DE-J's Monthly Newsletter, June 2004

IN THIS ISSUE -> From the Editor. -> Team reports. -> Announcements -> Upcoming Events. -> Recent Events. -> Q & A: Interview With A DEva.

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FROM THE EDITOR
Meghan Shaw
Newsletter Team
newsletter@digitalevejapan.org

Over the past couple of months DigitalEve has lost a few
active volunteers from both the Steering Commitee and
the Newsletter Team. This is to be expected in an
international community where people are constantly on
the move. I would encourage anyone who is new to the
organiztation to volunteer during their time here in Japan.

Currently, the English Newsletter team is in need of
additional editors. There is a helpful network of volunteers
on the Newsletter team who are ready and willling to give
advice and support. So, if you have a small amount of time
that you could give back to DigitalEve, there are many who
will appreciate your efforts. On June 27th there is a
"Meet the Devas" so please come join us for coffee, and
have a look at ways you may enjoy becoming involved.

We are also always on the look out for interesting feature
articles. If you have something you would like to contribute
than please get in touch with the Newsletter Team.

There is a lot going on in the city this month, so I hope we
see you at some of the upcoming events.

Enjoy what June has to offer!

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TEAM REPORTS

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MEMBERSHIP TEAM NEWS
Misao Kajiro
Membership Coordinator

Total membership is 551 as of the 25th of May, 2004.

We are having the June Meet the DEvas on 27th.
Please see the details at Upcoming Events in this issue.

Recently I was at the DigitalEVEning that was also a farewell party
for Khris. I know it's unavoidable that members move away
some day, but the fact makes me so miserable as we have lost
many active volunteers since we started. However, another way
to say it is that we have friends all over the world through this
group.

Membership team is seeking the volunteer to help our task.
Please send your message to:
membership@digitalevejapan.org

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WORKSHOP TEAM REPORT

Reiko Ohashi, Workshop Coordinator

We can smell summer everywhere...
The weather is already like mid-summer, isn't it?
The next workshop will take place in July.
We are going to learn Adobe Illustrator which many
DEVas will love.
Please join and enjoy this attractive software!

Software: illustrator, English ver. for Windows
Tutor: Debbie Foster
Level: Beginner/Introduction
Date: July 18th (Sunday)
Duration: 3-hour workshop (14:00 to 17:00)
Language: English
Fee: JPY4,000-
Venue: Step Support Ebisu
Seat: 14
Reservation: e-mail to the workshop coordinator
Remarks:- The room is equipped with 14 PCs
and you don't need to bring your own one.
- The fee is raised to JPY4,000 from JPY3,000
due to prevent a financial loss of DE-J and this workshop.
Your understanding is appreciated.
- DE-J members have priority for reservation.

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

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Introduction of a New Volunteer

DigitalEve is pleased to introduce our latest vlounteer, Tina Koyama.
Welcome Tina!
And now, a message from Tina....

Hello Everyone! My name is Tina Koyama and I have recently accepted the
position of Librarian for DigitalEve-Japan. I live in Niigata Prefecture,
where my husband is from. I first came to Japan to teach English and
"see the world" over 6 years ago. I am also a trained Graphic Designer
and
finally decided to start offering design services this year to make use
of
my training. I think it's great that we can meet online and learn from
each
other. I'm excited about becoming more active in the group as Librarian,
and I hope I can get to meetings occasionally to put faces to so many of
the great people I have met here online! Yoroshiku onegaishimasu!

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UPCOMING EVENTS

International Computer Association is holding a
meeting, and the speaker is:
Toshi Iwata of jamdat.com.

http://www.icajapan.jp/

MEETING DETAILS
Date: Thursday June 17, 2004
Time: 6:30 (pm) Doors open, 6:30 Networking / cash bar
7:10 Dinner*, 7:45 Presentation, 8:45 Finish
Venue: Yurakucho Denki Building, Foreign Correspondents' Club
Map: http://www.fccj.or.jp/contents/map.htm
Cost: 3,500 (yen) members, 6,000 (yen) non-members
*Dinner included in meeting cost. Cash bar available.
No-shows will be billed.

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Meet the Devas

This is our first attempt to hold this event in the north side of
Tokyo particularly for those DEVas living in the
Ikebukuro/Itabashi and other north areas of Tokyo and also
in Saitama! Of course, every one is invited!! Let's spend the
Sunday afternoon chatting with other members, exchanging
information, and relaxing ourselves in a cozy cafe!

We are having Meet The DEVas on Sunday June 27, 2004 at 15:00
in an English cafe/pub called FGK@fe run by an Australian named
Kelvin. He supports Fair Trade and offers organic tea and coffee as
well as a variety of alcoholic beverages and snacks.

Date & time: Sunday June 27th, from 15:00 to 18:00
Venue: FGK@fe (URL: http://www.fgkafe.com/kafe/ )
Map: http://fgkafe.com/topics.html => click "Access"

* Directions: From Ikebukuro, take the Tobu Tojo Line local train
(be careful, an express or rapid train does not stop at Kamiitabashi!)
to Kami-itabashi (after Tokiwa-dai). Get out to the North Exit and
immediately turn right (there is a bakery on the corner in the station
building). Walk along the railroad track (toward Ikebukuro) for about
3 minutes, and you will see FGK@fe on your left. (There is a green
and yellow sign saying "Eikaiwa Cafe" above at the railroad level.
You will see a blackboard outside reading DigitalEve.)

If you can come join us, please email Chiharu Kawai (Chikawai@aol.com)!

They may have some live music on the day starting at 18:30. Also, if
you have any particular music you would like to listen to in the
background, please bring in your CDs.
Those who did not have a chance to join us because you live way up north,
we'll be coming to your area! So please join us!

Chiharu Kawai
June Leader and
Media Coordinator

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Sekai Accessory
For the digital-eve member who likes jewelry and
accesories:

As a member of digital-eve I would like to invite
everybody to a special event organized by Keio
department store (Shinjuku, 7th floor). Here you can
find out about jewelry from all over the world. For
example: Do you know what is the semi-precious
stone produced by Afganistan? Do you know what
country is the largest exporter of silver and silver
jewelry? Do you know what country produces the
most beautiful emeralds in the world? Come and find
these answers at this event and of course please visit
me at the Colombia stand. I will be waiting for all of
you at "Sekai Accesory" as this event is called. It will
be held from June 3rd (Thursday) to 8th (Tuesday). I
will be there from 12 to 8 pm. You will enjoy it!!!. For
more information contact me at marthatrujillo@yahoo.com

Martha Trujillo
DigitalEve member

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Tues., June 29th - PCC(Pink Cow Comspiracy) Night!

"I.T. PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT- Growing the Green Penguin"

Please welcome our June PCC speaker Rajiv Trehan
(www.green-penguin.com) and a special IT networking night!

Are you an IT kinda guy or gal? Have a great idea but don't
know how to develop it? Have a great idea that you already
are developing? Rajiv will be speaking and answering
questions about how he got from biomass simulations and
underwater acoustics to consulting and product business Green
Penguin, where he's going from here and the different steps
in getting a product to the market. From 7-8pm then from 8pm
onward it will be open networking so that everyone can meet
people and share what they are working on. So if you are one
of our technical cows com'on down to the ranch for this one!

NO CHARGE for entry! (Bar and food pay as you go)

Mail comspiracy@tabemo.com to let us know you'll be there!

Map: www.thepinkcow.com

Organizers:
www.tabemo.com - 20%+ discounts on top Tokyo restaurants
using your PC or phone
www.thepinkcow.com - cool place, yummy food!

Supporting organizations:
www.orca-international.com - Japan's Washington Wine Leader
www.icajapan.jp - International Computer Association
www.tokyopc.org - Tokyo PC UG

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RECENT EVENTS

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Digital Evening
May 21st, 2004
Recap by:Toge Yoshiko, Events Coordinator

We had Digital Evening at Buena in Yoyogi on May 21st.
This event was a Farewell Party for Khristine Schaffner
who was the long-time dedicated SC member. 14 people came
to the party. Khristine brought her beautiful baby and
we had a great time. We wish all the best for her and her family.

Toge Yoshiko
Events Coordinator

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Photoshop Workshop
April 26th, 2004
Recap by: Kesang

A belated Recap of the Photoshop workshop held on the 26th
of April 2004. I had originally intended this report to be largely
technical, touching on the tricks and functions of the toolbox we
had learnt to use in a fun way. However, having lost my notes
of the workshop, I am at a loss where to start.

Toni (Jolic) did an excellent job as she had us resizing images,
cropping, cloning to place a globe in the middle of a sunflower
and create an ad. for the Flower show that was to take place
in Chiba (with wrapped texts and all). Applying gradients and
picking colours that enabled me to give the Eiffel Tower an
orange-sunset coloured sky, while some coloured even the
fountains. Working with tones and colours on a Zebra and
a bonus of drawing horns on an illustration of Tom Cruise
which was actually drawn by a friend of Toni's.

All the while, Debbie (Foster) worked with Toni to help us
"laggers" find our way and catch up with the group when we
were a few clicks short and did not know how to get a certain
effect or faced obstacles. Continuing in Debbie's vein, I
would like to add how impressed I was the women who
organized this workshop. What came across to strike very
strongly was the fact that a lot of women while juggling full
time jobs, made the time to help other women, build
friendships and expand in a positive way. My Kudos to
all the women for giving us a glimpse into what Digital Eve
is all about.

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Q & A: INTERVIEW WITH A DEVA
Interview conducted by Ko Iwata
Newsletter Team.
newsletter@digitalevejapan.org

This month we interviewed DigitalEve member Greta Poulsen.

1) If you are not from Tokyo, where are you from
originally and when and why did you relocate to Tokyo?

I'm originally from Dallas, Texas, where I live now,
but I lived in Austin, Texas for about 8 years before
moving to Sakura, Chiba in 1998. I moved to Japan
because I was interested in the country and the
language. I started out teaching English but also
worked for a short time as an assistant to a painter
and did some English rewriting and editing.
I had to move back to Texas exactly a year later in
1999 to help care for my mother and I still miss Japan
very much. I stay on the DE Japan list to stay in
touch with what's happening there. I hope to move back
someday.

2) How long have you been a member of DigitalEve
Japan?

Since 1998.

3) How did you find out about DigitalEve Japan and why
did you decide to join?

I had been, and still am, a member of a large email
list in Austin which started as Webgrrls and is now
called "HerDomain". When I moved to Japan I wanted
to be involved in a community like that and I actively
looked for a Webgrrls chapter.

4) What DE-J activities/resources have you
participated in?
Of these, which do you find the most advantageous and
why?

Way back in 1998 I taught an HTML workshop when we had
a day at an Internet cafe where we set up small
classes in all sorts of software and techniques. There
were also small groups who got together to learn
things like Photoshop at May Leong's house. I enjoyed
both kinds of settings because I learned new things at
each of them. In those early days of the group there
weren't as many members and we definitely didn't have
the expertise that's available now so we all pulled
together. I think that gave us all a chance to learn.
I also designed and built what I *think* was the
second version of the Japan Webgrrls site. I learned a
lot from that experience and used the site in my
portfolio when I began looking for jobs in the U.S..

The group now has such a wealth of people with a lot
of experience and knowledge to pass on to each other.
I've enjoyed watching DE grow and have wished I could
be there to be a bigger part of it.

5) Are there any other activities and resources you
would like
to see offered by DigitalEve Japan?

Since I'm not in Japan, I don't feel like I've got any suggestions
other than I'd like to see DigitalEve continue to be a safe place
for women to ask questions and learn about technology.

6) What are your interests in digital technology?

Photography, video, music, artificial intelligence,
how computers, the Internet and mobile devices affect
the ways we communicate with each other and live our
lives.

7) What kind of computer do you use?

My beloved Mac G4. I sometimes use my husband's PC
with Windows XP, but for what I do, the Mac suits me best.

8) Are you a member of any other technology-related
groups and if so, which ones?

I'm on a few technology mailing lists, like Flash
Newbie (a very friendly list for new Flash developers
- http://chattyfig.figleaf.com/) but they're not
really membership-based groups.

9) Please tell me a little bit about where you work
and what your responsibilities are.

I just finished my first semester at grad school where
I'm working on my Master's of Fine Arts at the
Institute for Interactive Arts and Engineering.
(http://iiae.utdallas.edu/) which is part of the
University of Texas at Dallas. It's a very new program
so we're all sort of making it up as we go along. This
summer I will study painting and help build an
Internet-based game for children for the Dallas Museum
of Art around one of their exhibits. In the Fall I
will study digital video and photography.

Here is an example of something I did for one of my
classes - it's a work in progress and very large, so
please be patient -
http://www.madeyalook.net/photos/photos.htm

10) Do you have any favorite software programs? If so,
why?

At the moment I'm learning the various software
packages in Apple's iLife. I'm amazed at what can be
done at home so cheaply now. It's very exciting to see
what people will do with these powerful tools.

11) What is your favorite computer-related activity?
(for example, games, email, surfing the net, etc.)
Do you have any other hobbies?

Favorite computer activities are lots and lots of
email, some surfing but mostly focused research - if
there's something I hear about and want to know more
or something I want to learn how to do, I go to the
Internet.

Non-computer activities - knitting, movies, reading,
going out to eat at my favorite Japanese restaurant
and..sumo! I get NHK here on satellite and tape the
sumo tournament overnight to watch with my husband in
the evenings. We're both big fans. Chiyotaikai
gambatte!

12) What is your favorite website and why?

That's a tough question. It changes all the time. One
website that I could roam through forever would have
to be the Internet Archives: http://www.archive.org/
It's exactly what the name implies, an archive of the
internet. You can find websites that are no longer
online. I encourage everyone to take some time to have
a look around. One of my favorite sections is the
Prelinger Archives:
http://www.archive.org/movies/prelinger.php , a
collection of American educational films. It's
eye-opening to see what American life was like in the
1950's or earlier, especially for women.

13) Name three things you will always find near your
computer.

My cats, Kuchan and Yachan, a cup of coffee, and my
husband Chester at his computer right behind me.

I'd like to add that even though I'm not very active
on the list and I'm not in Japan, if anyone wants to
email me, please don't hesitate - gretter@yahoo.com or
greta@madeyalook.net

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SUBMISSIONS TO THE NEWSLETTER

Have an announcement to make?
An article to submit for consideration?
(We can't pay you, but we'll give you a
byline.)
Please send your submissions in plain text
format to newsletter@digitalevejapan.org
The deadline for the July newsletter is
June 15.