Digital Digest April 2007

/:/:/:/:/ THE DIGITAL DIGEST /:/:/:/:/:/ The Monthly Newsletter of DigitalEVE Japan. Promoting women's digital lifestyles by offering a supportive community and programs tuned to women using IT in their workplace and in their everyday lives. http://www.digitalevejapan.org

:/:/:/:/ THE DIGITAL DIGEST /:/:/:/:/:/

The Monthly Newsletter of DigitalEve Japan.

Promoting women's digital lifestyles by offering a
supportive community and programs tuned to women using IT in
their workplace and in their everyday lives.

http://www.digitalevejapan.org
................................................

1 April 2007

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This monthly newsletter is a membership benefit of
DigitalEve Japan and is sent through our mailing list,
de-japan. If you wish to cancel your membership with
DigitalEve Japan, please follow the unsubscribe instructions
at the end of this issue.

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IN THIS ISSUE

-> From the Editor
-> Rota Leader Report
-> Membership Team News
-> Media Team News
-> Web Content Team News
-> Tech Team News
-> Upcoming Events
-> Interview with a DEva

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FROM THE EDITOR
Corinne Sutter, English Newsletter Editor
newsletter@digitalevejapan.org

Greetings, DEvas. The glorious cherry blossoms have made
their arrival right on time. Have you enjoyed them yet? As
you know, April is a time of changes in Japan - changes in
schools, changes in jobs, and changes in the weather.

When I'm using my computer, I sometimes get tired of being a
mouse potato. I need to remind myself to change my posture
or move my arms and legs around or rest my eyes, so I don't
get too fatigued from sitting motionless staring at a dim
screen for a long time. (I'll admit that my current vice is
YouTube - the video-sharing site where you can get lost in
fun trivia for stretches of time.) Anyway, as a part-time
yoga instructor, I'm always concerned about how people can
keep their bodies fit and flexible, the way they're
naturally supposed to be. If you'd like some tips about how
to relax, breathe and stretch your body while at your PC,
please check out these websites:

http://www.yogajournal.com/practice/949_1.cfm
http://www.yogasponge.com/computer.htm

In this month's newsletter we feature some really
interesting ways people celebrate April in Thailand and
India, lots of other great articles, plus an interview with
a long-time DEJ member.

Happy Spring, everyone!

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NOTES FROM THE STEERING COMMITTEE

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ROTA LEADER

Leader's Report

By the time this newsletter is published, the cherry
blossoms will already be in full bloom. There is a place
called "The Garden of Cherry Trees" in the building of my
company, and many hanging cherries, Somei-Yoshino and
mountain cherry trees are planted there. But I prefer to see
cherry blossoms still in their natural surroundings, even
though this garden was designed for people to enjoy them
inside the building.

Our new member, Sommer Wagstaff, has agreed to be an Event
Coordinator. She comes from New Zealand and has worked for
eight years in Tokyo. I think she will write a self-
introduction soon but I just wanted to thank her for
volunteering. We are looking forward to having many
significant, happy events in the future.

I visited The Nomadic Museum in Odaiba, which was originally
located at Pier 54 in New York City and evokes the journey
of the exhibition "Ashes and Snow". Through photographs,
installations and a novel in letters, artist Gregory Colbert
shows fantastic moments between man and nature. The museum
is constructed of 152 steel containers and as an
architectural structure, is a wonderful background for his
works. It is open till June 24th and I want to visit again.

Don't miss the announcements coming soon on the mailing
list, as there are events planned this month.

Thanks.

Misao Kajiro
Rota Leader for April & May
membership@digitalevejapan.org

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MEMBERSHIP TEAM NEWS

Misao Kajiro, Membership Coordinator
membership@digitalevejapan.org

Total membership is 698 as of March 28th, 2007.

Four new members joined in March, Yukie, mhori, Ayako and
Suzy, welcome to DigitalEve Japan. We look forward to seeing
you at DEJ events.

Our membership is nearly 700 so far, but there are many
invalid email addresses on our list that are bouncing back.
I think some of our members have changed their address and
signed in with a new one but haven't deleted the old address
yet. Or, some members' settings for spam might be blocking
emails from de-japan. At any rate, we have to reorganize and
clean up these addresses in the near future. If you notice
that your old address is still on the mailing list please
delete it yourself.

Thanks!

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MEDIA TEAM NEWS

"April is the time for green..."April is the beginning of a
new school or corporate year in Japan. April is also the
month when Earth Day events are held all over the globe.
Today, thanks to the former U.S. Vice President Al Gore's
environmental documentary film as well as global warming and
other environmental and ecological issues discussed by
experts, intellectuals, and media, an increasing number of
people have been aware of what is really happening to our
planet earth. Our earth produces a wide variety of natural
resources. Ironically, however, humans fight to possess
these gifts from Mother Earth. Do you know the birthstone of
April? It is diamond. The timely release of the movie "Blood
Diamond" on April 7 in Japan is raising awareness of the
serious issue of "conflict (or blood) diamonds." What the
words mean is that blood has been shed to fight over
diamonds. Some of our DEJ members may be associated with
Amnesty International. The above has been also brought up as
a serious problem by Amnesty International (see
http://www.amnesty.or.jp/modules/news/article.php?
storyid=251&sel_lang=english)
and also some other organizations such as Canada's NPO called One Sky 
(http://www.onesky.ca/index.html) which has launched their
Green Diamonds campaign (see http://www.onesky.ca/diamonds/
index.html) in North America hand in hand with the movie Blood 
Diamond. Already, for example, a concerned jeweler like this company 
(http://www.diaz.jp/?mode=f5)strongly states their support for this 
cause. This April may be good time for all of us to think green and 
extend our thoughts to the bloody fact behind the beautiful stone. 
(For your information, Earth Day Tokyo 2007 is held on the 21st and 
the 22nd of April in the Yoyogi Park.)

Chiharu Kawai, Media Coordinator
media-j@digitalevejapan.org

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WEB CONTENT TEAM NEWS

Ladawan Lhuang-on, Web Content Coordinator
web@digitalevejapan.org

April 13 is the traditional Thai New Year. We call it the
Songkran Festival. At this time of year there is a big
migration of Thais working in the city, going back to their
hometowns to join their family members in the countryside.
Young people express their respects to elders by sprinkling
scented water on the elders' hands. The elders give them
blessings for the coming New Year.

When I was young and living in my small hometown, my family
would go to the temple in the morning for religious rituals.
In the afternoon we would go back to the temple carrying
sand into the temple compound to build a small sand pagoda.
This is part of the merit-making ritual of bringing back
what you have taken from the temple in the previous year.
After sprinkling Buddha statues with water and getting
blessings from the elders, we would enjoy our water
splashing. We would return to the temple again for the
evening celebrations such as traditional performances and
Thai folk dances. This sure brings back good memories. Ah
natsukashii, na!

In case you are interested, you can read more about the
Songkran Festival here:
http://www.tatnews.org/events/events/2007/april/3169.asp.

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TECH TEAM NEWS

Smita Deshpande, Tech Team Coordinator
tech@digitalevejapan.org

Hello Dear Devas,

The month of March brings the start of a new year for Indian
people. It’s my pleasure to share how we celebrate it in
India. The festival is called Gudhi Padawa. We celebrate it
by putting a large, long bamboo stick in front of our
houses. The stick is tied with a metal-pot and a sari. It is
believed that all the good things enter the house through
the stick. Sweets are made at home and it's been the
tradition to eat neem-leaves on that day for the good
health. This year, I missed it.

All of us are now waiting for the Cherry Blossoms which are
going to start soon. On the occasion of Sakura, the Rachana
Club (Tokyo) arranges the Sakura Bazaar event every year.
This time, the Sakura Bazaar will be for 2 days on March
31st and April 1st. you can enjoy Indian food items and can
buy some Indian handicraft material there.

OK then...Enjoy the Cherry Blossoms...

Best Regards,

Smita

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UPCOMING EVENTS

April events:

1) Meet the DEvas
2) Graphics Workshop

Watch the mailing list for further details!

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INTERVIEW WITH A DEva

This month Ko Iwata interviewed Lenora Genovese. Ko and
Lenora were the original DEvas who started the DEJ
newsletter you`re now reading! Lenora also designed DEJ's
snazzy postcards and T-shirt.

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

I'm not from Tokyo but I sure wish I still lived there. I
had a wonderful time during my recent visit and was glad I
got to see Misa and Chiharu. My husband and I stayed busy
trying to squeeze in as many of our favorite activities and
see as many of our friends as was possible during our 10-day
stay. I've moved around a lot in my life -- I've lived in
six different countries -- but I think Tokyo remains my
favorite place. I'm originally from Baltimore, Maryland, and
that's where I'm living now. I lived in Tokyo from 2000 to
2003 and in northern England from 2003-2006. I went through
such culture shock when we moved to the UK from Japan. I
don't think I could have found a place more different from
Tokyo than Harrogate, North Yorkshire, was. I adapted,
though, and grew to like it there. I soon found my digital
lifestyle overridden by the rural setting as I took up non-
digital hobbies like hiking and birdwatching. And it was in
the UK that my interest in photography really blossomed.

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

For about five years now.

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

Oh gosh, digging into my memory banks now....I think I found
out about the group through an internet search. I was
thrilled when I did. It was a great way to meet people.

4) If you are a volunteer, please tell us of your activities
and why you decided to help DEJ.

I'm no longer a volunteer but I did serve on the Steering
Committee (as Communications Coordinator) for awhile.

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

Since I live in the U.S. I must rely on online communication
with the group. The website and the discussion list are
great resources and I continue to pop in now and then.

6) What are your interests in digital technology?

I love connecting with other people through online
communications, whether it be by email, an online chat, a
blog or a discussion list. While I was living in Tokyo I
took a course in website design conducted by the Maryland
Institute of Art in Baltimore, Maryland. The class would
meet once a week in a chat room. The instructor directed us
to lots of online resources and gave us assignments. At the
end of the class each student had created their own webpage.

7) What kind of computer do you use?

I use and love my Mac G5.

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

I subscribe to a QuarkXPress ListServe (http://www.siclist.org/
mailman/listinfo/quarkxpress). I'm more familiar with Quark than any 
other software program but I often learn new things about Quark from 
the List.

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

I'm a freelance graphic designer. I work mainly in print
design but I've dabbled a bit in website design and
production.

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

I love working with Photoshop. It's such a versatile
program. The more I use it the more I learn about it.

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

I'm somewhat addicted to Flickr (www.flickr.com), a
photosharing website. I can spend hours surfing around on
the site. I've made some interesting contacts on Flickr and
reconnected with old friends as well. It's been a great
source of inspiration for my photography. Other hobbies
include birdwatching, movies, reading and cooking.

12) What is your favorite website and why?

Flickr for reasons stated above. I also love Wikipedia. And
IMDB is a great one too.

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

My cat, Ginger, who likes to lie down on the keyboard, a mug
of tea or coffee and the USB cable that connects my camera
to my computer.

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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

***SEEK***
Editors (E to J) who can help publishing this newsletter.
Please send an email to newsletter@digitalevejapan.org.
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The Digital Digest is brought to you by the Newsletter Team:
Koko Iwata, Yoko Kawabe, Corinne Sutter, Mayumi Tanimoto,
Stacey Ward, and Ailsa Wylie.

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