in brief interludes, yet the imagery is dense with anatomical grotesqueries–like Lucian Freud on acid, or, if you view Redline as a kind of meta- anime, an anime about the stylized thrills of anime itself, Speed Racer on speed.

If any JetWit readers happen to see Redline–especially if you see it in Switzerland at the film festival–please post a comment and share your thoughts and experience.

Aug 6

Bankruptcy Bill #18 – Pro Bono

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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.

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.

Aug 5

I Survived Watching “I Survived a Japanese Game Show” 8.5.09

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This week after watching a game involving trampolines and contestants wearing gorilla gloves and popping balloons on the ceiling, the two teams are separated into separate days’ activities.

The women’s team appeared on the Zoom In morning show.  And the guys’ team had to work for a bento delivery company.  Watching them ride around on bikes, making a late delivery to an irate customer after getting lost and then accept payment from an old woman of about $70 in change was actually kind of neat.

The net effect of the show seems to consistently be to make Japan feel a little more real and accessible.  Kind of ironic since the gameshow part of the show accomplishes the exact opposite.

Update: Japanese Defense Minister Yuriko Koike is on the show?!

Update: Sticky floors and biting squid heads!?

Update: Cathy wins!!!  Bring on the “Omedetou Mob” (same guys as the Sayonara Mob but in white suits.)

Ok, I admit it.  I’m hooked just as the show is ending.  Great season finale.  O-tsukara sama deshita.

Aug 5

Job: Help promote Ishikawa-ken in the U.S.

Jobs Comments Off on Job: Help promote Ishikawa-ken in the U.S.

Via Bremar Associates (Note: This job has still not been filled, so apply if interested.):

We are seeking for an English native speaker who well knows or likes Ishikawa-ken, Japan.

Job description:

＊One year full-time temporary position (starts from the end of September: $14/h)

＊Introduce and promote Ishikawa-ken (Japan) to U.S.A.

＊Assist to create a brochure with information about Ishikawa-ken

＊Promote and organize an event

Please send your resume to Staff@bremar.com . In the subject line, write, “Ishikawa-ken.”

(JetWit Note: Please also indicate if you heard about the job via JetWit.)

Aug 5

Job: Part-time English teacher (Tokyo)

Jobs Comments Off on Job: Part-time English teacher (Tokyo)

Thanks to Kai Kadoich (Fukushima-ken, 2006-08) for passing this along:

Teacher wanted for kids and adults on Saturdays in Bunkyo Ward.  Job is with a small editing company/English school, with a unique, computer-based teaching method. More teaching hours and editing/translation work available for the right person in the future if things work out.

Please apply with resume and brief cover letter.

Requirements:   Native English speaker, Japanese conversational ability, Basic computer skills, Proper visa

Contact: jacob [at] english-live [dot] com

Aug 4

BAPCPA Man #2 – Automatic Stay Force Field

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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.

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.

Aug 4

Job: On-site interpreters for Circuit Court of Cook County (Chicago, IL)

Jobs Comments Off on Job: On-site interpreters for Circuit Court of Cook County (Chicago, IL)

Thanks to Bianca Jarvis (CIR Kyoto-shi, 2002-05), the Outreach Coordinator at the Japan Information Center, Consulate-General of Japan in Chicago, for passing along this job listing:

On-site interpreters are needed to work in an on-call, part time capacity for the Circuit Court of Cook County. The interpreter must be able to interpret simultaneously and/or consecutively in court proceedings, hearings, interviews, weddings, as well as other miscellaneous court related communicative events. Often times simultaneous interpretations are the preference and that involves rendering an interpretation continuously at the same time that someone is speaking, about one half to one full sentence behind the speaker. This way of interpreting is generally only intended to be heard by the person receiving the interpretation (in whispered tones); such as when the judge is speaking directly to that person. Consecutive interpretation gives the interpreter the opportunity to fully hear what the speaker is relaying in his message and then he/she will interpret to the listener. Even so this interpreter should still be no more than 2 or 3 sentences behind the speaker

In connection with this work, there will be on-going hiring for the next 3 years in all areas of Asian languages.

Contact: Joan Mattox – jmattox@readymadestaffing.com
Business Development, Ready Made Staffing, 1130 S. Wabash, #105, Chicago, IL. 60605, 312 341-0069

Aug 4

Graphic novelist Lars Martinson seeks funding for comic book about East Asian calligraphy

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JET alum Lars Martinson, author of the graphic novel Tonoharu:  Part 1, is not only currently studying East Asian calligraphy in Ehime-ken, he wants to write a comic book about his experience.  And he’s in the process of seeking funding to help make this happen.

If you’ve seen Tonoharu:  Part 1, you know that “comic book” barely does justice to Lars’ sophisticated and detailed drawing style.  And having won a Monbusho Scholarship to help him fund the production of Tonoharu:  Part 1, Lars knows a thing or two about getting funding (as further demonstrated in a previous blog post titled “How to Apply for a Monbusho Scholarship“).

That said, it’s never easy getting funding and income as an artist/illustrator.  (See, e.g., Lars’ recent post on adapting his drawing style for professional and practical purposes.)  So if anyone can provide any assistance or leads to help Lars with funding, please feel free to get in touch with him at blog [at] larsmartinson [dot] com.

For information about Lars, you can read his blog at http://larsmartinson.com. You can also read a nice article about Lars from the Winter 2008 “Digital Media” Issue of the JETAA NY Newsletter, written by Alexei Esikoff (Fukushima-ken, 2001-02).

Aug 3

Transcript of Roland Kelts full interview with Hayao Miyazaki (via GhibliWorld)

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For those of you who weren’t able to catch Roland Kelts’ (Osaka-shi, 1998-99) interview with Hayo Miyazaki in Berkeley, CA on July 25, a “fanatically thorough transcript” of the full interview has been posted at the GhibliWorld site:  http://www.ghibliworld.com/miyazaki_on_stage_conversation_berkeley_july_2009.html

Aug 3

JET alum artists: Brooke and Daniel Lauer

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JetWit just learned of two more JET alum artists who happen to be married to each other and live in Greenville, SC.  They also both lived in Niigata-ken.

Lauer, Brooke (Niigata-ken 2004-07) – Greenville, SC

• Writes and illustrates picture books, makes dolls from polymer clay, and handmade journals. Her newest work can be found at http://brookelauer.blogspot.com
• Motto:  “Creating a more interesting world, one character at a time…”

Lauer, Daniel (Niigata-ken 2005-2007) – Greenville, SC

• His wheel-thrown pottery can be seen at http://www.firebirdpottery.com

Aug 3

Japanese Proficiency Test – applications now being accepted in U.S.

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Thanks to JETAA Pacific Northwest for passing this along:

The Japan Foundation, Los Angeles Office Now Accepting Applications for the “2009 Japanese Language Proficiency Test”

The Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) is an internationally accredited language examination designed to measure a person’s Japanese language skills. Those who pass the JLPT receive a Certificate of Proficiency and, as a result, are better able to market their Japanese skills in order to further their careers and educational pursuits.

Date:  Sunday, December 6, 2009

Test Site in Seattle:  University of Washington

Application Deadline:  September 25, 2009

To register visit: http://www.jflalc. org/?act= tpt&id=8

Contact Information:  The Japan Foundation, Los Angeles Office

JLPT Administration Committee

Tel: (213)621-2267

E-mail: noryoku@jfalc. org

For more information and on-line application,  please visit the Japan Foundation, Los Angeles site:  http://www.jflalc. org

Free “On-line Japanese Language SUSHI TEST” is also available for those who are not yet ready to undertake Level Four of the Japanese Proficiency Test  http://momo. jpf.go.jp/ sushi/