Blog Closing

I have decided to discontinue this blog and move the content over to a Facebook page instead. I think that will be a more effective method of getting the word about Japanese events out to people, and I will continue to maintain information about the progress of the Japanese minor, upcoming courses, etc. there as well. I hope those of you who are interested in keeping up on things will Like the Grand Valley Japanese Program page instead.

JAFAX this weekend

As I'm sure many of you are aware, this weekend the sixteenth annual JAFAX (Japanese Animation Fiction and Art Expo) convention will be held on the Allendale campus. As always, there will be anime screenings, games, cosplay, vendors, panels, talks by by artists, directors and industry insiders, etc. And as usual, I'll be doing one of my talks. Since this year the theme of JAFAX is "Sweet Sixteen" I decided to take a look back sixteen years to the first JAFAX in 1995. Now, I wasn't around then, so I won't be sharing nostalgia and anecdotes about the "good old days" of JAFAX, but I will be talking about how things have changed in the industry since then and how those changes have affected what it means to be a fan. Check out the official site at jafax.org. My talk will be at 2pm on Sunday in Panel Room Two, so stop by and give a listen if you're in the area.

And no, I will not be in costume.

Charity Dinner for those affected by the Earthquake in Japan

I apologize for the short notice, but I wanted to let everyone know about an event this evening to support those affected by the Japanese earthquake. It's a charity dinner at Allendale High School. Allendale HS Ceramics students and Foods and Nutrition students are hosting the dinner with all proceeds going to the Red Cross for victims of the earthquake and tsunami and Japan.
Guests will have a soup dinner served in handmade bowls (made by students and local artists) that is theirs to keep afterwards.
Come to the Allendale High School cafeteria from 6-7:30pm to support a worth cause and take a home a handmade bowl.
Tickets are $15 and you can call 616.892.5585 to order them. Limit 100, so call right away!

Hope for Japan: Earthquake and Tsunami Disaster Relief

Fumi Cheever, a graduate student here at GVSU, is putting together a series of fundraising events around the Grand Rapids area this Saturday, April 2nd from 11am-3pm. All proceeds will go to the Red Cross for Japanese relief efforts.

They will have tables set up at Celebration Cinema North:

Origami section
Make a donation in exchange for an origami crane, learn how to fold one yourself, or donate and fold a crane to be sent to Japan as a wish for recovery.

Japanese calligraphy section
Make a donation in exchange for a calligraphic artist writing a few words in Japanese for you.

Traditional Japanese dress section
Make a donation to have a child dressed up traditional Japanese dress(kimono/Yukata)

Please invite your friends and family to come stop by, we would like to see you there

If you are interesting volunteering to help with the event, please contact Fumi: cheevfum@gvsu.edu

Cranes for Care

I'm sure by now you're all well aware of the disaster that occurred in Japan. It seems that things have settled down a bit, with the immediate threat posed by the nuclear reactors contained, but the recovery and rebuilding process will be a long and painful one. There are an estimated 16,000 dead and another 400,000 left homeless. To get a sense of the scale of this, imagine two out of every three Grand Valley students dead and half of the homes in Grand Rapids destroyed. There are numerous efforts underway to help the relief effort, and I'll be posting about some of these later. For now, though, I want to mention Cranes for Care, an effort to fold and sell origami cranes for $1 each, the proceeds to be donated to the Red Cross, designated for Japanese earthquake relief. There will be tables set up in Kirkhof to sell, fold, and teach passersby to fold these cranes this Thursday and Friday and next Monday, and they need volunteers to man the tables, fold cranes, etc. Those who want to help should contact Jessica Pleyel at pleyelj@mail.gvsu.edu. The times are:

Thursday, 3/24 3-4pm
Friday, 3/25 10am-4pm
Monday, 3/28 4:30-6pm

You can find a flier about the event here.

Japanese Conversation Table Update

Well, the Thursday 1-3pm time for the Japanese Conversation Table didn't seem to work for many students... since nobody showed up. We will continue to keep that time available if it works for at least some of you, so please let me know if you are able and plan to attend. Some students have also expressed interest in Friday mornings, so I have reserved a room on Friday mornings from 9:30-11:30 as well. Once again, please contact me if you think you will be attending. Just to recap, our current schedule for the Japanese Conversation Table is as follows:

Thursdays 1-3pm, MAK B-2-226
Fridays, 9:30-1130am, MAK B-2-241

In addition, I have received the following information from John Grimminck, a student interested in setting up a virtual conversation table via Skype on Wednesday evenings. Please contact him directly if you are interested.

皆さんこんにちは、
Have you been interested in the Japanese Round Table Discussion but can't make it to the meetings? Looking for a more dynamic option? Starting Wednesday the 16th, at about 7 p.m., I will host the first Internet Japanese Round Table Discussion (I.J.R.T.D?). These sessions will follow the same format as the standard J.R.T.D. sessions, and will last until people decide to leave. In general, I think that half an hour to an hour would be decent, but if people decide to bow out early, that's fine. I am not sure if I will do these weekly or bi-weekly, so I would encourage people to add each other to your own contact list. This way, if you want to do this weekly for certain, you will have that ability to host a session without me.

The idea behind these internet sessions, besides improving your Japanese, is flexibility. If you can't do Wednesdays, setting up another time would be fantastic. Evenings tend to be when people are the most available it seems. Working in this fashion also means that anyone can get together pretty much whenever they choose, and we don't have to rely on one host. During the first session, I would recommend that everyone start adding each other to their contacts list.

Since this is internet based, expect some technical issues. Skype is supposed to be able to host up to 25 people at once, but expect dropped calls, static, and weird background noises.

All you will need for these sessions is Skype and a cheap microphone. I would recommend a USB headset microphone. It will make it easier for you to hear people, as well as having the ability to adjust your microphone if it's too far/close from/to your mouth.
Once you have downloaded Skype, add rainartxiii to your contact list. I'll look forward to being confused with all of you about what everyone else is saying.

-ジョン・ごりミック

Japanese Conversation Table Reboot

Well, I'm going to once again try to reboot the good old Japanese Conversation Table. I think I was a bit too "hands off" last semester and things kind of died, so I am going to provide a bit more of a framework than I did last time just to keep things on track. But I still want it to be mainly student centered... we don't need another weekly episode of "The Sensei Show." It's supposed to be about actively using the language to talk about stuff you're interested in. However, I think the way to go is to decide each week on a topic for the next week, and I can provide via e-mail, the Facebook site, etc. material to look at for the following week. Hopefully that will provide a bit more structure and keep things going.

The student who volunteered to head up the reboot is James McQuaid from JPN 202, and if you have any suggestions for possible meeting times, etc. you can either write to me or to him. The first meeting will be this Thursday, from 1-3pm in MAK B-2-226. If you want to join in the fun, but can't make it at that time, feel free to suggest alternative times. The first meeting will just be a "getting to know you" event, but I will be there to talk a bit about possible topics, etc. Hope to see you there!

Tokyo Sonata this Thursday

This film in this week's JCA film series is "Tokyo Sonata," the kind of movie that makes you realize why Japanese film has such a strong international reputation. It's the story of a family in which the father has lost his job, but keeps it secret, pretending to go to work every day as usual so his family doesn't catch on... and things slowly disintegrate. The film will be followed by a discussion, and I'm sure there will be plenty to unpack. I hope to see you there! For more info or to RSVP, check out the Facebook page here.

Tokyo Sonata, directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Thursday, February 24th, 6pm~
Manitou Hall Rm. 122

Faculty-led Study Abroad Information Session

The deadline for applying to the Padnos International Center for study abroad for the spring and summer is next Tuesday, February 1st, so I will be holding one final information session for those interested in the faculty-led study abroad trip to Osaka. The session will be on Thursday, Jan. 27th, from 3-4pm, in Mackinac Hall Room B-2-226 (right near the MLL department office). If you've already been to an earlier session, the content will be the same so you needn't attend, but of course you would be welcome. If anyone can't make it to the session or has additional questions, either about the faculty-led program or about study abroad in general, please feel free to contact me at robinjer@gvsu.edu.

2011 Michigan Japanese Language Speech Contest

Every year the Consulate General of Japan in Detroit sponsors a Japanese speech contest for students of Japanese language in Michigan. There are only two levels, high school and university, which means that you'd be competing with students at all levels in universities throughout Michigan, but the judging includes language, content, and delivery, so there's certainly room for students at more than one level. The deadline for applications is Feb. 25th, and the contest itself is March 26th in Novi (near Detroit).

If you're interested, you can find complete information here.

Asian Pacific Islander American Heritage Celebration

Throughout the month of February, the Office of Multicultural Affairs is hosting a number of events in honor of Asian Pacific Islander American Heritage Month. You can check out the complete schedule here, but here are some of the more "Japan-relevant" events:

• Asian New Year Festival •
Thursday, Feb. 3rd, 6-9pm, Grand River Room (Kirkhof)
Unlike last year, I don't think any Japanese groups are going to be contributing to the festivities, but there's still fun, food, and fashion for all.

• Utake •
Wednesday, Feb. 9th, 5-7pm, Cook DeWitt Center
Utake is a trio or musicians (piano, percussion, and shakuhachi (Japanese flute)) who are well known for their unique fusion of Asian/Western folk/jazz. Their performance will be accompanied by a presentation on Japanese art and philosophy and recitation of Japanese poetry. It should be fun.

JCA Film Series Lineup

The lineup for this semester's JCA Japanese Film Series is now set, and here it is:

Jan. 27th - Wild Zero
Feb. 10th - Densha Otoko (Train Man)
Feb. 24th - Tokyo Sonata
Mar. 10th - Sakuran
Mar. 24th - Hula Girls
Apr. 21st - Kaidan

Screenings begin at 6pm in Manitou Hall Rm. 122. This week's film, Wild Zero, is the kind of simple human-interest story you've heard hundreds of times before: boy meets transgender girl, aliens invade and reanimate zombies, boy fights zombies aided by the leather-jacket clad punk band Guitar Wolf. Yes, we've seen it all before, but if we look closely perhaps we'll find something original in this understated film.

Here's a pdf of the schedule, so download, print out, and tell all your friends.
JCA Film Series Flier

JCA film this week

あけましておめでとうございます！Welcome back and I hope you all had a good break. I have a lot of announcements coming soon, but there is one that is more time sensitive than the rest, so I thought I'd just do a quick one on the JCA film series.

The Film series begins this Thursday with "Zettai Kareshi" or "Absolute Boyfriend." I have yet to confirm the classroom, but it will probably still be in Manitou Hall, but in a different room, Lecture Hall 122, starting at 6pm this Thursday (Jan. 13). We have tentatively decided on the rest of the schedule as well, but I'll wait until I get confirmation of the classroom before I announce it formally. In the meantime, I hope to see you on Thursday.