LETTER FROM THE EDITOR (JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2011)
Oh Hyogo,
Welcome to the Glorious Re-launch of Your Beloved Hyogo Times. Did you miss it? Apologies; it’s been away going through a sort of transformation. I’m thrilled to be your new Hyogo Times editor, and to present our redesigned and redeveloped Hyogo Times. First I’d like to introduce our new Designer, Karen Cornish. I’m sure you’ll find her layouts pleasing to the eye as you enjoy our content, new and familiar alike. I’d also like to re-introduce our Online Editor, Jonathan Shalfi, as his role has expanded greatly for 2011.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Hyogo Times is now online. It’s going to take some more time to get the old content loaded up, as well as to finish tweaking the aesthetic odds and ends on the website. The main perks of this change are searchability as well as a level of interactivity not available in the PDFs. I encourage you to go leave comments on the stuff you read, submit guesses about Maigo in Hyogo, and check out the ever-changing calendar of events, equipped with some info and links to get you started enjoying your free time around here. The website will also be update continuously throughout the month, so check back and try to keep up with our dynamism.
We’ve got some new columns to debut (such as the Kobe Jazz Review) and some old favorites to remember (like Book Discoveries, Callin’ All Politicos, Culture, English Sensei Spirit, I Heart T-Points, J-Word Play, Kicchiri Kitchen, Love and Relationships, MOE Adventures, Ramentary, and Travel Japan!). If you wish to contribute, whether on a regular basis or just for a one-shot feature, you know where to find me. Also if there is anything you would like to put up on the calendar, just let me know.
As we progress, I’d like to consider a creative writing section, as well as a classifieds section for the website, so you can hawk your old goods and score some sweet new swag. Points not awarded for alliteration. February brings on the deep grey of midwinter, the start of the year of the rabbit (officially, at least, so your bunny-bearing greeting cards are not yet out of date, despite the ideas held by your co-workers), and of course, recontracting decision crunch time. Good luck, be well, and I hope you enjoy exploring the new HT as much as we enjoyed putting it together. We sincerely wish that our heartly taste will bring many wonderful things to you and your special someone,
Lemmon
LETTER FROM THE PR (JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2011)
Hello Hyogo,
Hey, everyone, hope you had a very rad time abroad (or at home, reading comics, like me) and are not lamenting getting back to work too much. At PR, we are also recovering from our break and trying to get back with our duties. There are a lot of good things in February. Right at the beginning, on the 5th, there is the Chinese New Year celebration in Kobe. On the 19th, there is the insanely foreigner-popular Naked Man Festival in Okayama. On the 26th, it seems there will be a Valentine’s Day party taking place across a few prefectures; very nice and wonderful. We will want to fit another Poker night in somewhere as well, so be sure to check on our Facebook group from time to time for details on that, and everything else mentioned here. I kind of hope to see you out there eventually, because I think I still don’t know you.
Andrew Brasher
LETTER FROM THE ONLINE EDITOR (JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2011)
Dear HT Reader,
あけましておめでとうございます！ Happy New Year and welcome to 2011. We have some big news to announce…the long-awaited Hyogo Times website is finally here! This is a big project for us, because it’ll allow us to add features we couldn’t have before, and will make reading the Hyogo Times as easy as ever. For example, finding specific articles is a breeze with category lists and a search bar, and you can send a link to a friend much more easily than forwarding a bulky PDF. Without further ado…www.hyogoajet.net/hyogotimes.
As of now, all articles from the current issue are online, as well as some from a few past issues. You can browse articles, search, and leave comments. The site’s graphic design is a work in progress however, and most of the other functions of the site are still under construction, so this is not its finished form. Still, it’s usable in a basic way. If you prefer the classic PDF form, there are prominent links on the site where you can download it. Of course, that part is not going away.
If you have any suggestions about the site, please send them to me at jonathan.shalfi(–AT–)hyogo.ajet.net. I hope you enjoy this new format for the Hyogo Times, and that it makes it easier for you to enjoy all the great content our magazine is known for.
Jonathan Shalfi
