Nov 29

Job: Asia Society – Grants Writer & Manager (NYC)

Via Philanthropy News Digest.
Posted by Kay Monroe (Miyazaki-shi, 1995 -97). Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.
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Position: Grants Writer and Manager
Posted by: Asia Society
Type: N/A
Location
: New York, NY
Salary
: N/A
Start Date: N/A

Overview:
Asia Society, a prestigious, global, educational and cultural non-profit seeks a Grant Writer and Manager – Education. This position is an integral member of the Asia Society’s External Affairs Office and works with the Director of Institutional Relations & Program Support on all fundraising activities regarding grants from foundations and government agencies for Asia Society’s education department. The Education department is a high-performing team whose mission is to graduate K-12 students college- ready and globally competent. For more information visit www.asiasociety.org/education. Read More


Nov 29

Job: Government Relations Representative for U.S. English, Inc. (DC)

Thanks to former JETAA DC Newsletter Editor Gina Anderson for passing on this interesting opportunity. Posted by Kay Monroe (Miyazaki-shi, 1995 -97). Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.
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Position: Government Relations Representative
Posted by: U.S. English, Inc.
Type: N/A
Location:
Washington D.C.
Salary: N/A
Start Date: N/A

Overview:

U.S. English, Inc. seeks a mid-level or senior Government Relations Representative to help develop and promote our agenda at the state and federal level. Responsibilities include interacting with legislators and grassroots groups to promote the organization’s agenda. The ideal candidate will be personable, organized, and capable of mastering details of public policy issues. College degree required; ability to speak a second language a plus. Salary negotiable. Excellent benefits package includes medical, dental, and vision coverage in a convenient downtown location. Please submit a cover letter, resume and general salary history/requirements to info@usenglish.org with the position title in the subject line.

http://www.us-english.org/


Nov 29

NHK TV feature on “Live Your Dream: The Taylor Anderson Story”

NHK TV (English edition) recently aired a feature story on the premier screening of “Live Your Dream:  The Taylor Anderson Story,” a documentary produced by filmmaker Regge Life.

Here’s the link to the video:  http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/movie/feature201211270915.html


Nov 28

L.M. Zoller (CIR Ishikawa-ken, Anamizu, 2009-11) is the editor of The Ishikawa JET Kitchen: Cooking in Japan Without a Fight. A writer and web administrator for The Art of Travel, ze also writes I’ll Make It Myself!, a blog about food culture in Japan, and curates The Rice Cooker Chronicles, a series of essays by JETs and JET alumni on the theme of cooking/eating and being alone in Japan.

New Rice Cooker Chronicles submissions always welcome. Just e-mail it to  jetwit [at] jetwit.com.

 

Thanksgiving Part 2 (at a friend’s house) went smashingly! I made Naturally Ella‘s Twice-Baked Butternut Squash (with quinoa and Gorgonzola) as the vegetarian main dish. With the exception of the turkey, which was expertly cooked by the hosts, all the other dishes were vegetarian: mac & cheese made with Cougar Cheese, a sharp canned cheese from Washington State (glorious); vegetarian cranberry-mushroom stuffing; fresh green-bean casseroles; vegetarian bean gumbo (spicy!); root vegetable purée; bourbon cranberry sauce made with reconstituted dried cranberries (and arcane magicks); and lots of pie: pecan, pumpkin, and chocolate.

Click HERE to read more.


Nov 27

JETAA DC Newsletter seeks writers and submissions

Via JETAA DC Newsletter Editor Sarah Howe:

Hi everyone!
My name is Sarah Howe, and I’m the JETAADC Newsletter Chairperson.  Hopefully, you’ve all read the summer edition of the JETAADC newsletter!  If you haven’t, feel free to check it out on our newly-redesigned website (jetaadc.org).  Now I’m working on the fall edition, and I would love to feature some of your submissions!  Let the rest of the JETAADC community know what you’re up to, whether you’re taking aikido classes, frequenting some awesome ramen shops downtown, or attending seminars on Japan-U.S. relations.  The newsletter is also the perfect place to relive the experiences we had on JET and share our memories with everyone.
If you’re interested in submitting an article/picture/haiku, or if you have any questions or comments about the newsletter, please send me an email.  I’m looking forward to reading about your amazing experiences!
Sarah Howe <sehowe [at] email [dot] wm [dot] edu>;

Nov 27

L.M. Zoller (CIR Ishikawa-ken, Anamizu, 2009-11) is the editor of The Ishikawa JET Kitchen: Cooking in Japan Without a Fight. A writer and web administrator for The Art of Travel, ze also writes I’ll Make It Myself!, a blog about food culture in Japan, and curates The Rice Cooker Chronicles, a series of essays by JETs and JET alumni on the theme of cooking/eating and being alone in Japan.

New Rice Cooker Chronicles submissions always welcome. Just e-mail it to jetwit [at] jetwit.com.

 

Are you guys sick of kabocha and kabocha purée yet? I never am*, but let’s change it up a bit today.

My first encounter with a vegetarian cookbook of any sort was my dad’s copy of Anna Thomas‘s The Vegetarian Epicure, a memento of a few months in the ’70s when he dabbled in meatless cooking. I have no recollection of my dad (or my mom) ever using VE for anything but the cornbread recipe that we brought with us to every Thanksgiving dinner. I find vintage (sorry, parents) cookbooks really fascinating from a social-history standpoint, so perhaps I’ll peruse the book again when I’m home next.

Click HERE to read more.


Nov 26

Job: Postings from Idealist.org 11.26.12

Via Idealist.org.  Posted by Geneva Marie (Niigata-ken 2008-09) Geneva is a contributor to both JETwit and JETAANY. Geneva is on a continuous (epic) search for Japanese-related jobs in the United States. Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.


Program Coordinator

Posted by: Columbia University EALAC
Type: Part-time
Location: New York, NY
Salary: Commensurate with experience
Application Deadline: None Specified

Columbia University’s East Asian Languages and Cultures (EALAC) Department is seeking a part-time program coordinator. Incumbent will be responsible for planning, coordinating and managing conferences, symposia, special events, lectures, and all ongoing programs. Bachelor’s degree or equivalent and two years of relevant experience required. A native-level speaker of English with fluency in Japanese preferred.

http://www.idealist.org/view/job/TdXWCzH3fnxd/

 

Grants Writer and Manager

Posted by: Asia Society
Type: Full-time
Location: New York, NY
Salary: Not Specified
Start Date: After November 21, 2012

New York’s Asia Society is seeing a Grant Writer and Manager for their education department. This position is an integral part of the Asia Society’s External Affairs Office and works with the Director of Institutional Relations & Program Support on all fundraising activities regarding grants from foundations and government agencies for Asia Society’s education department. Undergraduate degree required; graduate degree preferred. Knowledge of Asia, arts and culture, and international issues a plus.

http://www.idealist.org/view/job/BH5wMPSW52fP/

 

 


Nov 26

JapanLocal: Tottori JET Anthony Lieven’s latest Misasa video – November 2012

Tottori JET Anthony Lieven has been creating new videos each month as part of a project that introduces his JET town of Misasa to the world.  With Anthony’s permission, here is his latest video:

 

Misasa Monthly Video 08 (November 2012) – Mount Mitoku Sanbutsuji’s Fire Festival from Red T-Shirt Guy on Vimeo.


Nov 26

Posted by Benjamin Martin, a 5th year JET in Okinawa, publisher of the blog MoreThingsJapanese.com and author of the YA fantasy novel Samurai Awakening (Tuttle).

The Emperor and Empress of JapanOn November 20, 2012 The Emperor of Japan Akihito and Empress Michiko visited Kumejima as part of a four-day visit to Okinawa.  Preparations were long in the making, but it was still extraordinary to see the spectacle of a visit lasting less than 5 hours.  Luckily, I was asked to help photograph on behalf of Kumejima Town and was able to stand with television and newspaper camera people in designated media areas.

The Emperor and his wife arrived around 10:30 JST on a plane from Okinawa-honto.  Since Kume Island has only a small airport, they used a JAL Express plane instead of the usual flying fortress.   There they greeted a group of students and dignitaries and then drove to the Deep Sea Water Research Institute to tour its grounds.  One of the major reasons for the visit is the proposed OTEC power plant.  Along the way Kumejima Townspeople greeted the Emperor by waving Japanese flags (a rarity in Okinawa), shouting “Thank you for coming” and “banzai!”  After the tour, the motorcade arrived at the Town Hall just before 13:00 to rest and talk with Mayor Taira.  There they discussed Kumejima’s many natural resources such as Kuruma-ebi, Umi-budo, and Deep Sea Water while eating lunch.  They talked so much they didn’t have time to finish!

For more on the Emperor’s visit and plenty of pictures visit More Thing Japanese!


Nov 25

Thanks to Vancouver-based JET alum Alison Dacia Brown (Iwate-ken, Rikuzentakata-shi, 2005-08) for posting about this to Facebook.  From a JET perspective, it seems to offer a communications model for Japanese local governments in which perhaps JETs and JET alumni could play a helpful role:

Update:  Here’s the Rikuzentakata Facebook Page

Saturday, Nov. 24, 2012

Tsunami-hit city a hit on Facebook

Kyodo

MORIOKA, Iwate Pref. — The coastal city of Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture, devastated by last year’s earthquake and tsunami, has gotten global attention thanks to its use of Facebook.

In July, the city set up an official page in both Japanese and English on Facebook, the first municipality to do so among those on the northeast coast that bore the full brunt of the March 2011 catastrophe.

Since then, officials have been updating the page to display and keep the world updated on the reconstruction process, an unusual move for a municipal government. The posts, mostly written in Japanese, include articles on Rikuzentakata from Japan and around the world, advisories on earthquakes and floods, and the mayor’s participation at a local festival.

When Rikuzentakata’s officials made a fundraising page in English to help preserve the city’s famed “miracle pine tree,” donations came in from around the world. Read More


Nov 25

Here’s a recent article in the Wall Street Journal by JET alum Michael Auslin, Director of Japan Studies at the American Enterprise Institute:

Michael Auslin:  Asian Pivot, Take Two

President Barack Obama is celebrating his re-election by trying to make good on his promised pivot to Asia. Not only is the President in the region for the East Asian Summit in Cambodia—he has also dispatched his Secretaries of State and Defense on extended visits as well.

Showing up may constitute 90% of diplomacy. But at a time of numerous territorial disputes and leadership upheavals, Mr. Obama may have bitten off more than he can chew over the next four years.

The Administration’s agenda this month is an unusual start. Unlike traditional trips that include old allies like Japan or …

Click here to read the article (subscription required).

 


Nov 25

“Privy to Mysterious Loos” by New Zealand JET Tania Butterfield

A recent blog article by current JET Tania Butterfield that recently appeared in New Zealand publication Marlborough Express.  (Thanks to Jessica Tisch for posting on the JETAA South Island Facebook group):

Privy to Mysterious Loos

Last weekend I discovered something I should have known since I arrived here – toilets are not my friend.

If you know anything about Japan, you know it has some unusual toilets.

No, I am not referring to the squat toilets, which I quite happily use at school.

I am referring to the insanely automated toilets with a billion buttons that do everything under the sun so you never have to touch that part of your body again.

Some of the buttons make sense – like the button to ….

Click here to read the full article.

 

 


Nov 25

JETAA Chicago Career Forum Videos

Here are a couple videos from the recent JETAA Chicago Career Forum.  (Thanks to JETAA Chicago Treasurer Thomas Osugi and Jobs/Social Activities Coordinator Dan Martin for making this available.):

Crafting Effective Resumes – Mamiko Fujita
http://youtu.be/5OEkqr3RWVc
 
How to Network and Build a Career – John Casey
http://youtu.be/3xtI9hzeldQ

Nov 25
Following its successful release on Kindle, where For Fukui’s Sake was the #1 bestselling Japan Kindle book on Amazon for much of the year, For Fukui’s Sake by Sam Baldwin (Fukui-ken, 2004-06) is now available in paperback – just in time for Christmas!  (Read the JQ book review on JETwit.)

Get a copy for yourself, and your Japan or travel-loving friends and family.

Shopping in the USA, Canada or Australia?
A personal note from Sam Baldwin:  “When you’ve finished reading it, please do take five minutes to review it on Amazon to let others know what you thought of it.  Thanks.” Read More

Nov 24

JQ Magazine: Book Review – ‘Professor Risley and the Imperial Japanese Troupe: How an American Acrobat Introduced Circus to Japan—and Japan to the West’

“Chock-full of illuminating illustrations and gorgeous printed ephemera that would make any contemporary typographer swoon, Professor Risley and the Imperial Japanese Troupe is a jet-set adventure in pop culture scholarship sure to appeal to anyone interested in Japan’s history on the world stage.” (Stone Bridge Press)

 

 

By Jessica Sattell (Fukuoka-ken, 2007-08) for JQ magazine. Jessica is a freelance writer, and was previously the publicist for Japan-focused publishers Stone Bridge Press and Chin Music Press. She is interested in the forgotten histories of culture, and has often considered running away and joining the circus.

We’re still riding the “Cool Japan” wave that crested at the turn of the millennium, but our fascination with the country and its culture didn’t quite stem from just anime, Harajuku fashions, or J-pop. In Professor Risley and the Imperial Japanese Troupe: How an American Acrobat Introduced Circus to Japan—and Japan to the West, award-winning author Frederik L. Schodt argues that contemporary interest in Japan’s popular culture has its roots in the travels and cross-cultural interactions of a band of 19th century Japanese circus performers and a colorful American impresario.

Published in November by Stone Bridge Press, Professor Risley explores a critical and exciting time in history, when an interest in foreign cultures was rapidly expanding beyond the privileged parlors of the upper class and Americans and Europeans were greatly fascinated by anything Japanese. Schodt offers an intriguing case study of both early Japanese conceptions of the West and the West’s first looks at modern Japan, but it is also a mystery of sorts: Why did a group of acrobats that were incredibly popular with international audiences in the 1860s fade from the annals of performing arts history? How was the life of “Professor” Richard Risley Carlisle, arguably one of the most extraordinarily talented and well-traveled performing artists in history, buried in the folds of time? Schodt suggests that we may never know the answers, but we can sit back and enjoy the show as their histories unfold.

This story begins, fittingly, with the question, “Where Is Risley?” Schodt artfully traces “Professor” Risley’s early travels and performance history like an elusive game of connect-the-dots, piecing together itineraries, publicity notices and press clippings until a clear pattern of a fascinating life emerges. Risley seemed to be everywhere and nowhere, and led a full life of jet-setting and adventure-seeking at a time where transcontinental travel was only beginning to open up to those outside of the diplomatic realm. We follow him on a decades-long journey across the United States, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia, China…and finally to Japan.

Risley arrived in Yokohama in early 1864 and immediately went to work setting up a fantastic Western-style circus to delight foreign residents and Japanese locals alike. As the country had re-opened to the world just five years earlier, it was a risky time to be in Japan, and non-Japanese residents lived with underlying worries of Shogunate-dictated expulsion and violence from disgruntled ronin. That didn’t quite stop Risley’s entrepreneurial spirit, but he did eventually run into a series of difficulties with his shows—and a stint in dairy farming, which, in the process, led him to introduce ice cream to Japan. He hadn’t originally intended to stay in Japan for long, but most likely due to the Civil War raging back home in America, he bided his time and explored his options. Thankfully, his stay there—paired with an almost desperate talent for improvisation—would lead to the world’s first taste of Japanese popular culture.

Read More


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