Over the years I have had the opportunity to visit the UK many times and on every trip I find myself baffled by the overwhelming variety of accents and dialects. Patrick Foote of Name Explain investigated why the UK, a relatively small geographical area, has so many accents. In Australia, there are only 3, but in the European part, England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, the number of different accents is enormous. How come there are so many different accents? Watch the video and you will get the answer.
Apologies in advance for what may be a flurry of random posts about my recent experiences while traveling in Japan. I had so many wonderful experiences and also moments of recognition involving random things that I stumbled upon.
In that vein, while riding an elevator in a Tokyo hotel I noticed Braille signage and wondered about the development of the system for the Japanese language and its history. So, I did a little research and found out how Louis Braille’s system was modified for languages that use characters, specifically for Japan. Japanese Braille developed only after Braille was popularized in the West, as it took time to decipher how to transfer a system made for Latin, alphabetic languages. In an article on the History Workshop website, Wei Yu Wayne Tan explores the global significance of inventing Japanese Braille, and how it was adapted; the key, it turns out, was to adapt Braille to phonetic characters called kana that could be used in writing to represent the sounds of a vast number of kanji characters. Braille was introduced to Japan in the Meiji period (1868-1912), and the first Braille newspaper, Tenji Mainichi (Braille Mainichi), was founded in Osaka in 1922.
As a person coping with a serious visual disability, I appreciated the many efforts in Japan to assist the Blind and visually disabled. One noticeable effort is the application of easily recognized walkway inserts everywhere with yellow raised bumps that are unmissable.
My First Bookstore
by Edward Hirsch
1. Another Family
My grandfather liked to hang around Moishe Cheshinsky’s bookstore on Lawrence Avenue. We were usually the only ones in the stacks. The back room was dusty. Most of the books were written in languages I couldn’t understand. I wondered, “Why do you like it here so much?” My grandfather gestured toward the shelves, “This is my other family.”
2. The Masses
My grandfather believed we were People of the Book. His friend Meyer believed in the Book of the People. Meyer was a mensch who wanted to improve the world, Grandpa explained, but he was going about it all wrong. That’s because he was still a Communist. He had missed the news bulletin about Stalin. Meyer said, “The masses are no asses.” My grandfather shook his head. “Are you certain about that?”
3. Genesis 1 and 2
The old men seemed ancient to me—they were in their early sixties—and should have had beards. They didn’t like the organized part of religion, but they loved the Hebrew Bible. My grandpa’s cronies debated everything. They had no interest in sports—this was their favorite pastime. One day they argued about the origin of the world. Everyone had a theory about why Yahweh created mankind twice. There was a newcomer in the corner. “So what?” he said finally. “The second time was no better than the first.”
4. Ashkenazim
The old men spoke with accents. They had fled pogroms, or ten years of military service, or bad marriages. They checked Other on government forms because they did not consider themselves White. That was for gentiles. “Use your keppie,” my grandfather said, which meant my noggin. “We’re not white. We’re Jewish.”
5. Oy
My grandfather resorted to Yiddish when he was frustrated. He said oy Gutt (oh my God) or oy gevalt (good grief). But I got confused and mixed up God and grief.
I have always been intrigued by the many cities within cities in Europe that hide traces of their early Roman incarnations. Over the years when I’ve visited London I have sought out those barely hidden remnants of ancient Londinium . In the video below, architect Nick Potts uncovers the city’s ancient Roman origins. Before London, there was Londinium, the capital of Roman Britain, and although it was abandoned by AD 450, the influence and some remnants of the ancient city still remain. Pott’s explores how modern London rose up from Roman ruins.
To celebrate the exact 155th anniversary of Charles Dickens‘s death and the 100th anniversary of the opening of the Charles Dickens Museum in London, the museum will be free of charge to all visitors on June 9 when it will also be guest-stewarded by members of the writer’s family.
Among the members of the Dickens family welcoming visitors will be:
The Museum’s birthday exhibition, Dickens in Doughty Street: 100 Years of the Charles Dickens is a celebration of the life of Dickens and the museum, running through June 29.
I’ve just returned from an amazing three-week trip to Japan and was delighted and overwhelmed by so much that I encountered, including the fabulous graphic design work everywhere. Passing through Kyoto Station I spotted a clever ad campaign while heading to catch a speedy Shinkansen train to Tokyo. When I returned home, I did some research and found out a little about it.
Kodansha, one of Japan’s leading manga publishers, has launched an innovative campaign titled “MANGA MANNERS” to educate visitors about Japanese etiquette through beloved manga characters. Following the success of a similar initiative at Narita Airport in 2024, this new campaign is prominently featured at major Tokaido Shinkansen stations, including Tokyo, Shinagawa, Nagoya, Kyoto, and Shin-Osaka, from April 24 to June 30, 2025.
The “MANGA MANNERS” campaign utilizes characters from 17 popular Kodansha manga titles to illustrate various aspects of Japanese etiquette. Themes range from hygiene and attire to food and also safety. Sailor Moon teaches how to properly wear a Kimono while Akira educates on traffic laws.
These visual guides are strategically placed in high-traffic areas within the stations, offering travelers engaging reminders of local customs.
To further assist international travelers, Kodansha is distributing limited-edition leaflets at the participating stations. These leaflets compile all 17 etiquette tips, allowing visitors to take home a unique souvenir that reinforces their understanding of Japanese customs.
Grossing the highest box-office of any British film in the US when released in 1975, this “cult classic” comedy from the Monty Python team loosely follows the legend of King Arthur (Graham Chapman), along with his squire (Terry Gilliam) and his Knights of the Round Table (John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin), as they embark on a fearless quest in search of the elusive Holy Grail. A hysterical, historical tour-de-force from Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones. Now during it’s 50th anniversary year you can steam the funniest film ever for free.
To paraphrase Tolstoy’s famous opening line: All happy cities are alike; each unhappy city is unhappy in its own way.
Maybe that’s too clunky a way to introduce the 2025 Happy City Index, but I’m seriously jetlagged so it will have to do today. According to the Happy City Index “it is not fair to establish a single city as the leader. It is more appropriate to recognize a group of cities committed to cultivating and growing happiness, where education, inclusive policies, the economy, mobility, environmental protection, access to green areas, and innovation are not only important components of official policies but are also evident in the solutions implemented. These solutions should be tangible for residents and have a direct impact on their quality of life.
Since every city is a dynamic landscape, their activities must be periodically reviewed, especially with regard to the quality of public services provided and the application of place-based knowledge in response to new challenges that arise. We undertake this process daily and publish our findings annually. Every year has its highs and lows, and the past year was no exception— from debates related to AI to various hot and cold conflicts and polarizations around the globe, as well as the aftershocks of the pandemic, such as the increased focus on wellbeing in public debate. This is a positive development, though it remains insufficiently inclusive.
The challenges of today’s world are complex, requiring a holistic approach and tailored solutions. We all know it’s better to prevent than to cure. Strong leadership in the implementation of wellbeing policies is more crucial now than ever. Policymakers are often perceived as slow to react and quick to be blamed, but we believe this is often an unfair bias, especially concerning local leaders. Local governments have a direct and significant impact on people’s everyday lives and, consequently, their happiness—our shared fundamental human goal. So here they are”
Travel Between The Pages 