JETAA NY Magazine editor Justin Tedaldi recently alerted me to a great website: Black Tokyo – “Information on Japan from an Afro Perspective!” (http://www.blacktokyo.com/).
Have a look. I haven’t looked through it enough yet to see if there are any JET connections, but seems interesting and relevant enough regardless.
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 has just started an internship in editing/publishing/writing. Editorial Pursuits chronicles her job hunting efforts, experiences and lessons learned.
Happy New Year, Jetwit readers!
I apologize for my prolonged absence from the website but, seeing as how I’m still without a paying job, still unsuccessfully finding new job postings congruent with my entry-level publishing knowledge, and still without any interviews for jobs I’ve applied to weeks ago, I didn’t really know what to write about as we rang in 2009. I sort of feel as though I’ve hit that proverbial brick-in-the-wall and can’t seem to wedge myself out of this tacky substance known of my frustrating editorial pursuits.
So, while I am unable to relay any quirky anecdotes about my present internship situation or to go on a tirade about the publishing industry’s apparent doomsday, I do want to express my sincere gratitude to all of you former JETs out there who have been so open to helping people like me, who are struggling in this tough economic time, by offering advice and support in the continuing job search. I think sometimes living in such a big place like New York City, one can easily forget that there are really genuine, kind, and caring people out among the snotty, rude, and self-important citizens of The Big Apple.
Since beginning my job search in September of last year, I’ve been the recipient of multiple acts of kindness from former JETs and I believe this is a testament to the sort of people JET attracts. So many of you are more than willing to go out on a limb and help your cohorts and I dedicate this posting to all of you. Thank you for all you’ve done and continue to do in making not only me but others in this network feel a little more hopeful and a little less lonely.
That said, here is my obligatory New Year’s Resolution: to continue networking and persevering until I have a job at a publishing house and to say “thank you” more often to my fellow JETs for their constant and unwavering support.
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.
Here’s her latest post in which she comments on, and asks for perspective on, freelance travel writing:
I’m feeling betrayed, so just for today I need to digress from my usual subject matter.
About a month ago, I landed my first article in a national magazine. I worked hard on my little 250 word piece. I was getting paid $1 a word after all and this piece was my national debut. Well I turned that piece in and it was full of rhythm and pep and I was really proud. When I was asked to revise I understood, but when I read the final edited piece it looked nothing like me. Sure it was my subject matter, but my voice was gone, and my rhythm was gone. I had been hacked. And now I’m wondering if I’m being too sensitive.
Is this normal? Is this what I should expect as new-bee in this industry?
A recent post by JET alum Rosie DeFremery on her collaborative foodie blog Nosh Pit:
As I write this we are a little over one hour from ringing in the New Year here in icy New York City. It’s already 2009 in Japan, where they’ve just woken up to celebrate Oshogatsu, the Japanese New Year. Japanese residents of New York still keep some of the traditions while living overseas, as you could tell by visiting any Japanese market or store in the city. When I dropped by Chiyoda Sushi to pick up lunch this afternoon, customers were picking up elaborate osechi ryouri meals they’d ordered in advance (for a pretty penny too – well over $100). For the more budget conscious among us, however, they did have packages of fresh toshi-koshi soba noodles available. Upon catching sight of those I snapped one up to prepare at home.
Toshi-koshi soba noodles, which JustHungry translates roughly as “end the old year and enter the new year soba noodles,” will be familiar to anyone who’s eaten soba before. The only difference is
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.
James Kennedy (Nara-ken, 2004-06), author of The Order of Odd-Fish, has a short story in the Chicago Reader this week. It’s called “The Most Dangerous Beard In Town” and, according to James, “it’s whimsically illustrated by the very talented Jeremy Russnak.”
Bonus recommended reading: On his blog today, James shares the results of a New Yorker cartoon game he invented and then played with his family. One hat is filled with everyone’s New Yorker style drawings and another with urbane punchlines. The drawings and punchlines are paired randomly, and the results satirize nicely.
Deadline: Thursday, January 8, before 5:00p.m. EST
Welcome to the JetWit Haiku Challenge! The challenge is to submit one or more haiku using the designated word. The best haiku submitted wins the prize.
This challenge is courtesy of Roland Kelts (Osaka, 1998-99), author of Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture Has Invaded the U.S., published by Palgrave Macmillan. You can also follow Roland on his blog japanamerica.blogspot.com.
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Designated word: “Pop” (you must use this word in your haiku; multiple submissions welcome)
- Deadline: Thursday, January 8, before 5:00p.m. EST
Prize: Free copy of Japanamerica + Susan Napier’s Anime: From Akira to Howl’s Moving Castle mailed to you.- Form: Haiku are typically 5-7-5 and have a seasonal reference. (Though the form actually has a fair amount of flexibility.)
- E-mail responses to: jetwit /atto/ jetwit /dotto/ com
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.
JET alum Lars Martinson creatively updates readers on the progress on his graphic novel Tonoharu: Part 2 in a recent post on his blog (larsmartinson.com):
Progress Bar Key
Scripting/Page Layout: Self-explanatory
Artwork: The Drawing, Inking, and Computer Work for the comic
Final Edits/Incidentals: Post-Production Edits, Designing the Cover, Preparing for Press, etc.
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When I wrote the first progress report for Tonoharu: Part Two back in mid-July, I was a quarter of the way through the artwork. I concluded the entry saying I’d update on my progress again when the artwork was halfway done. I estimated/hoped that that update would come in “three or four months”,–>Click here to continue reading the post.
JETAA NY webmaster and NYU ITP grad student Lee-Sean Huang (Oita-ken, 2003-06) was pleased to see his ITP presentation from Wednesday and Thursday written up and photographed in a post today on Gizmodo (the gadget blog).
Lee-Sean used an accelerometer to create headphones that change the music depending on your head movements.
Welcome to the JetWit Haiku Challenge! The challenge is to submit one or more haiku using the designated word. The best haiku submitted wins the prize.
This challenge is courtesy of Roland Kelts (Osaka, 1998-99), author of Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture Has Invaded the U.S., published by Palgrave Macmillan. You can also follow Roland on his blog japanamerica.blogspot.com.
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Designated word: “Pop” (you must use this word in your haiku; multiple submissions welcome)
- Deadline: Thursday, January 8, before 5:00p.m. EST
- Prize: Free copy of Japanamerica + Susan Napier’s Anime: From Akira to Howl’s Moving Castle mailed to you.
- Form: Haiku are typically 5-7-5 and have a seasonal reference. (Though the form actually has a fair amount of flexibility.)
- E-mail responses to: jetwit /atto/ jetwit /dotto/ com
Robert P. Weston (Nara-ken, 2002-04), author of Zorgamazoo, has reviewed all haiku submissions containing the designated word “prose“ for Haiku Challenge #2 and has selected a winner to receive a free copy of his book. Read on for his decision and rationale.
Following in the footsteps of James Kennedy (Nara-ken, 2004-06), I feel obliged to assemble a short-list of honourable mentions. I make no claims, however, as to having any insightfulness when it comes to properly appreciating haiku…
Second runner-up, for its tenderness and topicality (’tis the season, after all), we have Justin Tedaldi’s entry:
The gift was thoughtful
The letter’s prose delightful
Happy holidays
—Justin Tedaldi (CIR Kobe-shi, 2001-02)
First runner-up, for it’s gritty natural realism, is Alexei Esikoff’s ode to the grim weather of the Midwest:
The temperature drops
Buried under slushy prose
Minneapolis
—Alexei Esikoff (Fukushima-ken, 2001-02)
Finally, the winner this week is Meredith Hodges-Boos (who had an honourable mention in the previous contest, incidentally). Her haiku appeals to my love of word play — and even manages a nifty metaphor in the meantime. Congrats, Meredith!
Take roses with ‘P’s
Mix in the ordinary
Watch word gardens grow
—Meredith Hodges-Boos (Ehime-ken, 2003-05)
Click “Read More” to see the other haiku submitted.
Read More
Peter Weber (Saitama-ken, Gyoda-shi, 2004-07) is the JET Coordinator at the Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco.
This is how I remember it… As previously mentioned, even though I had overcome many of my dietary obstacles, I still hungered for “American Cuisine”. Although McDonald’s was always easily accessible, it was only a temporary “fix”.
I wanted a more hearty burger. So I went to the place where all answers are found… the internet. After searching words like “Applebees”, “Chili’s”, and “Fuddruckers” I finally hit the jackpot. My salvation was when I entered three wonderful letters followed by one word that makes everyone happy. Located less than 50 miles away in Ueno we found our salvation, and it came with a Happy Hour!
Robert P. Weston (Nara-ken, 2002-04) reports on his blog (wayofthewest.wordpress.com) that his book Zorgamazoo, just published this year, has won “some sort of design award” from the New York Bookbinders Guild.
This means, he explains, that the book will be on diplay at the New York Book Show on March 24, 2009. He goes on to extend “huge congratulations” to Christian Fuenfhausen, who designed the interior pages, Natalie Sousa, who designed the cover art, and the whole design team at Razorbill Books and Penguin USA.
Bankruptcy Bill is a cartoon created by Steven Horowitz (Aichi-ken, 1992-94) and Gideon Kendall. To see more strips as well as bankruptcy haiku, go to bankruptcybill.wordpress.com.
