Meet the Authors: A Book Launch Party at the FCCJ

Media Tectonics cordially invites you to a “Meet the Authors” cocktail party and dinner at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan on Wednesday, May 30, 2012, at 7:00 p.m. Enjoy an all-you-can-eat buffet, open bar, interesting stories, and a chance to win one or more books for 6,500 yen (prepaid-see below), or 7,000 yen at the door.

Authors Ted Furumoto and Doug Jackson (More Than a Baseball Team: The Saga of the Vancouver Asahi), Andrew Silberman (Get a G.R.I.P.: Andrew’s Ax Guide to Global Readiness), and Laura Merz (Bunny Suits of Death: Tales of a CSI) will be on hand to share a behind-the-scenes look at how their books came about. And learn how you, too, can be a published author.

Join us for this memorable evening of stories told with passion and humor—about hardship and racism, death and tragedy, and about lifting your life and career out of the doldrums to renewed energy and enthusiasm.

More Than a Baseball Team: The Saga of the Vancouver Asahi
by Ted Y. Furumoto and Douglas W. Jackson

This book is a translation of a Japanese language non-fiction work about Canada’s first Japanese-Canadian championship baseball team, the Vancouver Asahi, active from 1914 to 1941 (Toho Shobo, 2009).

The history of the Vancouver Asahi is also a history of the Japanese-Canadian immigrant experience. The team was a part of the growth of Little Tokyo in Vancouver, British Columbia.

The Asahi dynasty was abruptly brought to a halt when the players, along with the rest of the Japanese community, were relocated to internment camps after Pearl Harbor. Team members, though separated, still played baseball by organizing teams in the camps. Eventually, the Mounties, who were the camp guards, became fans.

After the war, Japanese-Canadians were prevented from returning to their homes on the west coast, and given a choice of living on the east coast of Canada or being deported to Japan. Though the team never revived, they were honored belatedly by induction into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.

The story of the Asahi is one of hope and perseverance in the face of adversity and racial prejudice. It is a story about young men playing for the love of the game, instilling pride not just in their community, but in all of Canada as well.

About the Authors

Ted Y. Furumoto is the son of one of the Vancouver Asahi’s original pitchers. He grew up listening to his father’s stories and was enthralled with the game of baseball. Now a long-time business consultant in Tokyo, his mission for the past several years has been to share the team’s triumphs and tragedies with as wide an audience as possible. Find out more here.

Douglas W. Jackson has been a writer and editor for over three decades. In addition to editing Japan Airlines’ in-flight magazine Winds and several other Japan-based periodicals over the years, he has edited over a dozen books. Doug was the communications director at the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan prior to launching Fresh Eyes Communications in 2005. In 2008, he ghostwrote the manga adaptation of Patrick Lencioni’s New York Times bestseller The Five Dysfunctions of a Team for John Wiley & Sons.

Get a G.R.I.P. – Andrew’s Ax Guide to Global Readiness
(G.R.I.P. = Global Readiness Improvement Plan™)
by Andrew Silberman

Andrew Silberman and his AMT Group have been “Developing Global Thinkers” since 1992. With so much rapid change all around, across a wide spectrum of industries, and the globe seeming to shrink by the minute, being “globally ready” has taken on even greater importance today.

Based on the author’s popular newsletter, Andrew’s Ax, with its tagline, “The Cutting Edge for Global Thinkers,” Get a G.R.I.P. walks the reader through a series of exercises that cut through the BS out there and help everyone—from top-level CEOs to full- or part-time staff—develop their own strengths as a leader, as a manager, and as a “globally thinking communicator.” The result is a win-win for both the company as well as for the personal development of the individual employee.

One reason for the book’s wide appeal is the condensed nature of the content—you get a whole lot out of a page or two. Each topic stands alone, and each one can and should inspire you to lead more effectively.

This may be the only leadership guide you’ll ever need. It’s not the only leadership guide that’s any good—true enough. But by reading and doing these 15-minute exercises to improve your Global Readiness, Get a G.R.I.P.—Andrew’s Ax Guide to Global Readiness will take you and your team to the next level, no matter where you are today. How is your own Global Readiness Profile shaping up?

About the Author

Andrew Silberman has been inspiring improvement in individuals and organizations since 1989. At AMT Group, which he co-founded in Tokyo in 1992, he leads a multi-national team of facilitators and administrative staff whose mission is Developing Global Thinkers. As a learning facilitator and collaborative consultant, he works with managers and executives in Asia, the U.S. and Europe, helping them polish their management communication skills and increasing their Global Readiness™.

In addition to his work inside AMT Group, Andrew writes for local journals and magazines and is the author of the popular monthly E-newsletter Andrew’s Ax, and the video blog The Chops. He also plays rhythm guitar and sings lead vocal as the front man for the feel-good roots rock band Moonshots. Find out more here.

Bunny Suits of Death: Tales of a CSI
by Laura A. Merz

Step into the bunny suit of a real crime scene investigator as she deals with local citizens on the worst day of their life … or the first day of their death.

As the newest Crime Scene Investigator for the Wichita Police Department, East Coast transplant Laura Merz finds herself out of her comfort zone and completely unprepared for the human dramas and comedies she encounters with each shift she works. She quickly learns that real life CSI work is nothing like what they show on television or what she studied in graduate school.

She dusts for fingerprints, photographs bloody Klingon weapons, and desperately tries not to fall off the chair in her first court appearance. Merz also grows to understand the dangers of empathy and why police officers often have a tough exterior. Along the way, she cobbles together a quirky group of friends to help her cope with the daily dose of human failings she witnesses each time she puts on her uniform.

From her first crime scene where she is forced to confront the death of a young gang member to scenes where burglars are reported to leave sex toys behind as parting gifts, Merz discovers hilarity and heartbreak are often intertwined. Bunny Suits of Death provides a much needed bridge between dramatic crime novels and purely scientific texts.

About the Author

Laura Merz spent 19 months as a Crime Scene Investigator in Wichita Kansas before becoming a Special Agent with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS). She jokes that she didn’t even have to change networks – just TV shows. She is continually awed by the courage, compassion, and character of the men and women in law enforcement. And yes, she still has the doofus of a cat named Pyewacket. Find out more here.

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Date: Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Time: 7 p.m. – dinner and cocktails; 7:30-9:00 author presentations
Location: Foreign Correspondence Club of Japan (map to FCCJ)
Cost: 6,500 yen (if prepaid by May 28. See below.); 7,000 yen at the door

Be sure to take advantage of the prepayment discount, and let us know you’re coming so we can make an accurate food order!

RSVP by sending an email here.

Bank Transfer:

Resona Bank
Shibuya Branch: 473
Account Type: Futsu
Account Number: 1804222
Account Name: 4M Associates

Or pay via Paypal:

Updated Profiles for March 23 Seminar

We’ve got an amazing lineup of presenters for Tuesday night! Thanks for all your responses. You guys rock! We hope you signed up early to secure a seat, because it’s going to be standing room only for our first ever six-speaker evening.

Our smorgasbord plate of presenters is officially full, and we’ve got some tasty morsels for you to sample. Along with the film production adventures of Deborah DeSnoo, you’ll also hear from five other talented and passionate members of our Media Tectonics community. Read more