Career, Japan Trends, Translating/Interpreting, WIT Life, Writers 
Comments Off on WITLife #8 – Christmas Cakes and Monolingual Nobel Prize Winners
WITLife is a periodic series written by professional Interpreter/Translator/Writer Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken, 2000-03).
My posts from last week were largely doom and gloom about the current economic woes, so I thought I’d start this week with something lighter from recent Japanese TV news—the topic of Christmas cake! Definitely a big deal in Japan.
(For those unfamiliar, Japanese Christmas focused primarily on Christmas Eve. The actual holiday is a regular workday, to the dismay of many an English teacher. It is a secular celebration where couples and families get together to eat typical Christmas fare such as Kentucky fried chicken and strawberry shortcake.)
The TV news this past Friday profiled the major department store Matsuya in Ginza, which sells 25 million cakes during the three day period from the 23rd until Christmas. The cakes that are selected to be featured in its seasonal catalog basically determine how the year’s profits will turn out.
An essential part of the selection process are the taste-testers who decide on certain ingredients. This year’s hot commodity was Read More
Thanks to writer/designer Meredith Hodges-Boos (Ehime-ken, Uwajima-shi, Yoshida-cho, 2003-05) for her latest spin on the JetWit design, now on mugs, t-shirts and buttons!
Books, Events, JETAA Chapters, Writers Comments Off on JETAA NY Book Club Update
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.
From www.fewmets.net
James Kennedy (Nara-ken, 2004-06), author of The Order of Odd-Fish, has reviewed all haiku submissions containing the designated word “fewmets“ for Haiku Challenge #1 and has selected a winner. Read on for his decision and rationale.
I was blown away by the quality of the fewmets haiku I received. I can state with absolute conviction that these are the best haiku about fewmets that I have ever read!
First, the honorable mentions. Meredith Hodges-Boos (Ehime-ken, Yoshida-cho, 2003-05) wrote an appropriately grim, medieval-epic haiku that ends with a wonderfully forbidding promise of violence:
Fewmets steam on bleak
Frost-covered leaves, hunter stoops
Soon blood will melt ice
Chillingly beautiful! Worthy of Beowulf! I can almost imagine Ms. Hodges-Boos is the kind of woman who makes her own chain mail.
Rick Ambrosio (Ibaraki-ken, 2006-08) put a decidedly modern spin on fewmets:
The fewmets of love;
lipstick wine glass, lost overcoat . . .
painful cotton swab nurse!
Every man who has endured a gonorrhea test will find the last line poignantly evocative. Mr. Ambrosio is clearly a gentleman about town, a chap of wide and varied experiences, a man who almost certainly has chlamydia. He came very close to winning, except that the second and third lines each have one more syllable than a fastidious interpretation of the haiku form allows. As sloppy as a tart’s kiss, Mr. Ambrosio!
Finally, we come to the winner, from the talented Ilya Blokh:
A French truffle, on the
Tongue, melts, but how I was wrong
It was a fewmet
True, the first line might has one more syllable than usual, but Mr. Blokh’s brilliance trumps formal quibbles. The imagination is set giddily free. How did the poet come across this spurious truffle? On what pretext is he eating it? From what beast does this fewmet issue? What does the fewmet taste like? Mr. Blokh creates an entire world for me to inhabit.
And thither shall I now flit, to freely and sportively bombinate among the flowers of his soul.
Click “Read More” to see a couple more haiku submissions.
Elizabeth Bass (Kochi 2002-2004) reports that she finally got a job (YEAH!). However, that means that she is now looking for a replacement intern at the literary agency where she works. The position is unpaid, but because it’s a small office there is a ton of opportunity to get some invaluable hands-on experience in the industry. We are looking for someone to fill the position ASAP, if possible.
We are currently accepting applications for an intern at a small literary agency.
The intern will read and recommend submissions, answer the telephone, draft emails and help in various ways around the office, including filing and restocking office supplies. Because it is a small office (myself and an assistant) the intern will have an opportunity to see close up how a literary agency works and become familiar with the book publishing industry.
QUALIFICATIONS: I am looking for someone with computer skills and some office experience to work 5-6 hours per week. (The days are flexible.) I would hope that the intern was fairly well-read and interested in books.
Please submit a short cover letter and your resume to:
Regina Ryan reginaryanbooks @ rcn . com
DURATION: 5-6 hours per week
COMPENSATION: None
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 week’s challenge will be judged by Robert P. Weston (Nara-ken, 2002-04), author of Zorgamazoo, a “rhyming, rhythmical tale of Katrina, a girl with a big heart and an even bigger imagination” published this year by Penguin Books and available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Powells. You can also follow Robert on his blog wayofthewest.wordpress.com.
Note: The winner of Haiku Challenge #1 will be announced later today. Stay tuned!
Academic, Article/Journalism, Blogs, Books, Celebrity, Japan Trends, Roland Kelts, Uncategorized, Writers Comments Off on Update: Roland Kelts
Here’s the latest update on JET alum Roland Kelts (Osaka, 1998-99), author of Japanamerica and professor at Tokyo University:
ADBUSTERS: A feature story, co-written with Leo Lewis of the Times of London, about signs of socialism and unrest among Japanese youth and the Kanikosen phenomenon is now online:
http://www.adbusters.org/magazine/81/big_in_japan.html (On a related topic, Stacy Smith comments on recent political unrest following the closing of an auto manufacturing plant in Japan in WITLife #7-Totyota Shock (Part 2).)
DAILY YOMIURI: In his latest Soft Power/Hard Truths column in the Daily Yomiuri, Roland revisits Michael Arias, the only American to have directed a feature anime film in Japan–Tekkonkinkreet—(which, incidentally, premiered in the US at MOMA in 2007). Arias’s forthcoming film is the live action Heaven’s Door (opens 2/7/09 in Japan), which Roland attended at a private screening last week. Link to the column: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/arts/20081212TDY13004.htm
Seikai University Talk: Roland’s blog (japanamerica.blogspot.com) has a post about his recent talk at Seikei University in western Tokyo about Japanamerica where he introduced both the ideas examined in the book and the latest happenings in the trans-cultural exchange between Japan and the U.S.
Art, Blogs, Food & Drink, Uncategorized, Writers Comments Off on JET alum Rosie de Fremery launches new blog and website
Former JETAA NY Vice-Prez Rosie de Fremery (Shizuoka-ken, 1998-2001) recently launched a new blog about food (working with a couple friends) and also a new Etsy store website. In Rosie’s own words…
Nosh Pit is a group food blog I’ve started with two friends who are as passionate about food as I am. We launched it on Sunday and have already put up several recipes and restaurant views, with discussions beginning in the comments section. So far I’ve posted a friend’s recipe for maple bourbon sweet potato pie and a review of a French patisserie I discovered this week. Please check it out at http://noshpit.wordpress.com/
The second is Shining Flower Productions, an Etsy store where I am selling hand-painted greeting cards for the upcoming holidays. For now I’m just selling two designs, one of an angel for Christmas and one of a Chanukiah for Chanukah, but I do plan to offer more watercolor card designs and some original Japanese calligraphy in the future. The store can be found at http://shiningflower.etsy.com/
WITLife is a periodic series written by professional Interpreter/Translator/Writer Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken, 2000-03).
Not to continue the doom and gloom of yesterday’s post, but a good portion of today’s news was again devoted to Toyota Shock. For this company itself, out of 9,200 temporary workers, 3,000 of them will be laid off. In regard to next year’s sales forecast for the whole Toyota group, an estimated 9.5 million cars were anticipated to be sold to the American market, but this forecast has been reduced to 8 million.
The car company Isuzu fired 1,400 workers from its factory in Kanazawa, and those affected took it upon themselves to fight back. Footage was shown of these workers handing out pamphlets to co-workers asking them to join their union and asking executives to retract their dismissal. Evidently these cuts came without notice, causing Read More
Advice, Article/Journalism, Career, Interview/Profile, Writers Comments Off on Career advice from the WSJ’s Elizabeth Garone (Saga-ken, 1993-95)
It turns out there’s a JET alum writing a career advice column for the Wall Street Journal. Check out the latest column from Elizabeth Garone (Saga-ken, Omachi-cho, 1993-95) at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122874945537188153.html#articleTabs_comments.
It also turns out that she is a freelance journalist with more than a decade of writing for publications that have included Business Week, The Washington Post, Money Magazine, and The Wall Street Journal. Her specialties are technology, education (specifically SAT and test prep), human interest and children.
You can learn more about Elizabeth through her website at www.garone.com or through her LinkedIn profile at http://www.linkedin.com/in/lizgarone
I just found about a blog by JET alum Aaron Madlon-Kay (CIR Ehime-ken, 2006-08) that seems to do a good job of addressing translation issues. (e.g., this post on Romanizing Japanese Addresses, this one on Translating Place Names, and this one on an attempt to translate into Japanese from English.)
Definitely a resource that other JET alums, especially other translators and those of you interested in getting into translation, might want to check out. Wish I had found it sooner, but glad to have it the JetWit orbit now.
Japan Trends, Translating/Interpreting, WIT Life, Writers Comments Off on WITLife #6 – Toyota Shock
WITLife is a periodic series written by professional Interpreter/Translator/Writer Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken, 2000-03).
In my previous post I mentioned that in Japan they use “Lehman shock” to refer to the crumbling of our financial institutions, and it seems like they are seeing the same phenomenon at home.
On the news yesterday morning the buzzword “Toyota shock” was used, referring to the economic woes Japan’s most famous and successful brand is having and its repercussions. (I’m waiting to see what they come up with for other countries. Is “Samsung shock” for Korea next?).
Factories are being closed in Aichi Prefecture where Toyota headquarters is located, as well as in more far-flung locations such as Oita Prefecture in Kyushu. There they have laid off 1,000 employees, who lose Read More
Blogs, Cartoon/Illustration, Humor, Writers Comments Off on Bankruptcy Bill – Haiku #6
From structured finance
Quietly I transfer to
The bankruptcy group
***************
(Mug with haiku available for purchase here.)
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.
Career, Japan Trends, Translating/Interpreting, Uncategorized, WIT Life, Writers Comments Off on WITLife #5 – Keeping up on the Japanese news
WITLife is a periodic series written by professional Interpreter/Translator/Writer Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken, 2000-03).
Starting with this post I thought I’d introduce a more behind the scenes aspect of WIT life, that being the preparation and work that takes place when I am not traveling or working on an assignment.
In order to keep my Japanese skills sharp, besides conversing with native speakers (don’t be afraid to ask to be corrected!) I enjoy the daily programming of Fujisankei. In particular, the news airing at 7 a.m. (rebroadcast at 10) every weekday morning is especially insightful for keeping up to date on what’s going on in Japan and beyond, and how certain concepts would be expressed in Japanese.
An essential part of being a translator/interpreter is knowing the correct vocabulary for recent phenomenon, as these are words that change with the times and require constant updating of your brain. For example, in Japan the collapse of our economic institutions is referred to as Read More
|
| Subscribe to JetWitJobs |