Brainstorm Crew: Request for article writers from JQ Editor Justin Tedaldi
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The latest issue of JQ (JETAA NY Quarterly) Magazine has hit the stands, and now Editor Justin Tedaldi (CIR Kobe-shi, 2000-01) working on the next issue and seeking writers. Read on for more info. (It also actually stands on its own as a great list of JET-relevant things and interesting JET alums.)
Hi, Brainstorm Crew!
Hope everyone’s enjoying the start of the new year (a link to JQ’s current issue is here in case you haven’t seen it yet, thanks always for your contributions and ideas and feel to link the new issue to your own sites/blogs to promote us). Below are the story ideas needing takers for our March 2010 issue and beyond. De wa…
Deadlines are as follows:
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5: Registering a story assignment with me at magazine@jetaany.org, or pitching an idea of your own for approval. All suggestions are welcome. We’ve been picking up more new writers with each issue, and I encourage all first-timers whether you consider yourself a seasoned writer or not. (Just mind the deadlines!)
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14: Deadline for submitting a final draft of your story. Extensions will be granted on a case-by-case basis, less so for new writers.
I would also greatly appreciate added assistance with the following:
AD SALES CALLS: More sales means more JETAANY-sponsored events. It takes under two minutes to get an answer in most cases. Write for more info.
COPY EDITING/PROOFREADING: For those of you who like reading this thing cover to cover. Multiple times.
YOUR OWN STORY IDEAS: Anything’s fair game! Some of our most interesting material comes from suggestions from our more dedicated readers.
Now the fun stuff. Below are the story ideas. Thanks for reading and providing your support, and e-mail at magazine@jetaany.org with any other questions/ideas.
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CONSULATE GENERAL JAPAN CARAVAN
This is a decade-plus program run by New York’s Consulate General of Japan that sends consulate staff (American and Japanese) to New York high schools and junior high schools to introduce students to Japanese culture. Earlier this month, I participated as a volunteer and enjoyed taking part in a Q&A with a very enthusiastic anime/manga club and faculty. The purpose of this article will be to increase awareness of the program so more JETAA members can get involved.
ASIA SOCIETY
Earlier this month NYC’s Asia Society held a concert called “Hogaku,” or Japanese folk instruments played with modern flair. We’ve never profiled Asia Society, so this would be a great time to find out more about how they select their Japanese attractions and exhibitions. www.asiasociety.org
TENRI CULTURAL INSTITUTE
Tenri Cultural Institute is a non-profit organization with a mission to promote the study of Japanese language and the appreciation of international art forms. Based in Greenwich Village, it also houses the Tenrikyo Church, which has its own interesting history. http://www.tenri.org/
Japan Nite 2010 at Bowery Ballroom
Annual concert featuring indie acts from Japan. This year’s edition will be held Sunday, 3/21 at Bowery Ballroom. I’m looking for a preview piece con the history of the festival with quotes from either members of one of the groups or the promoters. (Info for all acts at ticket homepage below.
Lineup: Red Bacteria Vacuum / Omodaka / JinnnyOops! / Okamato’s
http://www.boweryballroom.com/event/4053
Japan Society’s Spring 2010 Performing Arts Schedule
This season features kyogen, live theater and music. Am open to profiles/reviews of any of the following listed at the page below.
http://www.japansociety.org/performingarts
Exhibit: Kuniyoshi Monster Prints at Japan Society – PREVIEW OR REVIEW
Graphic Heroes, Magic Monsters: Japanese Prints by Utagawa Kuniyoshi from the Arthur R. Miller Collection, March 12-June 13, 2010, at Japan Society Gallery
Thrashing sea creatures, samurai warriors, and a giant, looming skeleton are among the distinguishing subjects of the brashest of Japan’s Ukiyo-e masters, Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797–1861), whose populist oeuvre is to be presented by Japan Society Gallery from March 12 to June 13, 2010.
Fresh from its spring 2009 showing at London’s Royal Academy of Arts, where it was the surprise smash hit of the season, Graphic Heroes, Magic Monsters: Japanese Prints by Utagawa Kuniyoshi from the Arthur R. Miller Collection marks the first major exhibition of Kuniyoshi’s work in the United States in nearly 30 years. The exhibition has been organized by the Royal Academy in collaboration with Arthur R. Miller and The British Museum. The vast majority of the 150 color woodblock prints on display are from the Arthur R. Miller Collection, New York, generously loaned to Japan Society by the American Friends of the British Museum.
ISSHONI LONDON – JET Alum Vanessa Villalobos
London JET alum’s blog: events, news, review and interviews. I met her back in December and this would be a good Q&A piece for any JETs wanting to learn more about how our alumni groups operate overseas.
http://www.isshonilondon.co.uk/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Isshoni-London/119415767689
http://twitter.com/IsshoniVanessa
JQ Magazine’s Winter 2010 “Food and Film” Issue Is Out Now!
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JQ Editor Justin Tedaldi (CIR Kobe-shi, 2001-02) has worked hard to put out another fantastic issue of JETAA NY Quarterly Magazine (aka JQ). O-tsukare sama deshita, Justin-san!
Start the decade off right!JAN/FEB 2010 ISSUE: Click image below for our homepage
Click here to SUBSCRIBE via PayPal
Editor: Justin Tedaldi – magazine@jetaany.org
JAN/FEB 2010 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page 3……..Letter From the Editor / Letter From the Secretary
Page 4……..Nippon News Blotter / JetWit Baby
Page 5……..Peace Corps Calls Out to JETs by Marea Pariser
Page 6……..Gearing Up for Grad School by Aly Woolfrey
Page 6……..At the ISE Cultural Gallery by Michael Glumac
Page 7……..Harumi Kurihara: The JQ Interview by Yukari Sakamoto
Page 8……..Nihonjin in New York – Featuring Filmmaker Takayuki Tanaka by Stacy Smith
Page 9……..Lisa Katayama on 2-D Love, Japan Pop by Crystal Wong
Page 9……..The Legacy of Tokyo Story by David Kowalsky
Page 10……JETlog – Featuring John Ellis-Guardiola
Page 10……The Language(s) of Love: Wendy Nelson Tokunaga by Nichole Knight
Page 11…….Bridge Building with Filmmaker Aaron Woolfolk by Lyle Sylvander
Page 12……The Funny Page
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Joshikai SF: A new meet-up for Japanese women and women connected to Japan
女子力アップ！「女子会サンフランシスコ」
Next meeting: Thursday, 2/11
For February’s Joshikai, the author of Shortchanged: A Japanese Women’s Guide to International Romance（www.sonsuru-japan.com), Mieko Mochizuki Swartz will give advice about international relationships and romance, addressing differences in communication styles and cultural expectations. The talk will be followed by time for networking, chatting and drinking.
(See full details below)
JetWit Note: Apparently the first event they held was wonderful–they had about 35 women in attendance, with a good mix of Japanese and American women including a number of JET alums!
About Joshikai SF
Are you a Japanese woman or a woman with an interest in Japan? Maybe you just moved here from Tokyo this summer and want to make new friends… Maybe you taught English in Osaka a few years ago and want to revive your rusty Japanese… Whether you are a native Japanese woman or an American (or other nationality) woman with an interest in Japan, Joshikai may be for you!
女子による女子のための女子限定ネットワークイベント「女子会サンフランシスコ」を始動しました。女子同士ならではのよさ、赤裸々な本音トークなどを楽しんで、一緒に女子力アップを目指しませんか？
We are creating a community of Japanese women and women with an interest in Japan, gathering for a monthly meet-up to make friends, share stories and learn from each other. On the second Thursday of each month, we’ll meet at a location that is chic, reasonably priced, and conveniently located (near a BART station and other public transportation) for an evening of drinks and girl talk, where our members can connect and relax over a cocktail.
Why women only? We want to create a relaxed atmosphere, with the opportunity to speak freely and connect with each other in a supportive environment.
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Here is the information about our February event (in Japanese then English): Read More
“The US-Japan Alliance: Relic of a By-gone Era” by JET alum Michael Auslin
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The latest from JET alum Michael Auslin, a professor of Japanese history and politics and currently the Director of Japanese Studies for the American Enterprise Institute in D.C. This one part of The AEI Outlook Series.
The U.S.-Japan Alliance: Relic of a By-gone Era?
http://www.aei.org/outlook/100929
by JET alum Michael Auslin
The U.S.-Japan Treaty of Mutual Cooperation was signed in Washington, D.C., fifty years ago this month. Few alliances last half a century. The fact that this one has is a testament to its strength, but it is also the result of East Asia’s failure to develop stable political and security relationships in the decades after World War II. It also reflects Japan’s postwar political realities and the choices successive Japanese governments made to maintain the country’s largely pacifist global role. Yet, the pressures on the alliance today raise questions about how well it can adapt to changes inside Japan, the United States, and throughout Asia. If the alliance is to survive, how should it change to best serve the evolving national interests of Japan and the United States?
Key points in this Outlook:
* The U.S.-Japan Treaty of Mutual Cooperation has helped maintain peace in Asia for the past fifty years.
* Security-related issues regarding North Korea’s nuclear-weapons program and China’s growing military raise important political questions for the future of the alliance.
* Today, the Obama and Hatoyama administrations must decide if they view the alliance as a key element in their security strategies or as an outdated relic of a bygone era.
To read the whole paper, go here: http://www.aei.org/outlook/100929
Roland Kelts on Confucianism in Japan, in AdBusters, Big Ideas of 2010 Issue
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After the Walkman and the Prius, Is it time for the West to adopt the Confucianism from the East? Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99), author of Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture Has Invaded the US, asks that in the latest issue of AdBusters. As a part of the magazine’s Big Ideas of 2010 issue, Kelts challenges the West: “Let’s listen to our neighbors in the East. A culture that prizes quiet contemplation, self-abnegation, community and stability should not threaten us in the West. We can do better if we learn from one another. And with our entire planet threatened by extinction, we need to.”
Roland Kelts column in Daily Yomiuri: Our hybrid future is here
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Violinist Diana Yukawa
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Here’s the latest SOFT POWER/HARD TRUTHS column in the Daily Yomiuri by Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99), author of Japanamerica, this one about hybrid people, hybrid music and hybridization as a trend.
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/arts/20091218TDY11001.htm
Diana Yukawa age 8
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JET alum writer Elizabeth White a featured writer on WineTime Tv’s new website
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Elizabeth White (Toyama-ken, 1995-98), the former Media Coordinator for JETAA Southern California, is now a featured writer for WineTimeTv.net. Have a look:
http://winetimetv.net/home/contributors
BAPCPA Man #17: BAPCPA Man vs Mortgantua – Part 5 – Mortgage Cramdown Fail
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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.
Do you work in bankruptcy or restructuring? Now you can join the JET Alumni Restructuring & Bankruptcy Group on LinkedIn.
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.
JET Alum Liz Sheffield interviews “Love In Translation” author Wendy Nelson Tokunaga
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Author, manuscript consultant and blogger Liz Sheffield (Hokkaio-ken, Sapporo-shi, 1993-95) has a great post on her blog Motherlogue about a new book out titled Midori by Moonlight by Wendy Nelson Tokunaga. Here’s Liz’s explanation of the background:
About a year ago I read Wendy Nelson Tokunaga’s debut novel, Midori by Moonlight. I was thrilled to see that she had a new release out in November — Love In Translation. Both of her books cover topics near and dear to my heart: Japanese culture, the expatriate experience and cross-cultural romance.
Love In Translation intrigued me because the story is told from the perspective of a foreign woman living in Japan, something with which I have personal experience! As I read the book, I had a wonderful sense of being reconnected to my own experiences in Japan — from the visits to a ryokan (Japanese hotel) to eating delicious shu-cream to blunders in communication through a foreign language. I was also reminded of what I learned about myself thanks to the joy and hardship of navigating a culture so different from my own.
In my interview with her at Motherlogue, Wendy offers insight about her experiences in Japan, about publishing two novels and combining her vocal talents with her husband’s musical talents to create an enka song (“Nozomi No Hoshi“) as the soundtrack for Love In Translation. Details about how to request a copy of “Nozomi No Hoshi” on CD, are included in the interview.
- Read the interview with Wendy Nelson Tokunaga, author of “Love in Translation.”
- Read an interview with fellow JET alum Suzanne Kamata about Suzanne’s book Call Me Okaasan: Adventures in Multicultural Mothering.
- Follow Motherlogue here: http://motherlogue.wordpress.com
Roland Kelts’ Japanamerica reviewed by Fan-to-Pro blog
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Here’s a nice review of Japanamerica (by Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99) on the blog Fan-to-Pro: The Blog of Professional Geekery, which describes itself as “a blog about jobs, career and economics for ambitious fans, progeeks, Otariimen and other members of the Modern Literati.”
http://www.fantopro.com/blog/2009/12/book-review-japanamerica.html
Just in time for the holidays, in case you’re looking for that special gift for that special JET friend or Friend of JET!
Just heard from Aaron Woolfolk (Kochi-ken, 1991-93), writer and director of the film The Harimaya Bridge (starring Ben Guillory, Saki Takaoka, Misa Shimizu, and Danny Glover, who is also the Executive Producer), that the film is now available on DVD in Japan.
JetWit would love to have a copy of the DVD for JETAA NY purposes, so if you’re in Japan and can get a hold of a The Harimaya Bridge DVD, let me know. (jetwit [/at/] jetwit [/dot/] com.)
Meanwhile, the Aaron has continued showing The Harimaya Bridge at film festivals around the U.S. and reports that the film is due out in theaters in the U.S. in the spring.
JET Alum Writing: Jonathan Golub – Private Fund Investment Advisers Registration Act of 2009
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Jonathan Golub, Esq. (Saitama-ken, 1996-97)
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For JetWit readers working in law or financial services, you may be interested to know that attorney Jonathan Golub (Saitama-ken, 1996-97) was a major contributor to a recent article on the topic of hedge funds and a proposed law that would require many hedge fund managers to register with the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC).
Jonathan is a senior financial services associate at Tannenbaum Helpern Syracuse & Hirschtritt LLP. He advises investment advisers on a wide variety of matters including private investment fund formation and compliance with securities and commodities regulations.
Roland Kelts article in PaperSky–in Japanese–on hybridization and travel
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Here’s a column by Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99), author of Japanamerica, in the Japanese-language travel magazine, PaperSky (http://www.paper-sky.com/blog/). It’s a “mediation on hybridization and travel” and includes photos of the Tokyo, Sydney and NYC skylines.
BAPCPA Man #15 – BAPCPA Man vs Mortgantua Part 4 – Mortgage Cramdown!
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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.
Do you work in bankruptcy or restructuring? Now you can join the JET Alumni Restructuring & Bankruptcy Group on LinkedIn.
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.
JET-Popp: Yokohama Children`s Book Conference
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Laura Popp (Mie-ken, 2009-Present) is a current JET who writes fantasy and science fiction for children and young adults, and is an occasional playwright/film maker. Her short work includes a short story titled “In theShadow Realm” and a documentary she made in Malawi. To read about her amazing adventures all over Japan, go to her blog at laurajanepopp.blogspot.com. (And check out the Authors/Books section of the JetWit Library for a list of more writers in the JET-o-sphere.)
Hello again! This week I would like to report on the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) conference in Yokohama. It actually occurred on November 14th, but, alas, I have been ill with swine flu and other “opportunistic infections” so I was unable to report. But now you get to hear all about it!
For those of you who don`t know, SCBWI is a great group to get involved with if you write for kids. They have lots of events, critique groups, contests, and resources. Here is their website: http://www.scbwi.jp/
A note on transportation. There are many events for writers and translators in Japan, but most are confined to the big cities. For those of you who live in a small town like me, you may be wondering how you will ever get to this wonderful career-building opportunities and still stay within your tight school-teacher budget. Fear not!
There is a wonderful, often overlooked form of transportation in Japan called the night bus. It may seem like a pain, but the bus I took from my home in Nabari to Yokohama was very comfortable. The bus ride was about eight hours, so if I were more accustomed to sleeping on a bus, I probably could have been well rested when we arrived very early in the morning. The earliness gave me plenty of time for sightseeing before the conference, and since my bus home didn`t leave until 11:00pm. Plus it cost less than half than taking the shinkansen, and there`s no need to pay for a hotel!
That said, I was very tired when I arrived back in Nabari at 7:00am. Fortunately it was Sunday, but I would not recommend taking the night bus if you have to go to work the next day. Also, be warned, not all night buses are created equal. Check to see if the bus you want to ride has reclining seats or not, and if there is a bathroom on board or if they stop ever few hours, turn on the lights, and have people jostling past you trying to get in and out constantly. If you are interested in taking a night bus somewhere, I would recommend contacting the main bus station in your town. Most of them don’t speak English, but a Japanese friend helped me get the information and make reservations over the phone. You may be surprised how many places offer night buses to common destinations such as Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka, etc.
(FYI, Yokohama is famous for its Read More
