Writing Opporunity: Write the ending for “The Strange Ship: Part II”
Books, Cartoon/Illustration, Contest, Humor, Uncategorized, Writers 
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James Kennedy (Nara-ken, 2004-06), author of The Order of Odd-Fish, has a strangely compelling post on his blog asking readers to help him write the ending to the first book he ever wrote–The Strange Ship.
[A]s a lark, back in November I posted The Strange Ship, the first book I ever wrote (I was seven years old). I mentioned I had written a sequel. Some of the students in Mrs. Vivian’s fifth grade class asked me to put it online. My pleasure!
In The Strange Ship, two nameless space explorers called “moneymen” and their trusty droid 5-0-6 stumbled upon a strange ship full of monsters (including the giants Carziperes, Diploziperes, and Zarzit). The moneymen then proceeded to blow up the ship by making all the monsters simultaneously sneeze.
Clearly a sequel was required, to tie up all those loose ends. So let me take you back to March 13, 1981-almost exactly 28 years ago-and The Strange Ship: Part II.
However, I must warn you-the last couple pages are, tragically, missing! The story breaks off right in the middle of the climax! But America, my carelessness is your opportunity. I propose a contest. Draw / write YOUR OWN ending to The Strange Ship: Part II and send it to me! Let’s make the deadline April 15, 2009. I’ll post the new endings right here on this blog, and there will be prizes!
Click here to read the full post and experience the wonderful drawings in their entirety.
Kirsten’s World: “Shake Up the Picture The Lizard Mixture”
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By Kirsten Phillips (Niigata-ken, 2005-08)
Many things in Japan were my crack cocaine. Tarako, choco an-pan, hijiki, and heated toilet seats all soon became things I could not smile without. I would do lines of kinako dust in the morning just to ease my peanut butter withdrawal. Hon maguro became my sushi requirement. In my rusty little hamlet by the sea there was no shortage of shiokara (salted squid guts) to go with the copious amounts of booze that somehow found me. The stuff was pretty tasty as long as you ate it with a heaping dose of denial.
But of all things Japanese that would make me their bitch, I owe my sanity to one ambrosial substance: 玄米茶。
That’s brown rice tea for those not in the know.
Friends, a steaming cup of genmai-cha on a colorless cold morning feels like a mini three day weekend. It tastes like autumn in a cup, like being hugged by your ample armed mother. Please have some. Read More
Translator’s Corner: Keep Our English Out of Your Japanese Puns!
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By translator and writer Jamie Graves (Saitama-Ken 2002-2003)
The Japanese language is notorious for having a relatively small number of phonemes compared to other major world languages, which can be a hindrance when having to learn new sounds outside that structure (the infamous “L” and “R” distinction), but results in a tremendous number of homonyms. While there are slight changes in emphasis between the words for “hair”, “god” and “paper”, they are all kami. I think we can safely assume that the Japanese have been making linguistic tricks like this into bad puns for centuries, if not millennia.
When the Chinese writing system first crash landed onto the Japanese language around fifteen-hundred years ago no one could have predicted the historical fallout: an explosion of bad puns. As Chinese characters were gradually adapted to Japanese, all of the tones that had previously distinguished words like“mǎ” (“horse”, 馬) from “má” (“hemp” 麻) were flattened out. In a language already rife with nearly identical words, this produced a new explosion of homonyms, the building blocks of puns. (The Chinese also use these for puns. In an effort to mess with government censors the phrase 草泥马, “grass-mud-horse” has gone viral on the Chinese blogosphere because the same sounds with different tones mean… something not really printable here. ( This page explains the whole phenomenon.)
Case in point, the furious Japanese tongue twister “Uraniwa niwa niwa, niwa niwa niwa, niwatori ari”. (裏庭には二羽、庭には二羽、鶏あり). Niwa in Read More
Tokyo As Seen Through the Eyes of Foreigners (film review)
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By Rick Ambrosio (Ibaraki-ken, 2006-08) and Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken, 2000-03)
Sunshine Cinema is now showing the movie Tokyo!, a compilation of three short films from the French directors Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) and Leos Carax (Lovers on the Bridge) and the Korean director Bong Joon-Ho (The Host). Gondry himself made an appearance at two showings of the film when it debuted last weekend, for a Q&A session after the 7:30 show and introducing the movie at the 10:30 show. He spoke in his typically quirky way about his time shooting in Tokyo, and how things like the spaces between buildings and how Japanese people falling asleep on each other on the train fascinated him. Before starting the show, he expressed relief that his Japanese producers weren’t there so he wouldn’t feel bad about forgetting to thank them.
Tokyo! kicks off with his contribution of “Interior Design,” a Kafkaesque story about trying to find your place in the world. The story revolves around a young couple that Read More
James Kennedy “Librarian” essay sets blogosphere atwitter
Blogs, Books, Career, Celebrity, Humor, Interview/Profile, Roland Kelts, Uncategorized, Writers Comments Off on James Kennedy “Librarian” essay sets blogosphere atwitter
Following James Kennedy’s (Nara-ken, 2004-06) recent post of his essay describing the heretofore unpublicized lifestyles and rituals of librarians (a “cult” of which Kennedy’s own wife is admittedly a member) in connection with the American Library Association’s awarding of the “Best Book for Young Adults” to Neil Gaman, author of Coraline, rather than Kennedy’s The Order of Odd-Fish, the blogosphere was atwitter with commentary about Kennedy, who will be appearing in NYC March 22 for the JET Alumni Author Showcase along with Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99) and Robert P. Weston (Nara-ken, 2002-04)).
The Handless Poet’s Maria Alexander said:
I’m buying James Kennedy’s book, The Order of Odd-Fish. I’m buying it entirely because of this blog post. James Kennedy could quite possibly be the funniest man in America. http://www.thehandlesspoet.com/blogger/2009/03/james-kennedy-is-all-growed-up.html
School Library Journal’s Elizabeth Bird wrote:
Bad news for my husband. I have just fallen head-over-heels in love with James Kennedy, author of the YA novel The Order of Odd-Fish. Ladies and gentlemen of the liking men variety, I advise you to be very careful in reading this blog post of his which tells (in a fashion) of his experience with the last ALA Media Awards. He had me at “conniving sidelong lope” and now I feel compelled to read every damn word the fellow has ever written, starting from the early scribbles he scrawled out as a toothless mewling babe. Ba-bump goes my little heart. I also feel inclined to give him a bad review with the sole intention of hoping that he will write about me and do complicated things with my name. As I read through it I almost want to dedicate this entire post solely in the purpose of getting you to read this blog. Go. Now. Read. This. Man. I, for my part, am off to read his book. Even if it is YA. http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/blog/1790000379/post/1130041713.html?nid=3713
Jobs: English Teaching in Japan and Korea – Aclipse
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Aclipse is seeking English teachers for Japan and Korea. More info below. To apply go to: http://www.aclipse.net/apply_now.html
JETAA Chapter Beat 3.10.09
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Freelance writer/editor Jonathan Trace (Fukuoka-ken, 2005-08) takes us on a walk around the JET Alumni community…
- Shinnenkai! – Friday, March 20th, 6:30 to 8:30 at REI Seattle. Ring in the new year in March with PNWJETAA. Bring the family for good food, lively conversation and a quick vote for a new president. Don’t miss this exciting event.
- Seattle Buddhist Temple Spring Bazaar – Sunday, March 15th, 11:00 to 3:00 at the Seattle Buddhist Temple. Come out for some home made Japanese food including sushi, barazushi, curry rice and apple pie.
- Seattle/Kobe Jazz Vocalist Audition – Monday, March 23rd, 6:30 at Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley. The Seattle-Kobe Sister City Association is looking for one high school and one adult female jazz vocalist to perform at the Kobe Jazz Queen Vocalist Contest May 9th, 2009 in Kobe, Japan. Put those pipes to work and try out!
- Teaching ESL Information Sessions – Monday, March 16th, 7:00 at the Seattle University Eastside Center and Wednesday, March 18th, 7:00 at the School of Teaching ESL. If you want to learn more about teaching English either locally or abroad these information sessions are for you.
- Nihongo Dake Dinner – Saturday, March 14th, 7:00 in Hollywood. Brush up on your Japanese and amaze your friends.
- Bowling and Dinner in Fountain Valley (OC Chapter) – March 22nd join the OC Subchapter of JETAASC for some bowling, food and maybe a bit of karaoke. Details are still in the works so stay tuned.
- Quiz Night – Thursday, March 19th, 7:00 at the UWA Tavern. Join in for the ever popular Quiz night. Food, drinks and some trivia. Don’t miss it.
- Annual General Meeting – Friday, March 27th, 7:00 at 43 Below. If you are interested in joining the JETAA committee this year please come by and participate.
- Kaiwa – Thursday, March 12th, 5:30 at 43 Below. Practice your Japanese with old friends and some tasty snacks.
- JETAANC Book Club Meeting – Thursday, March 12th, 6:30 at Cactus Taqueria. Come out and discuss Miyuki Miyabe’s All She was Worth at this month’s book club. Even if you’ve fallen behind in your reading please come by and be a part of the discussion.
- Gardens of Kyoto with Peter Bowyer – Saturday, March 14th, 10:0
0 A.M. at the Cultural Exchange Center. Learn about the elements of Japanese garden design, construction and maintenance. - Santa Clara International Exchange Concert with Okayama Gakugeikan High School – Saturday, March 14th, 6:00 at the Louis B. Mayer Theatre at Santa Clara University. Come see this Internationl Exchange Concert performed by the Ambassadors and the Santa Clara Honors Youth Symphony as well as the Okayama Gakugeikan Symphonic Band from Okayama, Japan.
- Meishi Exchange – Thursday, March 19th, 7:00 at Aja in the West Village. Meet fellow JET alumni, their friends and co-workers , as well as Japan’s Local Government Office and members of the Japanese Consulate in this networking event.
- JETAANY Book Club – Tuesday, March 24, 7:00 at Kat Barnes apartment. This book in question is “In the Shade of Spring Leaves, The Life of Higuchi Ichiyo, With Nine of Her Best Stories,” a collection of short stories by Higuchi Ichiyo. Come and discuss.
- Haru Natsukashii Dinner – Saturday, March 21st, 6:00 at Koume Restaurant. Food, games and prizes to ring in the coming spring. Be sure to join in.
- Japanese Art and Anime Festival – Friday, March 13th and Saturday March 14th at the Orlando Public Library. Information can be found here.
- O-Shaberikai – Wednesday, March 25th, 5:30 at the Holy Grail in Civic. Join in and meet Japanese people living in Canberra and other locals interested in Japan.
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.
Roland Kelts on Japan’s News Zero interviewed by Sho Sakurai
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Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99) was recently interviewed by Sho Sakurai on Japan’s News Zero program. Click here to watch the clip on YouTube. (Good opportunity to practice your Japanese a bit as well. :-)
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WITLife is a periodic series written by professional Interpreter/Translator/Writer Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken, 2000-03). Recently she’s been watching Fujisankei’s newscast in Japanese and sharing some of the interesting tidbits and trends together with her own observations.
A little while back I profiled the trend of men and bento making, and it appears to be going strong with advocates receiving the new moniker “Bento Boys.” I was recently doing some copy editing of a market research report which discussed this topic, and though it would be interesting to share as a follow-up. Previously I mentioned the “Oyaji Bento” blog, and this report highlights a blog of a similar nature called “Kyo no Bento.” Below is an excerpt from the report:
“Previously in Japan, frugality was a virtue but stinginess was not welcomed. Now the Japanese do not think someone is necessarily stingy when they are saving money in the process. There are increasing numbers of Read More
Translators Corner: Translating Obama, Audaciously
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Posted by translator and writer Jamie Graves (Saitama-Ken 2002-2003). JetWit invites other translators to post commentary on for Translators Corner as well. Contact translatorscorner atto jetwit dotto com if interested.
While President Obama’s name has proved remarkably compatible with the Japanese language (I wish MY name were that easy to write in kanji), his eloquent rhetoric has proved a little bit more difficult. There is currently an excellent discussion on the Google Honyaku Group about how to translate the now iconic phrase “The Audacity of Hope“. The title of the official Japanese translation of the book conveys only one meaning of the phrase, meaning something like “Revitalizing America, By Embracing Large Hopes”. You can find the discussion on how to accurately render the poetic brevity of “The Audacity of Hope” here.
I thought the first suggestion “あえての希望” (Aete-no-kibo, “daring to hope”) best captured the succinctness of the original phrase. It was followed by many interesting, and occasionally very funny suggestions, as well as some fascinating digressions on what exactly the meaning and feeling of the word “Audacity” are in the original phrase.
Particularly interesting was how people were looking for something to convey the brash feeling of audacity, how the phrase relates to the already popular “Boys Be Ambitious” (青年よ大志を抱け), and the slightly dark (and prescient) joke that “オーダシティ” may soon enter the Japanese language as is.
For those who are interested, Dwight Van Winkle posted an interesting link to a list of official translations of the “The Audacity of Hope” in many different languages.
The best thing in sushi since vinegar…
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Posted by Jamie Graves (Saitama-ken 2002-2003). Jamie is a freelance translator specializing in food, cooking and literature.
In case you haven’t seen this yet, a totally charming little YouTube video shot in a kaiten-zushi place in Hokkaido.
That parade of faces is absolutely priceless.
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By translator and writer Jamie Graves (Saitama-Ken 2002-2003)
If you studied Japanese at the college level, your first exposure to the language most likely came from the red and black circles of Eleanor Harz Jorden’s seminal textbook “Japanese: The Spoken Language.” Jorden recently passed away at the age of 89, having spent her entire adult life studying and teaching Japanese linguistics to English speakers. Jorden was part of the generation of Japanese scholars that became active and influential just after World War II, and whose work laid the foundations for modern study and understanding of Japan in the English speaking world. When the translations of Donald Keene and Edward Seidensticker inspired many to study Japanese language and literature, it was often the system Jorden developed that they used to learn it.
As a linguist, Jorden was extremely concerned with accuracy and precision. Switching to Japanese in the middle of my junior year, I moved from the copiously illustrated “Genki” series of textbooks, with its illustrated storyline of Mary-san the exchange student slowly learning Japanese language and culture, to Jorden’s blocky and forbidding introduction. There were no photos, illustrations or cultural asides in Jorden’s book, just rows of text and the occasional explanatory table. Instead of hellos and introductions the book begins like a science text, defining its most basic terms. “Mora is the term we will use to refer to the syllable-like unit of Japanese: each mora represents one beat and occupies roughly the same unit of time (a 3-mora word takes three times as long to pronounce as a 1-mora word).” Read More
Writing opportunity: JQ (JETAANY Quarterly) seeks writers
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JQ (JETAANY Quarterly) Magazine editor Justin Tedaldi is seeking writers for the below assignments. If interested, contact Justin at magazine /atto/ jetaany /dotto/ org.
1. JETAA ALUMNI AUTHOR SHOWCASE – MARCH 22 @ 1:00 p.m.
On March 22, JETAA NY is pleased to present three great authors – Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99), James Kennedy (Nara-ken, 2004-06) and Robert P. Weston (Nara-ken, 2002-04) – who will discuss their books, the craft and business of writing and how their JET experience fits into the picture. Here’s a chance for you to write a story about this unique, first-time ever event!
Moderator: Randall David Cook (Fukui-ken, 1991-93) is the author of the acclaimed off-broadway plays Sake With the Haiku Geisha and Fate’s Imagination.
*Click https://jetwit.com/wordpress/library/authorsbooks/ to see a full list of JET alumni authors.
*Special guest appearance by Akira Sugiyama, Director of the Japan Information Center of the Consulate General of Japan in New York .
This event is being organized in cooperation with the Consulate General of Japan in New York.
2. JAPAN NITE ’09 CONCERT – MARCH 22 @ 8:00 p.m.
Since 1996, BENTEN Tokyo & SXSW Asia Rep have held an yearly showcase called JAPAN NITE U.S. TOUR including SXSW appearance and has introduced countless Japanese Artists to the world. 2009 will mark its 13 year anniversary. The performer’s brilliant musical performances, unique character and variety of style has won the acclaim of many, and Japan Nite evolved each year to become one of the most popular showcases in SXSW. The event has featured over 60 bands, including the likes of LOVE PSYCHEDELICO, ORIGINAL LOVE,,Lolita No.18, Number Girl, Petty Booka,TsuShiMaMire, noodles, PE’Z, Stance Punks, ELLEGARDEN, HY,The 50 KAITENZ, ASAKUSA JINTA, PISTOL VALVE, THE EMERALDS, ORESKA BAND and GO!GO! 7188 and more. We have Two Japan Nite shows during this year SXSW and after that we travel 7 other cities as always. Please check out the schedule below and come to see awesome new bands! You know Asakusa Jinta and detroit7 are coming back again. I am sure they are going to be one of the highlights of the tour and I am so happy to introduce new all girl bands and also Japanese punk legend band, SA. You should check out indie band hero, SPARTA LOCALS also. It’s so nice and unbelievable that one of the best alternative band, GRAPEVINE also join the tour!
Concert is Sunday, March 22 at NY’s Bowery Ballroom with: detroit7/SA/SPARTA LOCALS/FLiP/Omodaka/GRAPEVINE/ ASAKUSA JINTA
Anyone interested in reviewing the show or interviewing the coordinators or talent?
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=1000416699
3. JET ALUM PUBLISHES BOOK OF POEMS
JETAA Chicago Newsletter editor Elizabeth Friedman told me about James Shea, a Chicago-based JET alum who has a new book of poetry recently out on Amazon. His info is posted on the Authors page in the JetWit Library, and an article about James would make a great story to share with JETAA Chicago for their next issue.
James Shea, a former ALT and Monbukagakusho research student, published his first book of poetry in November of last year. The book is entitled Star in the Eye and is available on amazon.com. Some of the poetry is inspired by his experiences in Japan as an ALT. The book has won the 2008 Fence Modern Poets Series Prize and was also named as one of the “Favorite Books of 2008″ by the Chicago Sun Times. For more information, please visit the following link: http://www.amazon. com/Star- Eye-James- Shea/dp/19342001 4X
4. JOKICHI TAKAMINE PLAY, APRIL. 10-11
JetWit contributor Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-Ken CIR, 2000-03) told us about a play running for two days in April (10-11) that we can we profile. It’s about Jokichi Takamine, the Japanese doctor who discovered adrenaline at the turn of the century. He married an American and after some time in Japan they moved back here and bought a Japanese estate called Shofuden that had been displayed at the 1904 World’s Fair. Stacy saw a DVD of a performance in Tokyo , and her company is a sponsor. Stacy will attend one of the performances and can possibly arrange tickets to anyone interested in writing an article.
5. NEW YORK-TOKYO.COM PROFILE
This is a group that frequently sponors exclusive films, music and multimedia events here in New York . We run a story about them and I’ll put you in touch with someone in charge to provide more info.
Started in 2001, NEW YORK – TOKYO (NYT) is a NYC – based event media production and marketing communications company that is uniquely positioned to tap into the creative cultural vibe between New York and Tokyo , media capitals of the world.
http://www.newyork-tokyo.com/wp/about/
6. JAPANESE CONSULATE FEATURE
The article “Nihonjin in New York ” in the current issue spotlighted the JLGC. For the next issue, I’m thinking of getting in touch with someone at the Consulate-General’s office. They publish an online newsletter of their own, and have at least one CLAIR representative we can speak with.
http://www.ny.us.emb-japan.go.jp/en/html/index.html
7. JOB PROSPECTS FOR JETS, CIRCA 2009
I’m interested in a piece that talks about the challenges new returnee JETs face after coming home and looking for work in this economy, as well as other JET alums considering new jobs or just looking for work. This could be as simple as anecdotes (along the lines of our “How’s the Economy Treating You?” feature from fall 2008), but I’d like to turn this into an actual feature story, with at least three volunteers providing the details.
8. THE HISTORY OF JAPANESE NEWSPAPERS IN NEW YORK
There are close to a dozen newspapers and magazines in Japanese that are distributed for free at grocery stores and other select places in teh city. The question is, why are there so many, who runs them, what is there staff like, and how can they be more in touch with the JET community?
9. TOKA…
Justin is also looking for contributions for next issue’s Nippon News Blotter and East Meets West along with additional story ideas, and would also like to talk ad sales for anyone interested in making warm calls to follow up with contacts he’s e-mailed the new issue to. The more advertisers JQ gets next time, the more it can grow and evolve content- and style-wise.
Any questions, e-mail Justin at magazine /atto/ jetaany /dotto/ org.
Volunteer Opportunity: New York de Volunteer
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NY de Volunteer will be starting up its Japanese after school program again on March 6th and would like to invite JET alumni volunteers to come and speak to the kids about Japan. More information here: http://www.nydevolunteer.org/activities/afterschool/index_e.html
The next program will be:
J. Hood Wright Recreation Center, 351 Fort Washington Avenue, New York, NY 10033, Located in J Hood Wright Park
Cross Streets: West 174th Street & Fort Washington Avenue
Subway: A line “175th Street Station”
Map: http://www.nydevolunteer.org/activities/afterschool/images/map_jhoodwright.jpg
Date: June 12th
Time: 3:30-5:30Speech time: about 20 minutes, between 4:00-4:40.
Most of the kids over there are from Dominican Republic, so we’d love to have any Spanish speakers.
If interested, contact Noriko Hino at noriko /at/ nydevolunteer /dot/ org
Via JETAA Chicago:
STAR IN THE EYE- POETRY BOOK RELEASE
James Shea, a former ALT and Monbukagakusho research student, published his first book of poetry in November of last year. The book is entitled Star in the Eye and is available on amazon.com. It has won the 2008 Fence Modern Poets Series Prize and was also named as one of the “Favorite Books of 2008” by the Chicago Sun Times. For more information, please visit the following link: http://www.amazon. com/Star- Eye-James- Shea/dp/19342001 4X
To see a list of all JET alumni authors that of whom JetWit is aware, go to the “Authors” section in the JetWit “Library.” https://jetwit.com/wordpress/library/authorsbooks/
