A 1997 transdisciplinary nonfiction book by Jared Diamond, professor of geography and physiology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). In 1998, it won the Pulitzer Prize for general non-fiction and the Aventis Prize for Best Science Book. The book attempts to explain why Eurasian civilizations (including North Africa) have survived and conquered others, […]
James Edward Waller Jr. is the Cohen Chair of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Keene State College located in Keene, New Hampshire. Waller’s book, Becoming Evil: How Ordinary People Commit Genocide and Mass Killing, is a standard text for students of genocide throughout the United States. He is widely recognized for his work on intergroup […]
In my search for pictures of celebrities wearing bright red lipstick for the article “5 Stylish Photos – Red,” I came across two issues of Bazaar featuring Chinese actress Li Bingbing. Two different settings for the photo shoots, both offering intriguing scenarios. We’ll look at them, here. Both portray the leisurely lifestyle of Bingbing as a […]
Those with Autism struggle to fit into mainstream society being cast off as strange and socially incapable. Regardless of where they fall on the Autism spectrum, they are limited in their freedom to contribute to this world as they are largely ignored and avoided. In recent years, with the help of social media and a […]
One day I was daydreaming at work and that led me to a number of tourism searches that did not involve thriving metropolises. This brought me to the Amalfi Coast. The Amalfi Coast (Costiera Amalfitana), rests in the southern Italian province of Salermo (Provincia di Salerno), in the region of Campania, the second most populous […]
After I wrote an article on the Amalfi Coast and learning about their Limoncillo industry, I thought I would look at terrace farming in more depth. Not only is farming by way of terraces an effective form of production, it is also a visual wonder. When I lived in Korea, I remember visiting the Boseong green […]
As I continued to explore Takanori Aiba’s works, I began to wonder about the history of bonsai. Having Aiba in our world is no doubt a gift, but we would not have any of what he has done without the existence of bonsai in the first place. What about the roots of this tradition? After some […]
A lot of us run random searches on things sometimes just to see what’s out there. Sometimes, I’ll run an identical search months or years later to see what’s changed. In November 2013, I revisited a search on “bonsai trees” and “Zen gardens.” What I unlocked was a door to the fascinating world of Japanese, […]
Red lipstick has been a fashion statement for decades. After coming across the photos below I thought I would look at history and figure out how this all started and why. I came upon a slideshow by Elle, which left many questions still unanswered: How does something popular become the complete opposite over time? What […]
おはようございます！- Yuriko Ninomiya greets the day from her third story bedroom as her husband opens up the door to their store and gallery below. One of my favourite sites is dwell.com, an architectural design publication. I recently came upon this home and thought I would share. Situated in Nagoya, Japan’s fourth largest urban area, this […]
