Japan Society: An Incisive Afternoon with Director Takashi Miike
Celebrity, Events, Japan Trends, Video 
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Via Japan Society (NY):
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JETAA NY Shinnenkai Photos
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Last Friday, January 23, JETAA NY hosted yet another terrific shinnenkai at Naniwa, the only place in town we know of that has a big tatami room. 34 people gathered for tabehodaishabu-shabu and nabe along with nomihodai beer, sake and shochu. Old JETs, new JETs and everywhere in-between JETs were all represented. O-tsukare sama to JETAA NY Social Coordinator Monica Yuki for organizing the whole shebang. Also, special thanks to professional translator Kia Cheleen (CIR, Aichi-ken 1996-98, ALT 1998-1999) for providing yummy baked goods for everyone to take home with them.
*Special post-party treat: Seeing Cindy Hoffman looking fabulous in her gown at the nearby Waldorf-Astoria Hotel for a high-falutin’ Australia Day event.
See all of Monica’s photos here. Samples are below.
Greetings Fellow Former JETS!
Do you know what yosa-koi is? Good for you.
Do you love nothing more than flailing about with naruko? (wooden instrument, NOT some girl’s name! ^^) Are you an aspiring performer/dancer with an interest in Japanese culture? Are you a non-performer/dancer with an interest in Japanese culture? Do you just really miss Japan and dream of becoming one of the crazy sexy cool people in this flier?
Then fantasize no more!
Hi, I’m Kirsten, a former ALT based in Niigata Prefecture 2005-2008. One of the things I missed most about my life in Japan was an awesome and energetic festival dance called yosa-koi that I used to perform together with my students. I missed it so much when I came back that I Googled “NY” and “Yosa-koi” and found 10tecomai. For a JET with raging Japan withdrawal like myself being a member of 10tecomai was like a dream come true.
Like the flier says, no dance experience is necessary. I can attest to that, folks. I have zero background in performance or dance but I quickly found this was not required. You will be expertly and patiently trained, no matter what level you are and you will have TONS of fun in the process. However, team spirit and serious dedication are an absolute must. My experience with 10tecomai has been truly rewarding and fulfilling on so many levels. I’m sad I no longer live in Japan but I am overjoyed to be a part of 10.
So come on down and try out if you fancy? It can’t hurt. Tell your friends!
[Editor’s note: Kirsten also wrote a wonderful article about the Mitsuwa department store in Edgewater, NJ for the Fall 2008 Issue of the JETAA NY Quarterly Newsletter.]
Bar Great Harry – Brooklyn Brewmaster’s Reserve Night
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Bar Great Harry is a bar on Smith St. in Brooklyn owned and run by JET alum Ben Wiley (CIR Fukui-ken, 2004-06), who shares the below info for anyone interested in joining. You can also see the Bar Great Harry blog here and a Fall 2007 JETAA NY Newsletter article about Ben and his bar here.
What: Brooklyn Brewery Brewmaster’s Reserve Night
When: Tuesday, 01/27/09, 6PM-10PM
Where: Bar Great Harry, 280 Smith Street, Brooklyn, NY
Beers:
- 2000 Monster Ale
- 2001 Saison
- 2006 Black Chocolate Stout
- 2006 Cuvee D’Achouffe
- 2008 Blast
- 2008 Flemish Gold
- 2008 Grand Cru
- 2008 Savoir Faire
- Cask of Blunderbuss Old Ale on Gravity!!!
This will be a seriously special night. The good folks from Brooklyn Brewery scoured the warehouse and found some really rare stuff for this event. A Monster Ale from 2000? A Saison from 2001? You will probably never get to try these again. Come.
Event: Japan Brand Unfolds in NYC at Felissimo Design House
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Tara Hohenberger (Nara-ken, 2001-03) (PR & Events Coordinator for Felissimo Design House) has shared information for an intriguing upcoming exhibition at Felissimo Design House (10 W. 56th St. in NYC) which is featuring a collection of artisan produced products from 30 regions of Japan from Jan 25 – Feb 7, including glassware, furniture, ceramics, paper and textiles and well as lacquar and culinary ingredients.
Click “Read More” to read the full press release, or go to www.felissimo.com. Read More
Japan Society presents Kazuko Shiraishi, the “Allen Ginsberg” of Japan, Friday, Jan. 30, 6:30pm
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Interesting upcoming event at Japan Society in NYC:
JAPAN SOCIETY PRESENTS THE “ALLEN GINSBERG OF JAPAN,” WHO READS FROM NEW WORK, ACCOMPANIED BY LIVE JAZZ
My Floating Mother, City: An Evening with Kazuko Shiraishi
Friday, January 30, 2009, 6:30 pm at Japan Society
New York, NY – Japan Society presents an intimate evening with one of Japan’s foremost poets, Kazuko Shiraishi, in conjunction with the recent English-language collection of her poetry, My Floating Mother, City. Shiraishi, a pioneer in jazz-poetry collaboration, is joined by trumpeter Itaru Oki for a special live performance, and partakes in a discussion and Q&A moderated by Forrest Gander, author and Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Brown University. My Floating Mother, City: An Evening with Kazuko Shiraishi takes place Friday, January 30 at 6:30 pm and is followed by a reception. Read More
Lee-Sean Huang (Oita-ken, 2003-06), JETAA NY’s webmaster and a grad student in NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program, will be presenting his interactive music interface, the head(banger)
phones, at the Interactive Telecommunications Winter Show at NYU this
Wednesday and Thursday nights (tonight and tomorrow night). So drop in to take a look. (721 Broadway, 4th Fl – just east of Washington Sq Park)
The show features a variety of interactive sights, sounds and physical
objects created by student artists. The show is FREE and open to the
public. No need to RSVP. Just show up any time during the 2 nights.
http://itp.nyu.edu/shows/winter2008/
Dec. 17th & 18th from 5pm to 9pm
@ 721 Broadway, 4th Fl
Lee-Sean AKA JETAANY.org Webmaster
http://leesean.net
JETAA Chapter Beat 12.17.08
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Freelance writer/editor Jonathan Trace (Fukuoka-ken, 2005-08) takes us on a walk around the JET Alumni community…
- Japanese Language Workshops at JASW – Starting Monday, January 12, Japan-America Society’s Japanese Language School Winter Semester begins. Free first year membership for JETAA-DC members.
- Holiday Happy Hour – Friday, December 19th, 7:00 at 5 Seasons Brewing. Join JETAASE for some holiday spirit and spirts.
- Raise funds for Leukemia! – Support Ingrid Garcia-Galinat in her marathon goal to raise money for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team on March 29, 2009.
- Yukiko Shimo Exhibition: Today’s Top Woodblock Print Artist in Japan – Dec 2nd – Jan 31, check out woodblock prints at the Roswell Teahouse & Gallery.
- JETAANC Video Volunteers – December 15th – 19th. In preparation for an upcoming Shinenkai video, JETAANC is looking for people to come and talk about their JET experience on camera.
- The Totoro Forest Project (Dec 6 – Jan 18) – Exhibition at the Cartoon Art Museum based on Hayao Miyazaki’s most celebrated film Tonari no Totoro.
JETAA Texoma
- Returning JET Reception – Saturday, January 24, join recently returned JET participants at the Consulate for some sushi-rolling and other food oriented activities.
- Chinese Urban Art Show – Dec 12, 2008 – Dec 20, 2009 at the BLVD Gallery in Belltown. Check out some asian art, fascinating and, best of all, free.
- Seattle-Kobe Sister City Association Holiday Party – Sunday, December 21, 4:00 to 8:00 at the Pt Edwards Club House. It’s potluck, so don’t forget the food!
- Christmas Carols – Saturday, December 20th, 5:30 at Cowra Japanese Garden. Celebrate the holiday with song and candlelight.
What happened at your chapter’s event? If you attend(ed) any of these exciting events, JetWit would love to hear about them. Just email Jonathan Trace with any info, stories or comments.
JETAA Pacific Northwest Career Day Notes
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From Shun Endo, PNW’s Treasurer & Web Guy, who posted the notes on the JETAA PNW website:
Career Day was a very successful event, bringing in many motivated participants, solid speakers, and even vendors from several companies. Many people stayed until the end, and went afterwards for drinks and comradery. The content of the speeches was very helpful, and it covered a broad range of topics. As promised, we have the notes to the speeches, as well as resources to the information given!
Thanks again to Steven Pascal-Joiner of Idealist.org , and Rob Uy from Microsoft HR, and the panel speakers for their respective insights. They were: Amy Fenning , Amanda Wolfman , Keith Nitta , David Sandler , Megan Bernard , Rob Uy , Matt Austin , Steven Pascal-Joiner. Thanks to Ben for moderating the discussion.
Here are the links:
Rob Uy Speech Notes
Steven Pascal Joiner Speech Notes
Idealist.org Presentation by Steven (PDF of E-book, and links to different topics covered by Steven)
JETAA NY Book Club Update
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JETAA NY Book Club co-reviver Michael Glazer writes:
JETAA NY successfully kicked off its New York book club last Wednesday night, Dec. 10. The group discussed Murakami Ryu’s Akutagawa Prize-winning novel Almost Transparent Blue.
Murakami’s provocative novel fueled an energetic, funny, sometimes tense and stimulating exchange of ideas while we snacked on pizza and drank oolong tea. The two-hour conversation ranged in topic from talking about ethnic stereotypes to bug eating, the US military in Japan, The Doors, Japanese escapism and Admiral Perry’s black ships as the group tried to figure out if Blue is literary genius or pop culture trash.
Our next meeting will be on Wednesday, January 21 at 7pm, and we will discuss Miyamoto Teru’s novel Kinshu. You can find the book online at bn.com and amazon.com. Contact Michael Glazer or Jessica Langbein for more information.
Kirsten Phillips (Niigata-ken, 2007-08) is part of a yosa-koi dance group that is taking part in another Japan Arts Matsuri (JAM) function on December 23rd at the Knitting Factory. The last one they did in Greenpoint, Brooklyn was very well received and a huge success. In Kirsten’s own words:
“JAM brings Japanese dancers, musicians, martial artists, comedians from around the city under one roof. The atmosphere is that of a traditional Japanese matsuri, complete with taiko and akachochin. The one in Greenpoint even had oden! I know it’s a little inconvenient in the middle of the week, but it’s totally worth it if you miss the way Japan throws a festival.”
Japan Arts Matsuri (JAM) 2008
Tuesday, December 23rd.
Doors open 6 PM. The entire event lasts until 2 AM; Advance Tickets: $10/ $15 at the door
Knitting Factory
74 Leonard Street, New York, NY Tel: (212) 219-3132 Directions: 1 or 9 to Franklin OR St. A,C, E at Canal.
NHK live broadcast and free synthetic ice skating today at 4pm
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Kind of last second but….JET alum Marea Pariser (who is an associate producer for NHK in NY) sent me this last night, which I finally have time to post:
We’ll be broadcasting live from the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) tomorrow, Thursday, Dec. 11, for the NHK morning news. Because of the 14-hour time difference, we’ll go live at 4:15 p.m. and 6:05 p.m. (Japan time that will be 6:15 a.m. and 8:05 a.m. Friday). It will air on NHK’s “Ohayo Nippon.”
We’ll be reporting live from AMNH’s new Polar Rink, which is an outdoor skating rink made from synthetic ice. It’s good for the environment and it complements the Museum’s current Climate Change exhibit. There’s a good chance of rain tomorrow, but our live broadcast goes on-air rain or shine. We’re looking for people (who can ice skate!) who are available at either 4 p.m. or 6 p.m. — or at both times — to appear as an “ice skater” on our broadcast. Free ice skating! No close-up shots, just in the background. We’re especially interested in children ice skaters. Could you pass the word along? If anyone is interested or available could you ask them to contact me at the details below for more information?
FYI-Location: American Museum of Natural History, Polar Rink, which can be accessed from 79th Street and Columbus Avenue.
Web site: http://www.amnh.org/
JETAA Book Clubs – 3’s a magic number
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After some initial research, I’ve so far found three JETAA book clubs out there:
JETAA NY – just being revied by Michael Glazer and Jessica Langbein after a hiatus of a few years. Having its first gathering this Wednesday evening (still time to rsvp!)
JETAA Northern California – same story, but with Melissa Chan playing the role of Michael and Jessica
JETAA Portland – Run by Lynnette Yasuda for the last 2 years, and with lots of success and fun.
I knew about NY and Northern California, but I just learned about Portland after getting a nice e-mail from Lynette who shared the following sentiment:
I think one of the best parts of the JETAA book club is that through the books we read, it sparks such interesting conversations about our own JET experiences in Japan – and I think that is what sets it apart from other book clubs. It’s very “natsukashi” if you know what I mean :)
Any other JETAA book clubs out there? Let us know by posting a comment or by emailing jetwit /atto/ jetwit /dotto/ com. Yoroshiku!
A nice JET idea
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Remember all the nice things people in Japan did for you on JET? Some JET alums in the Seattle area have come up with a way to spread the karma to international students in the U.S. An idea that very much lends itself to being replicated if anyone in other chapters is interested. Read More
JETAA Ongaku Connection Update
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The JETAA Ongaku Connection Group (a new JET alum group formed recently by JET alums Adren Hart and Justin Tedaldi) has some events coming up. For more info, visit and/or join the Google Group at http://groups.google.com/group/jetaa-ongaku-connection.
A few highlights:
- MUCC – Free tickets available through the Ongaku Connection group – “In town for one night only,
Ibaraki-ken’s finest will hit the Fillmore at Irving Plaza on Sunday, December 7.” - NIPPON JAZZ NYC – Jazz Holiday Jam Session w/ Okaru Lovelace
Sunday, December 7th @ 8pm – 11:00pm; Blue Owl Cocktail Lounge; 196 Second Ave. (on 12th St.); Cover: $5 (This is a monthly show put together every month by Adren Hart.)
