Economist, Jan 5, 2013

choi

(1) Foreign universities | Campus Collaboration; Foreign universities find working in China harder than they expected.
http://www.economist.com/news/ch ... ampus-collaboration
("None of them [foreign universities] finds it easy to work with an academic system whose standards and values are so different from those in the West. Not least of the hurdles is maintaining scholarly independence in China’s restrictive political environment")

Note: Lancaster University
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lancaster_University
(officially The University of Lancaster; public; Established 1964)


(2) Jerusalem | For Whom the Bell No Longer Tolls; A dispute over the benefits and banality of modern technology.
http://www.economist.com/news/mi ... nology-whom-bell-no

nOTE: Crimean war (1853-1856)

(3) Metro systems | Going Underground; Subways are spreading fast.
http://www.economist.com/news/bu ... t-going-underground

Note:
(a) London Underground
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Underground
([still] incorporates the oldest section of underground railway in the world, which opened in 1863; colloquially known as the Tube)
(b) Chicago 'L'
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_%27L%27
(is the second longest rapid transit system in total track mileage in the United States, after the New York City Subway; The oldest sections of the 'L' started operations [via elevated tracks, not on or under-ground] in 1892, making it the second-oldest rapid transit system in the Americas, after Boston)
(c) Boston operated "North America's first subway (1897)."
(d) "The first underground line of the subway opened on October 27, 1904, almost 35 years after the opening of the first elevated line in New York City, which became the IRT Ninth Avenue Line [opened in 1868]."
New York City Subway
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City_Subway  

choi

(4) Viewing Mount Fuji | No More Rising Sun; The capital’s last street-level view of Mount Fuji is about to be obscured.
http://www.economist.com/news/as ... -no-more-rising-sun

Note:
(a) Fujimizaka  富士見坂
* miru 見る【みる】 (v): "to see"
(i) "There are a number of hills in Tokyo named Fujimizaka, literally 'hill with a view of Mt Fuji,' but the construction of tall buildings has made it increasingly difficult to actually see Mt Fuji from these slopes. Fujimizaka in Nippori is said to be the only hill of the name in central Tokyo from where people can still see Mt Fuji. Many spectators gathered here on this day for a glimpse of the sun setting near the mountain's peak, which creates a sparkling phenomenon known as 'Diamond Fuji.'
Photo: Spectators crowd the slope to see 'Diamond Fuji.' (January 30)."
January 2012; "Diamond Fuji" seen from Fujimizaka in Nippori. Tokyo Metropolitan Government.
http://www.metro.tokyo.jp/ENGLISH/PHOTO/2012/120103.htm
(ii) "Fujimizaka is located a 5 minute walk from Nippori Station. On a sunny day, you can get a spectacular view of Mt. Fuji from the top of the slope. The best times are in mid-November and January-end at dusk when the views are breathtaking."
Nippori. Tokyo-Tokyo.com, undated.
http://tokyo-tokyo.com/Nippori.htm
(iii) 日暮里駅 Nippori Eki
ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/日暮里駅
(東京都荒川区 Arakawa-ku)
(iv) 日暮里町 Nippori Machi
ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/日暮里町
(table: 廃止日 1932年10月1日, 廃止理由 東京市編入; 享保のころから「一日中過ごしても飽きない里」という意味を重ねて「日暮里（日暮らしの里）」の字が当てられ、1749年（寛延2年）に正式な地名となった)

translation: The machi was abolished in Oct 1, 1932 when annexed by Tokyo; since the era of Kyōhō [1716-1735], the place has been called Nippori (meaning the 里 where residents made a bare subsistence living due to the fact that even if one worked very hard, his stomach remained hungry; Nippori was adopted officially in 1749)

* sugosu 過ごす【すごす】 (v): "to overdo; to do too much"
* higurashi 日暮らし; 日暮し 【ひぐらし】 (n): "day-to-day existence; living hand-to-mouth"


(b) Makoto KANEKO  金子 誠
* makoto 誠 【まこと】 (n): "sincerity; honesty"

(c) Donald Richie
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Richie
(1924- ; American author)
* The Scottish surnames Richie/ Ritchie are "from a pet form of the personal name Rich, a short form of Richard."

(d) The article mentions "woodblock prints by Hokusai and Hiroshige."
(i) Hokusai (full name: KATSUSHIKA Hokusai (葛飾 北斎; 1760-1849)

* The woodblock series 冨嶽三十六景 was done 1831-1833.
(ii) Hiroshige  (full name: UTAGAWA Hiroshige 歌川 広重; 1797-1858)