By Kirsten Phillips (Niigata-ken, 2005-08)
My first year in Japan schooled me.
Learn how to suck it up, you soft American pansy. This is Nippon and we don’t care if your carcass is rotting and your soul is spiraling rapidly towards damnation. We will smile and hand you the five letter dirty word: G-A-M-A-N. Now get your sorry ass into that tanmoku of 40 revved up first years or we will not be amused.
Going in to work sick is a part of life. You popped your meds, filled your water bottle and dragged your dead weight to class. Some days you just don’t have the juice to perform. When you haven’t seen the sun for 3 straight months and Kocho thinks its a swell idea to keep the heaters turned off in January to save money, you sometimes have to look under the couch of your soul and hope to scrape up some change in order to get through the day.
Nonetheless, sick is sick.
I only ever got heinously ill once in Japan. Heinous enough to see a Japanese doctor, that is. The guy was curt, handed me a vast array of Read More
Bankruptcy Bill #12 – Facebook #1
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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.
*Note: For those unfamiliar with the bagel reference, you can find the explanation in this NY Post article along with some additional modern bankruptcy cultural history in this NY Observer article.
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.
Even though it doesn’t seem like it here in New York, the calendar tells us spring is right around the corner. Here’s a smattering of some freshly picked blog posts with same dashes of whimsy to round out your web surfing.
Robert P. Weston (Nara-ken, 2002-04) wishes a happy birthday to someone with a key part in inspiring his book Zorgamazoo.
Rose Symotiuk (Hokkaido, 2003-2005) shares some truths about ringing in March with a New York snowstorm.
For all the old-school Batman fans out there, Jamie Patterson offers this video clip.
And from Lee-Sean Huang’s (Oita-ken, 2003-06) blog, he shares an intricate performance art game developed for his Visual Music class. He’ll also be performing at Arlene’s Grocery this Wednesday with JC Cassis’ band.
Daily Yomiuri: Roland Kelts comments on Haruki Murakami’s Israel speech
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In a special column in today’s Daily Yomiuri (“Haruki Murakami: Japan’s 21st-Century Cultural Ambassador“), Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99), author of Japanamerica, comments on Haruki Murakami’s speech regarding his recent acceptance of a literary award in Israel.
Roland also has a new “Soft Power/Hard Truths” column out today, this one titled “Cosplayers a breath of fresh air for D.C.“
Also, here are upcoming speaking dates in NY for Roland:
- Mar 10th, New York, NY, The Consulate General of Japan in New York
- Mar 12th, New York, NY, The Japan Society
- Mar 22nd, New York, NY, JETaaNY Author Showcase (*RSVP required)
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/
Roland Kelts upcoming appearances: Pasadena, CA, Hobart College and NYC
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For the West Coast JET set out there, Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99), author of Japanamerica, will be speaking this Sunday, March 1, at the Pacific Asia Museum in Pasadena. Full details here: http://www.pacificasiamuseum.org/calendar/calendar-next.htm
And for the Upstate NYers, on March 4 Roland will be at Hobart and William Smith Colleges. Full details here: http://www.hws.edu/academics/fisher_center/fc_events.aspx#09s_kelts
And a reminder for the East Coast Elitist JET Alumni community that on Sunday, March 22 Roland will take part in the first ever JET Alumni Author Showcase, along with James Kennedy (Nara-ken, 2004-06), Robert Weston (Nara-ken, 2002-04) and Randall David Cook (Fukui-ken, 1991-93). (Space is limited. RSVP to authors at jetaany dot org.)
*To rsvp via the event listing on Facebook, just click: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=56484206967&ref=nf
Help JET alum Suzette Simon get into the Caroline’s Comedy Competition
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Click here to vote for Suzette Simon (Tochigi-ken) (aka “The Subway Comic“) to be one of the entrants in Caroline’s “March Madness.” (Here’s the full voting URL address: http://www.like2laugh.com/comics/comedian.php?ent=-%20Suzette%20Simon%20-)
“March Madness” hosted by Caroline’s Comedy Club is one of NYC’s most challenging and fun comedy competitions. It’s 64 comics going head to head for comedy glory! However, to win it, she’s got to get in it. So help Suzette out by voting her in. (You can vote OFTEN but only once a day.)
The deadline is Sunday, March 1.
Yoroshiku onegaishimasu.
Learn more about Suzette at her website: http://www.subwaycomic.com/ and by watching this NY1 feature on her.
Soft Power, Hard Truths: From Akihabara to Katsucon
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The latest Soft Power, Hard Truths Daily Yomiuri column from Roland Kelts (author of Japanamerica) in which he describes taking his Tokyo U. students on a field trip to Akihabara (i.e., the heart of otaku culture) reflecting on their reactions.
WIT Life #29: International Recognition to Wipe Away Domestic Woes
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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.
For those of you who didn’t tune in to the Academy Awards last night, Japan cleaned up in all the categories in which it received nominations. Going against heavily favored Waltzing with Bashir from Israel, Director Yojiro Takita’s Okuribito (Departures) took the award for Best Foreign Language Film. Since the establishment of this award in 
1957, Japan Read More
By Kirsten Phillips (Niigata-ken, 2005-08)
This rant is in reaction to yet another Gaijin in a Strangeland vehicle starring Brittany Murphy. Ramen Girl. The mythicization of Japanese culture or should I say, Tokyo. “Put tears in the broth.” Augh!
I suppose there is some part of us that wants it to be true. After all, we don’t want the Japanese to be “just like us”. Noooo. That’s buzzkill for the exotic hard on. Barred behind a wall of cultural differences, a needy bitch of a language barrier and a society oft coined as “repressed”, it’s downright fucking magical to buy into the wax on/wax off charms of the Floating Kingdom. Where there are question marks, there are bound to be intrigue and lies and after all, what is Hollywood for?
Ohhh, Mr. Keisuke (yes, you have a first name) Miyagi:
You have forever damned your race with your awesomeness! Your humble janitorial exterior and invincible hidden dragon have created fantastical expectations for Japanese everywhere in cinema. Japanese people must all have two identities now. Every ramenya san must be a tough yet secretly kindhearted sage, every high school girl a porn star, every businessman a casual ninja, every sushi artist a contraband swordsmith for the likes of vengeful blondes. Come now. Let us stop making a fetish out of the entire nation. I propose some indie film maker focus on the truly lethal demographic of Japanese society:
Obaasans.
These dames are not. fucking. around. Read More
JETAA NY Quarterly Magazine (JQ) Interviews JetWit
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From the 2009 Winter Issue of JQ, the JETAA NY Quarterly Magazine:
JetWit.com: Taking the JET Alumni Community to Another Level
After spending the last several years growing the JETAA NY Quarterly newsletter into a full-fledged alumni magazine, Steven Horowitz (Aichi-ken, 1992-94) began focusing his efforts on JetWit.com last fall. JQ caught up with Steven to learn more and see how he’s doing.
JETAANY Quarterly: Hey, what is a JetWit, anyway?
It’s just “JET” plus the acronym for “Writers Interpreters and Translators.” I started the WIT e-mail group last May to find more writers for the JET alum publications and also to help freelance translators find more work opportunities. I wanted to create a sort of public face for the WIT group to be able to do these things on a more consistent basis. I also wanted to create an online archive of newsletter articles that editors from other JETAA chapters could easily access and copy and paste for their own chapter newsletters.
JQ: Then why does JetWit look like an elephant?
[Laughs] I knew I wanted a Japanese-style mascot, so I went to graphic designer and Web developer Zi Mei (Saitama-ken, 2002-05) because I’d seen some of the excellent characters he created on his site (sugarcloud.com). I told him I wanted a cute little furry animal, and he somehow he came back with an elephant that he named A.J. which I love anyway. Read More
Bankruptcy Bill #11 – Organic Bankruptcy
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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.
By Kirsten Phillips (Niigata-ken, 2005-08)
Dudes, I have a confession.
I am scared shitless of the yaki-imoyasan.
Granted, I am a petit pussois and many things creep me out. But I will chalk this up to sheer cultural ignorance and unexplainable skeevies. The potato man is out to get me.
For those not in the know, a yaki-imo is a roasted sweet potato and a yaki-imo ya san is the elderly chap designated by some hellish force to peddle it. Oh, the sweet potato man ain’t lookin’ for your money or to warm your cramped fingers, friend. Nah-uh. He wants your soul. You’ve been warned. Read More
From the 2009 Winter Issue of JQ, the JETAA NY quarterly magazine:
A JET Alum’s Experience Makes its Way to the Stage: JQ Catches Up With Playwright Randall David Cook
By Lyle Sylvander (Yokohama-shi, 2001-02)
Three years ago, the Gotham Stage Company produced the terrific play Sake with the Haiku Geisha by JET alum Randall David Cook (Fukui-ken, 1991-93). The entire evening consisted of five one-act vignettes, all involving cross-cultural conflict among expatriates in Japan. As I noted in my review for JQ at the time, what made the play so successful was its exploration of the psychological issues confronting the main characters.
At first glance, Randall David Cook does not fit the profile of the typical playwright. As a human resources specialist with an international MBA, he was working in a corporate capacity at Newsweek magazine when two random events set him on a play writing course.
“I was dissatisfied with most of the new plays I was seeing at the time,” Cook says in his native South Carolina accent. “I kept insisting that I could do better, and one of my friends set me up on the challenge. At the same time, I was heartbroken over a relationship that had just ended and writing seemed like a good way for me to channel my emotions into a more productive pursuit.” Read More
A JET alum shared with me a very moving and thought-provoking column by Haruki Murakami on Salon.com. Murakami recently decided to accept a literary award in Israel despite the potential for controversy and a boycott of his books. He addresses the issues in his column.
