We bundled our luggage into a van and got on a train and headed for Luoyang, Henan, a place which has frequently been the capital of China, though a bit of a backwater now. Here were a number of things […]
Miscellaneous
Our China Journey, Part III – Xi’an and Yan’an
From Nanjing we got on a plane and flew 600 miles to the northwest to Xi’an, Shaanxi. This city is now a second tier city about the size of Chicago, but during the Tang dynasty [618-907] it was Chang’an, the […]
Our China Journey, Part II – Shanghai and the Lower Yangtze Region
SHANGHAI We next flew to Shanghai, though the largest city in the country it is not in its core area historically Chinese. Shanghai was a small town until 1842, when just north of it two large concession enclaves were carved […]
Our China Journey, Part I – Singapore and Guangzhou
SINGAPORE David, Roberta, and I started our adventure in Singapore, which is a 75% Chinese city but was ruled by the British from 1818 to 1957 and after 1965 by the late great Lee Kwan Yew, who established English as […]
Our Adventure in Ethiopia
In March of 2015, our family and some friends took a 3½ week trip through Ethiopia, one of the most unusual of sub-Saharan African countries. Ethiopia is exceptional in two ways; It became a Christian culture in the 300s, whereas […]
Very Bad Taste Not A Reason To Forbid Anything: A Thought For 9/11, Nine Years Later
There has been quite a to-do about building an Islamic center in Lower Manhattan close to Ground Zero. I have to say I think the whole thing is in very bad taste. With one possible exception. The famous Sagrada Familia […]
Sympathy versus Empathy
I think I have finally figured out the distinction between ‘sympathy’ and ’empathy’, and why we have two words. ‘Sympathy’ is a much older word, and has been in use for centuries; ’empathy’ is a fairly new one, becoming fashionable […]
How Michael Dell Ruined My Vacation
For seventeen years my wife and I have been going to the Four Seasons Hualalai, on Hawaii Island [known as the Big Island] for a month every winter. The beach in front of it is full of lava rock and […]
The Virtues And Vices Of Daffodil Season
Between winter and spring intervenes, in many areas, the Daffodil Season. Here in Michigan, it is St George’s Day, April 23, as I write this, and the ground has turned green and the daffodils are out in force, but the […]
No Place Like Home Conference – June 3, 2013
This conference is being hosted by me and others to discuss the current state of subsidized home ownership in America, something that has been happening since the end of World War II but since the 1970s has been less successful […]