I was on UN business in Korea this week, but on Friday, I took a day off to fly to Osaka and meet with friends Junko Edahiro and Riichiro Oda, at a hotel near Osaka’s Kansai airport. I wanted to find out how they were doing, and how the country was doing, since the last … Continue reading “San-ten-ichi-ichi” — what March 11 means to Japan (so far)
Culture, Values, Philosophy
David Abrams: Breathing ourselves aware on planet “EAIRTH”
This is the second in my series of posts from the conference "Climate Existence 2010." The series began with a post on Bill McKibben's opening keynote. This one covers the afternoon keynote and the workshop I went to, which awakened some memories ... "We don't live on the Earth. We live in the Earth. Or … Continue reading David Abrams: Breathing ourselves aware on planet “EAIRTH”
International Buy-a-Qur’an Day
I bought a copy of the Qur'an today. It seemed the best way to register my support to all my Muslim friends in the face of the media circus around this low-minded Florida "pastor," whose behavior is so antithetical from the Christianity I learned as a child (a child in Florida, as it happens). Buying … Continue reading International Buy-a-Qur’an Day
“Changer pour Durer”: Change to Endure
"The French think differently," said nearly every one of us who was not actually French. Of course, we said this to each other in French, so perhaps we were thinking differently too. Last week (19-24 Sept 2009) I attended an inter-disciplinary colloquium at a castle in Normandy called Cerisy-la-Salle. The central massive stone structure (see … Continue reading “Changer pour Durer”: Change to Endure
Karaoke in Beijing is Part of My Job
If you had seen me strolling with my colleagues into the cavernous Partyworld, a deluxe marble-and-chandeliers karaoke center in the center of Beijing, you would have been forgiven for not believing me if I told you that I was working. When you are a visiting speaker/consultant/trainer in Asia, and the evening's planned activities include karaoke, … Continue reading Karaoke in Beijing is Part of My Job
My Earth Day in Africa
I'm reading an article in Scientific American's magazine "Earth 3.0" about some airlines testing new, greener jet fuels. But I'm here in Entebbe, Uganda airport, about to fly with very ordinary Jet A Kerosene on Kenya Airways to Nairobi. Surreally, an old Star Trek movie is on the television. Of course, I spent most of … Continue reading My Earth Day in Africa
Alan AtKisson 