Examines various current events along with historical facts
Examines various current events along with historical facts
This marks the 100th blog post since this website was launched in the midst of the virus turmoil. It all started when a friend repeatedly suggested that I share my email replies with a wider audience. After some hesitation, I…
In many developed countries, vegetables and ingredients from around the world are supplied year-round, regardless of the season. While this might lead some to feel that the sense of seasonality has been lost from their meals, or that the variety…
The phrase “history repeats itself” is attributed to either the ancient Roman historian Quintus Rufus (1st century AD) or the ancient Greek historian Thucydides (c. 460 BC – 395 BC), and means that events that have occurred in the past,…
A solar eclipse is an astronomical phenomenon that occurs when the moon passes between the sun and the Earth, aligning them in a straight line. As a result, the sun appears to be hidden behind the moon from Earth’s perspective,…
The practice of adults telling stories to children before bedtime, whether through oral literature or read-alouds, is a long-standing tradition across all regions of the world. While literary works are primarily enjoyed through silent or aloud reading of written texts,…
In the opening of his novel Kusamakura (草枕, 1906), Natsume Soseki (夏目漱石, 1867-1916) states that if one leans too heavily towards intellect, emotion, or stubbornness, it will cause problems in human relationships and social life, ultimately making the world a…
Sweetness is not perceived as a sharp sensation, but rather as a soft, pleasant, comforting, and rounded taste that is felt on the tip and throughout the tongue the moment it enters the mouth. Some sweetnesses are clearly apparent and…
Salt, the white crystals that are casually and naturally placed in the corner of the kitchen, is more than just a seasoning; it has held special meaning since ancient times, symbolizing life, purification, and contract. Moreover, these white crystals have…
As a child, many people have had the experience of standing with their back to the sun and bending their fingers to make shadows of birds and animals, or of deforming their body as distortedly as possible to enjoy the…
Sumo is a sport in which two rikishi (力士, sumo wrestlers) wearing mawashi-belt (loincloth) compete in a circular ring called dohyo (土俵), and the winner is decided by pushing the opponent out of the dohyo or by forcing any part of…
Walls are physical obstacles. They serve as boundaries that divide space, and whether inside a house, a building, or outdoors, walls provide security, protect privacy, and can even function as symbols of defense or, conversely, as symbols of division and…
Miles Davis (1926-1991) was a jazz trumpeter, composer, and arranger who continuously pioneered innovative approaches to musical expression in each era, including cool jazz, hard bop, modal jazz, electric jazz, crossover, and hip-hop jazz. Miles transcended the boundaries of jazz,…
When the term “dictatorship” is used as a concept describing a power situation or a form of rule, it is often replaced by the institutional concept of a “dictatorial regime,” and discussed as a form of political system. In a…
The word “lottery” is said to have originated from the Dutch word for “fate” or “chance.” Indeed, lotteries, despite the near certainty of losing, offer the tantalizing prospect of winning a life-changing sum of money. Although the asymmetry in the…
In the era before location detection technologies such as GPS (Global Positioning System) using artificial satellites, latitude and longitude were determined using the positions of stars and the sun, along with highly accurate clocks. While the basic method for ships…
Phrases like “a gorgeous rose carefully cultivated in a greenhouse” versus “a dandelion that blooms strong and quietly by the roadside even without protection” are sometimes used as metaphors when talking about life, vitality, or the way of life. The…
Chopin’s (1810-1849) No. 15 in D-flat major, commonly known as “Raindrops,” is one of 24 Preludes, Op. 28, completed and published in 1839, known as a piece evoking the image of mist-like raindrops gently floating through the air, transforming into…
In the era before the internet and smartphones, people who were considered knowledgeable, whether due to their extensive knowledge or exceptional memory, were highly valued in companies, schools, and local communities. In a time when methods for finding information were…
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) is a suspenseful epic science fiction film depicting the events that occur during a manned mission to Jupiter in the year 2001 accompanied by HAL 9000, an AI (artificial intelligence) that controls the spaceship, in…
Zatoichi is a kyōkaku (侠客, a wanderer with a chivalrous spirit) from the Edo period, and tells the story of a blind masseur (座頭, zato) named Ichi (市, the blind man’s common name) who travels around the country, meeting and…
As September arrives, the angle and color temperature of the sunlight in the mornings and evenings suddenly begin to take on an autumnal appearance. This is probably because the sun’s altitude decreases and sunlight travels a longer distance through the atmosphere…
Ever since changing my monitor’s screensaver from a single color to an image of Earth, scenes like Earthrise have been filling the screen. Earthrise is the name given to a photograph taken by William Anders with a Hasselblad camera loaded…
When faced with alternative information, perceptions, or knowledge that contradicts existing beliefs, habits, or learning, people can have a strong negative or rejecting reaction. This may be a bit of a leap, but there is an ancient Greek anecdote about…
Before the advent of typewriters and email, letters were a form of handwritten communication using pen and paper from sender to recipient, in which the sender’s purpose, intentions, and feelings were written down in writing according to certain etiquette and…
The Time Tunnel is a science fiction television film about time travel that aired on the ABC network from 1966 to 1967. The story is set in a huge underground facility in Arizona, where Project Tic-Toc is secretly developing a…