Why This Matters Why launch an adult book club? Because we live in Durham. This summer I spent three months in Japan. I loved it. The people are wonderful. So is their food. Fantastic public bathrooms. Clean streets, zero litter. And their train system is amazing. Two days after returning home I went to the […]
A few days after arriving in Osaka, Japan, I flew to Busan, Korea. It was my opportunity to visit Hae-Young Kim, a dear friendfrom North Carolina, while she was in Seoul visiting family. Hae-Young took the title image of me looking out onto the harbor. We’re relaxing at the very cool Momo’s Coffee. Why Busan? […]
English in Romanian Media is hardly a new topic. The question isn’t whether English is finding its way into Romanian. The question is: How pervasive is the phenomenon? If you’re not paying attention, you might not notice a lot. However, over these past few days, I decided to pay attention, and I’m struck by how […]
The Black Sea has been on my mind for the past few days. Odd, perhaps. Or maybe not so odd because I’m in Romania. A brutal war rages just beyond Romania’s northeastern border. Geography matters. As you see, six countries surround the Black Sea: Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Russia, and Georgia. The uncolored space between […]
If you guessed that the Prince of Transylvania is now Charles III of England, you’re right! And you might have guess it from looking at the title image. (Courtesy of Quora, no copyright infringement intended.) If the genealogists are right, the most (in)famous Romanian of all time, namely Vlad Țepeș aka Vlad the Impaler (1431-1476), […]
After a three year absence (Drat you, Pandemic!) I’m back in Bucharest. I didn’t know what to expect after such a long time away. But after only a day or two I realized I still love it! Back in Bucharest The title image tells a story. The phrase Ca la noi la nimeni is short […]
Most of my adventures these days happen in my arm chair. Watching foreign-language dramas on various streaming services. I’ve watched enough now to have noticed a curious phenomenon. Of course, I’ve long been aware that English is currently the world’s donor language. However, I’ve now become aware that one word in particular has had broad […]
In 2012 Phillip Carter and I visited Ukraine. We started in Kyiv then took the train to Lviv. The train ride took about nine hours. During that time we went to the restaurant car and began to write our book Languages in the World. How History, Culture, and Politics Shape Language (Wiley Blackwell, 2016). Ten […]
As of yesterday all Russian assets in the United States are frozen. I imagine many properties in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida are among the iciest! Here’s what I wrote about this beachfront town on January 21, 2020: Sunny Isles Beach – that’s Санни Айлс Бич (Sanni Ayles Bich) to the locals. Namely, the Russians. You […]
The title image is The Great Wave Off Kanagawa. Do you recognize it? Likely yes, since this image has the highest recognition value of any Japanese work of art. Title image courtesy of Wikipedia. No copyright infringement is intended. The Great Wave Off Kanagawa: History If I’m right, you’ve seen The Great Wave Off Kanagawa. […]