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
Roland Kelts and young fans at Keio Academy Digital Media Creation program
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Over the weekend we mentioned that Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99), author of Japanamerica, gave a talk for the students in the Keio Academy of New York Japanese-English Bilingual Summer Program in Purchase, NY in connection with a two-week Digital Media Creation program. (Additional speakers in the program include Michael Arias, director of “ANIMATRIX” and “Tekkonkinkreet,” Shoji Kawamuri, animation director and mechanical designer and Yuji Nunokawa, CEO of animation producer Pierrot Co., Ltd.)
Here are a couple nice photos from the event:
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BAPCPA Man #1 – Automatic Stay
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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.
Bankruptcy Bill #17: BAPCPA Man (cameo by Roland Kelts)
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Bankruptcy Bill is a cartoon 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.
A twist in the plot! (Also, note the Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99) reference as the esoteric worlds of manga and bankruptcy find a rare intersection.)
*BAPCPA = Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act, i.e., the 2005 Bankruptcy Law.
Zorgamazoo in China too! (sort of)
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Following up on the post about Robert P. Weston’s (Nara-ken, 2002-04) rhyming children’s novel Zorgamazoo being translated into German, it turns out Zorgamazoo is also being translated into Chinese. And by the Chinese translator who did Dr. Seuss!
This, apparently, is not new news. Rob did a post on his Way of the West blog back in November, 2008 unveiling the news. But JetWit didn’t know Rob back then. In fact, JetWit barely existed at the time.
The important thing is that we know now and as a result, so do you.
And to Rob we simply say, “Gong shi, gong shi!” (That’s “omedetou” in Chinese, fyi.)
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 formerEnglish-language writer for Kyodo News. She now works as a media planner in Chelsea and sorely misses all her favorite midtown ramen joints.
Hello, JET alumni! We trust you have all been having amazing summers. From the latest look at the blog rolls, it certainly looks that way. Let’s take a look:
Writer Kelly Luce (Kawasaki, 2002-2003) shares her latest adventures in writing from Fishtrap, a writing conference in Eastern Oregon.
Congratulations to Robert P. Weston (Nara-ken, 2002-04), the Toronto-based author of the rhyming children’s novel Zorgamazoo, who has just announced that Zorgamazoo has been selected as a contender in One Book One Brampton.
Check out JET alum Chen Reichert‘s cool new boto attack ukiyo-e designs here.
Having trouble with figuring out what to wear for those warm summer days and cool nights? Check out Janice Momoko Chow‘s (Saitama, 2005-2006) write-up of StyleCaster, a great new site and app for anyone who loves to shop.
Last but not least, congratulations once again to James Kennedy (Nara-ken, 2004-06) on his victory versus Neil Gaiman for the 2009 Newbery award. Read the full details here.
The latest from Way of the West, the official blog of Robert P. Weston (Nara-ken, 2002-04), the Toronto-based author of the rhyming children’s novel Zorgamazoo:
Good news, everyone: I’ve had an offer to publish Zorgamazoo in Germany!
Jacoby and Stuart wants to have the book out in Spring of 2010, and in hardcover, no less. Because of the challenging translation presented by Zorgamazoo, they’re currently on the search for a well-known, well-experienced translator.
Whoever they find, may I wish them the very best of luck! I don’t expect it’ll be easy.
(JetWit is still stuck on the question of how one would pronounce “Zorgamazoo” in German?)
Suzanne Kamata interview in The Telegraph (UK)
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Yesterday The Telegraph (UK) ran a nice interview with Suzanne Kamata (Tokushima-ken, 1988-90), who lives in Japan and is the editor of LiteraryMama as well as the author of books such as Losing Kei and Call Me Okaasan: Adventures in Multicultural Mothering (which recently won several prizes in the 2009 Indie Book Awards including the Grand Prize for non-fiction overall).
Read the interview here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/5833776/Raising-a-mixed-race-family-in-Japan-can-be-hard.html
For additional interviews and information about Suzanne:
- Interview with Suzanne by fellow JET alum Cristy Burne (Hyogo-ken, Kawanishi-shi, 1998-2000), author of the soon-to-be-released children’s book Takeshita Demons.
- Also, another JET alum writer, Liz Sheffield (Hokkaio-ken, Sapporo-shi, 1993-95), has an interview with Suzanne about the book on her blog motherlogue.wordpress.com.
- To learn more about Suzanne you can visit her website at http://www.suzannekamata.com or her blog at http://gaijinmama.wordpress.com (RSS feed here).
- Read an interview with Suzanne Kamata on children’s books and diversity by the blog Kabiliana.
- Go to the Authors/Books section of the JetWit Library to see a complete list of JET alum authors (at least to JetWit’s knowledge).
James Kennedy (Nara-ken, 2004-06), author of The Order of Odd-Fish continues to redefine the standard job description for “author.” In his latest adventure, he gave a speech at the American Librarians Association where he forcibly took the Newbery Award from “Neil Gaiman.” And that’s not even the most shocking part.
After watching the video clips below, you may find yourself contemplating the young Japanese students James once taught. What has become of them and how have their lives been affected, or perhaps more appropriately, distorted? Perhaps a film-making member of the JET alum community could set out to produce a documentary on the subject.
Until then, watch and enjoy below. Or watch and read the post on James’ site: “I Win the Newberry”
Video 1: James announces his intention to strip Gaiman of his Newbery.
Video 2: Freya and Erin act out a scene from his novel The Order of Odd-Fish.
Video 3: Neil Gaiman and James fight for the Newbery.
Need a little more James Kennedy? Click here to see video of him reading at the JET Alumni Author Showcase.
JetWit Blog Beat: Isshoni London by Vanessa Villalobos
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Just learned about a terrific blog and resource for UK-oriented JET alums called Isshoni London (http://www.isshonilondon.co.uk/), “the Gateway to Japanese London.” And the best part is it’s written by JET alum Vanessa Villalobos who is also the Communications Officer for JETAA UK.
The site include:
As well as listing of evens covering everything from a Japanese/English meetup picnic in Greenwich to an Okinawa festival to a manga signing event.
You can also follow Isshoni London on Twitter (http://twitter.com/IsshoniVanessa), and Vanessa helpfully includes a list of the “Top Japan-related people to follow on Twitter.”
JETSites: JET Prefectural Websites and Newsletters?
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JetWit has just created a new page in the JETLinks section of this site called “JET Prefectural Websites and Newsletters.”
So far, the only ones listed are Hiroshima-ken and Akita-ken. There are, of course, many more out there. So please send an e-mail to jetwit [at] jetwit [dot] com to share links for your prefecture’s:
- Website
- Blog
- Yahoo or Google group
- Wiki-site
- Facebook page
- Twitter feed
- LinkedIn group
- Any other crazy new form of media the kids have come up with recently
Thanks and yoroshiku.
JETSites: Frugalista Japan
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Just came across this interesting blog called Frugalista Japan (http://www.frugalistajapan.com): Money saving tips and ideas for foreigners in Japan! They have a post on something I’d never even considered before but which sounds pretty useful: How to Check Your Credit Score in Japan.
Has anyone else come across this blog before? I know there are a number of similar kinds of useful sites in the U.S. such as Bargain Babe. But this is the first I’ve heard of an English-language one in Japan. Are there others out there?
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 as a media planner in Chelsea and sorely misses all her favorite midtown ramen joints.
BlogBeat recently spoke with JET alum Janice Momoko Chow (Saitama, 2005-2006), a New York based-brand consultant and strategist about her blog.
A brand new addition to our blogroll, Janice describes Momoko Mashups as a place for her “thoughts and musings on fashion & style, art & design, technology & innovation, sustainability, New York City, and how everything transcends into culture and our everyday perceptions.” The site was created a year ago and continues to evolve as she adds new bits and pieces from her continuous quest for fun and fresh things to explore around the world.
Hailing from sunny Temple City in Southern California, Janice studied Brand Development and Psychology at the University of California-San Diego. While living and working in Tokyo, she fell in love with a life immersed in fashion, contemporary art, and design while working as a brand consultant for a range of clients, including Levi Strauss.
“It was an incredible experience,” she says. “I explored and tasted many different things that I wouldn’t normally be interested in. I sought after the latest sho chu spirits, sustainable electronic batteries, talked to the boys and girls who notoriously hang out in Harajuku, chatted with art students, and visited the denim mills south of Osaka.
Janice is now working on developing a communications and brand strategy for artist Suzy Taekyung Kim, while also working on ongoing projects from The Lambesis Agency as a brand consultant. You can find more about her work here.
Hello! I’m Kelly – RSS feed fiend and fellow former Iwate ALT (indeed, just like the Blog Beat’s own Crystal Wong!). Fret not, Crystal has not forsaken the JET blogosphere. There are just so many blogs to keep up with that I have offered to lend her a hand on occasion.
Now to get on to the goods – more new blogs than you can shake a stick at!
* A favorite blog of mine and one that I personally recommended for the blog roll is Japandra. This little treasure-trove of a blog is brought to you by Sandra, a NY expat and JET alum currently living in Tokyo, who has keen eye for those little irregular hilarities which sneak into the Japanese landscape. What are you waiting for? That fuzzy natsukashii “Haha, only in Japan!” feeling is just a click away…
* Sean Sakamoto of I’d Rather Be in Japan lives it up in the wild and wondrous beauty of Gifu. In one of his most recent posts he brings the forest to us in an excellent home-made video series on how to harvest, prepare, and enjoy eating…bamboo!
* Next up is Jason’s Adventures in Rural Japan (aka Shimane). Although Jason is currently packing up to return to the U.S., his blog is a great place to peruse his selection of the past year’s omoshiroi Japanese YouTube videos.
* Are you a prospective JET itching to find more information about the JET teaching experience in rural areas? If so (or even if not!), check out Mel’s Adventures in Japan.
* Take some time to enjoy the comedic writing style of Steve Rogers, a lover of all things list-worthy (he even writes lists… about lists!), who does very well keeping his sense of humor while enduring Northern Tohoku Exposure.
* D. Freeman – photographer, web guru, and writer – takes his readers on a myriad of viral-worthy adventures. Check his site to find out what is the What-What on the interweb today.
* Finally, we would like to introduce another successful JET writer Christy Burne (Hyogo-ken) who has just been given the first Frances Lincoln Diverse Voices book award, an award that aims to celebrate cultural diversity in children’s literature. Her book, Takeshita Demons, will be published next year and is based on the adventures of a Japanese schoolgirl named Miku. Be sure to keep up with all the exciting developments for Christy!
Japan Fix: South Carolina
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Note: This is the second in what JetWit hopes will grow into a series of “Japan Fix” articles. How do you get your Japan fix wherever you live? Write it down and send it to JetWit for the entertainment and benefit of the JET alum community.
Japan Fix: South Carolina
By Daniel J. Stone (Saitama-ken, 2004-07), JETAA South Carolina Subchapter Rep
After spending seven years In San Diego and Los Angeles followed by three years in the metro Tokyo area, the decision to return to my hometown of Greenville, South Carolina with my wife who hails from Tokyo was a bit naïve when I look back to when we first returned to “America’s Bible Belt” in 2007.
Despite the geographic location, demographics and the overall facts that South Carolina is a small and rural state, one can get their “Japan Fix”, if they know where to look.
CULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS
The International Center of the Upstate (ICU), located at the Greenville City Hall building, is a non-profit organization devoted to promoting cross-cultural understanding among local and international residents of Upstate South Carolina. It was here where my wife and I went to learn of where to go and what to do in the area’s international community. One of the first things I did was volunteer at ICU’s English conversation group where a group of Japanese spouses attended the weekly session.
Another group which was helpful was the Japan America Association of South Carolina based in Greenville. Through this group I was able to network with Japanese expatriates working at various companies in the area and like-minded Americans.
Lastly, there is the good ‘ol JETAA group based in Atlanta. It was through here that I met other JET alums in the area.
GROCERY & FOOD SHOPPING
The Tanpopo, aka “Dandelion”, located at the corner of Pelham Road and Highway 14 is a Read More
