Acknowledgments with a twist

This week, John Records Landecker's memoir, Records is Truly My Middle Name, is being released, and he has written Acknowledgments that end like this:

I would like to thank everyone who listened. I would also like to thank everybody I ever worked with — but if you’re one of those people who made my life a living hell — go f--- yourself.

I don't think I've seen such sentiments in an author's preface, but I'm sure he said what lots of people want to say.

BTW--the book was produced by Rick Kaempfer, a fantastic author who I interviewed for this blog about his books $everance and The Living Wills.

Translation: ☆Taku Takahashi from m-flo criticizes the Japanese music scene

Here's a translation I did of the article, "☆Taku from m-flo says, 'Japan's music is 20 years behind Korea's'" [m-floの☆Taku「日本の音楽は韓国に20年遅れている」と指摘]

☆Taku, from the famous Japanese hip hop group m-flo, talked about how “Japan’s music is 20 years behind Korea’s,” which has been making waves in Japan.

Even though the K-POP boom has spread around the world with PSY’s “Gangnam Style,” etc., people are interested in groups that are active in Japan, which has raised questions about how the Japanese environment has ignored Korean music.

Recently, ☆Taku answered questions about K-POP in a media interview. “Korea has started to expand in the world because the scene is not only domestic. Japan currently resembles Korea 20 years ago, but it should be internationally aware. Even in Japan, when you compare it to Korean music, the sound is very different,” he said about Japanese music, which does not have a total advantage.

“Korean idols are good at singing and dancing, but there are people who say critically, ‘K-POP just imitates hits on the American Billboard Charts!’ However, there are many Japanese people who don’t have the ability to imitate current Billboard songs,” he harshly exclaimed.

☆Taku also answered questions about PSY’s popularity. “I think PSY’s popularity is good luck, but luck is simply not the issue. If he hadn’t thought about how his music would sell in foreign countries, he wouldn’t have emerged,” he pointed out.

“Kyary Pamyu Pamyu is a Japanese singer who is becoming more popular internationally. Her music is interesting, but she’s in a totally different league than PSY,” he said about PSY’s total dominance.

“In Kyary Pamyu Pamyu’s case, her producer Yasutaka Nakata likes Western music, and he blends Western dance music with Japanese melodies so that they’re hits in Japan and abroad. At first, he wasn’t thinking of doing business abroad, but people unexpectedly liked it,” which was a primary cause of Kyary Pamyu Pamyu’s success. “Korean idols are mainly kids from their own country, and for people who like American music to be introduced to their songs, they have to continue to be sent abroad. Not only Japan, but other Asian countries need to think of expanding as well. PSY’s success came from always thinking about the international market,” he said.

In ☆Taku’s interview, he said the insular Japanese music market needs to be thrown open. “Japanese singers only stay in Japan, but there should also be an environment of expansion in China, Korea, and Vietnam. Korea has been challenging Japan in that area. At the same time, for singers to come to Japan, the country should be musically open,” he emphasized.

Japanese people's response to ☆Taku’s interview has been intense. Many say it's correct that the music marketplace in Japan is limited, but on the other hand, VERBAL, who's one of the members of m-flo, is Korean-Japanese, so people wonder, “Was VERBAL brainwashed?” and “He's sold out his country.”

Translation: Zuiikin English intro

A while ago, someone told me about some amusing videos from Japan that taught people English with the "Zuiikin Gals". The videos have ended up becoming popular because they seem so odd. Here's what the Fuji TV site says in the introduction (explanation) of that program:

Starting in the Spring of 1992, the Fuji Television network aired an epoch-making educational program called “English Conversation and Exercise” [Eikaiwa Taisou] in which people combined English conversation and exercise! It was a mysterious program that seemed very serious and required hard work, but ended up evoking laughter. As the title says, the program brought together English conversation and exercise. In the beginning, with each movement, as the muscles were trained, they also remembered English conversation! The program was based on that concept. In the beginning, there were short situational plays, and then those scenes of English conversations stopped. Suddenly, the station’s exercise program introduced three “Zuiikin Gals” in leotards on the set, who cheerfully chanted and repeated English conversation in tempo while exercising. The program naturally brought together movement and English conversation to the body. By the way, the rectus femoris muscle was trained the first time.

 

Translation of Anime News: 50th Anniversary of Astro Boy

I did another translation from the "Anime!Anime!" site of the article, "Family Gekijo's special TV program 'The History of Japanese Television Anime Creation' on the 50th Anniversary of Astro Boy." Here's what it said:

In 2013, the television anime "Astro Boy" [Tetsuwan Atomu], which played an epoch-making role in Japanese anime history, is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its first broadcast. The 50th anniversary will be commemorated this year with the following schedule. 

First, in February, the major cable company Family Gekijo will present an Osamu Tezuka special, and in March it will feature the 50th anniversary of "Astro Boy". There will be two special programs that will focus on Tezuka's anime. 

Family Gekijo has produced its own special program, "The Manga God: the History of Japanese Television Anime Creation," a 30-minute documentary that explores the birth of anime in Japan. 

The basis of Osamu Tezuka's anime will be explored, as far back as the experiences he had in his childhood. Anime supervisor Daisaku Shirakawa, animation history researcher Nobuyuki Tsugata, and Eichi Yamakawa, the first producer at Toei Animation, will be interviewed. The program is planned for March 10. 

Also, "The Manga God: Phoenix Reincarnated" will air on February 17. These are the same original Family Gekijo programs that aired in 2012, in which Osamu Tezuka can also be spotted. 

In February, Tezuka's special collection, "Black Jack", "Phoenix Houou [Mythical] Hen", "Phoenix Yamato-Hen", "Phoenix Uchu [Space] Hen", "One Million-Year Trip: Bander Book" [Hyaku-man nen chikyu no tabi banda bukku], "Undersea Super Train: Marine Express" [Kaitei choutokkyuu Marine Express], and "Three-Eyed One" [Mitsume ga touru] will be broadcast. 

In March, the HD remastered "Astro Boy" will be shown on television for the first time. "W3", "Vampire" [Banpaiya], "Adventures of Goku" [Goku no daibouken], and "Dororo" are the television anime masterpieces that will be shown from that period. 

Starting March 2, "Osamu Tezuka Gekijo" will be a regular feature every Saturday at 8:00, a powerful push of the Tezuka and Atom 50th anniversary.

Translation: explaining "giri" to French people

During the first year of this blog, I mentioned the book Cent Questions Sur le Japon, which was published around 30 years ago. It teaches Japanese people how to talk about Japan in French, and is written in French and Japanese. I still have the book and read it occasionally because it's a good way to simultaneously maintain my Japanese and French.

Recently, I decided to translate one of the topics, and had a hard time finding the book online. Then I discovered that it's been updated, republished, and renamed to now be Qu'est-ce que c'est? フランス人が日本人によく聞く100の質問 [100 questions French people often ask Japanese people]. I chose the topic of "giri" since that is unique to Japan, thus has to be explained to people in other countries. The original article is here and the translation is below. Since this is written for Japanese people, there is an introduction in Japanese, and then the questions and answers are in French and Japanese.

It is rather difficult to explain giri, a unique Japanese way of thinking. Like ninjo, wabi, and sabi, it's a word that expresses Japanese logic and a sense of beauty. It will be easier to explain if a concrete example is given for this word. 

Q: Giri is often talked about. What is it? 

It could be said that it's an intrinsic part of the moral society of Japan, the principles of behavior. If someone does a favor for you, you have an obligation to return it. This takes priority over ninjo, personal feelings and affections. Literature from the Edo period often showed the psychological conflict between giri and ninjo and the suicides that resulted. 

Q: Has giri always been part of the Japanese psyche? 

Not like in feudal times. But even today, many Japanese people respect the concept of giri. For example, someone can't break off a long-term business relationship with a client, even if there are other clients who seem more advantageous. Also, it's important to give gifts at certain times of the year, such as chugen or seibo to people who have helped us. Giri in modern Japanese society could be considered a cultural restraint rather than an expression of appreciation from the heart.

Translation of Anime News: Be in a Manga

I asked an anime fan if there's anything I should translate that would help fans find out what's going on in that world. He suggested this news from the Anime!Anime! site, so I did a brief translation to give people a basic idea of what is going on. Here's the news:

Mangazenkan.com Campaign: Monthly Shonen Champion Series Will Draw Your Image 

Manga artists can make your dream come true by drawing an image of you. Winners will have their image drawn by eight manga artists from Monthly Shonen Champion (Akita Shoten). Shonen Champion Comics will choose a total of eight winners, one per comic, between January 7 (Monday) and February 5 (Tuesday). 

Participating manga artists are: Ryu Itou from "Sengoku BASARA3-Bloody Angel", Katsuki Izumi from "Oi!! Obasan", Yuu Minamoto from "Kamisama Drop", Masaru Suzuki from "Drop OG", Daishiro Suzuki from "Narikin!", Masayuki Saiwaki from "Chicken", Shingo Honda from "Hakaijuu", and Yoshiji Yamaguchi from "Examurai Sengoku G". 

To enter, purchase a manga and fill out the enclosed entry form. Winners who are chosen will be asked to send in their photo. 

This is a rare opportunity for fans! 

You can purchase the mangas and get more information about this 2013 New Year's gift at Mangazenkan.com

The Fake in Facebook

I recently read The Boy Kings, which some big-time media outlets have billed as a “tell-all” of Facebook, but it really isn't. It's written by Katherine Losse, who left the company, even though she managed to go from mere customer support staff to the writer of the Big Boss' blog and get a really nice paycheck for it. She also was responsible for internationalizing Facebook, a feature I've taken advantage of because I'm currently using it in Japanese, but have also used it in French, Portuguese, and British English (because it's still cool to use a version of English that's different than mine).

I wasn't going to finish reading it because I found her detachment through much of the book irritating. I wanted to know how she felt about working there, not just what she saw. It didn't seem to go very deep. However, towards the end of the book, she started to break out of her observational distance and express her feelings of frustration. So I concluded that perhaps her detachment was a reflection of how she managed to survive the company's culture and the guys she worked with. Actually, at one point, even though she was complaining about her male coworkers, it seemed like she enjoyed the attention of the guys and felt cool to be in their inner circle.

If you're looking for gossip about Facebook or some sordid details, you won't find them in this book, but if you're looking for one person's perspective, you'll probably enjoy it. One thing I liked about her point of view was that she questioned what social media is about. It claims to connect people, but it can make people more distant from each other because what they're presenting is phony and a manufactured image that they want to convey. Also, she tried to define what a friend is, and what kind of world we're creating if friends are just a bunch of names on a list that we're trying to impress. Her concerns weren't exactly like mine, but I'm glad that someone on the inside wasn't totally enamored with Fakebook and had the guts to write about it. She was employee 51, now she's living in a tiny town in Texas enjoying her “retirement”.

(image by Bruce Lee)