Broadway in Manhattan

27 February 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, New York City Reading Time:  15 minutes

Broadwaay in Times Square © Peter K Burian/cc-by-sa-4.0

Broadwaay in Times Square © Peter K Burian/cc-by-sa-4.0

Broadway is a road in the U.S. state of New York. Broadway runs from State Street at Bowling Green for 13 mi (21 km) through the borough of Manhattan and 2 mi (3.2 km) through the Bronx, exiting north from the city to run an additional 18 mi (29 km) through the municipalities of Yonkers, Hastings-On-Hudson, Dobbs Ferry, Irvington, and Tarrytown, and terminating north of Sleepy Hollow in Westchester County. It is the oldest north–south main thoroughfare in New York City, dating to the first New Amsterdam settlement, although most of it did not bear its current name until the late 19th century. The name Broadway is the English language literal translation of the Dutch name, Brede weg. Broadway in Manhattan is known widely as the heart of the American theatre industry, and is used as a metonym for it.   read more…

Ann Arbor in Michigan

25 February 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  19 minutes

University of Michigan (1855) by Jasper Francis Cropsey

University of Michigan (1855) by Jasper Francis Cropsey

Ann Arbor is a city in Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County, with a population of 114,000, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. Ann Arbor is home to the University of Michigan. The university significantly shapes Ann Arbor’s economy as it employs about 30,000 workers, including about 12,000 in the medical center. The city’s economy is also centered on high technology, with several companies drawn to the area by the university’s research and development infrastructure. Ann Arbor was founded in 1824, named for wives of the village’s founders, both named Ann, and the stands of bur oak trees. The University of Michigan moved from Detroit to Ann Arbor in 1837, and the city grew at a rapid rate in the early to mid-20th century. During the 1960s and 1970s, the city gained a reputation as a center for left-wing politics. Ann Arbor became a focal point for political activism, such as opposition to the Vietnam War and support for the legalization of cannabis.   read more…

Theme Week Japan – Kawasaki

23 February 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

Shirahata Hachiman Daijin Shrine © Jkr2255/cc-by-sa-3.0

Shirahata Hachiman Daijin Shrine © Jkr2255/cc-by-sa-3.0

Kawasaki is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture. It is the 8th most populated city in Japan (including the Tokyo Metropolitan Area) and one of the main cities forming the Greater Tokyo Area and Keihin Industrial Area. As of October 1, 2017, the city has an estimated population of 1,503,690, with 716,470 households. Kawasaki has seven wards: Asao-ku, Kawasaki-ku – administrative center, Miyamae-ku, Nakahara-ku, Saiwai-ku, Takatsu-ku and Tama-ku.   read more…

Theme Week Japan – Osaka

22 February 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  10 minutes

Dotonbori © JKT-c/cc-by-3.0

Dotonbori © JKT-c/cc-by-3.0

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region. It is the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and the largest component of the Keihanshin Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Japan and among the largest in the world with over 19 million inhabitants. Osaka will host Expo 2025. The city’s west side is open to Osaka Bay, and is otherwise completely surrounded by more than ten satellite cities, all of them in Osaka Prefecture, with one exception: the city of Amagasaki, belonging to Hyōgo Prefecture, in the northwest.   read more…

Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong

22 February 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  12 minutes

View from International Commerce Centre © Diego Delso/cc-by-sa-3.0

View from International Commerce Centre © Diego Delso/cc-by-sa-3.0

Victoria Harbour is a natural landform harbour separating Hong Kong Island in the south from the mainland to the north. The harbour’s deep, sheltered waters and strategic location on the South China Sea were instrumental in Hong Kong’s establishment as a British colony and its subsequent development as a trading centre. The harbour is a major tourist attraction of Hong Kong. Lying in the middle of the territory’s dense urban region, the harbour is the site of annual fireworks displays and its promenades are used as gathering places for tourists and residents.   read more…

Theme Week Japan – Fukuoka

21 February 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  13 minutes

Fukuoka Tower © mmry0241-cc-by-sa-3.0

Fukuoka Tower © mmry0241-cc-by-sa-3.0

Fukuoka is the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, situated on the northern shore of Japanese island Kyushu. It is the most populous city on the island, followed by Kitakyushu. It is the largest city and metropolitan area west of Keihanshin. The city was designated on April 1, 1972, by government ordinance. Greater Fukuoka, with a population of 2.5 million people, is part of the heavily industrialized Fukuoka–Kitakyushu zone.   read more…

Theme Week Japan – Kobe

20 February 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  9 minutes

Chinatown © Laitr Keiows/cc-by-sa-3.0

Chinatown © Laitr Keiows/cc-by-sa-3.0

Kobe is the sixth-largest city in Japan and the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture. It is located on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, on the north shore of Osaka Bay and about 30 km (19 mi) west of Osaka. With a population around 1.5 million, the city is part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kyoto.   read more…

Portrait: The economist and philosopher Friedrich August von Hayek

20 February 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Portrait Reading Time:  21 minutes

Friedrich August von Hayek, 1981 © flickr.com - LSE Library

Friedrich August von Hayek, 1981 © flickr.com – LSE Library

Friedrich August von Hayek (CH FBA), often referred to by his initials F. A. Hayek, was an Austrian economist and philosopher best known for his defense of classical liberalism. Hayek shared the 1974 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences with Gunnar Myrdal for his “pioneering work in the theory of money and economic fluctuations and […] penetrating analysis of the interdependence of economic, social and institutional phenomena”. Hayek was also a major social theorist and political philosopher of the 20th century and his account of how changing prices communicate information that helps individuals co-ordinate their plans is widely regarded as an important achievement in economics, leading to his Nobel Prize.   read more…

Theme Week Japan – Yokohama

19 February 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  8 minutes

Minato Mirai 21 © Marc Antomattei/cc-by-sa-4.0

Minato Mirai 21 © Marc Antomattei/cc-by-sa-4.0

Yokohama is the second largest city in Japan by population, after Tokyo, and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu. It is a major commercial hub of the Greater Tokyo Area.   read more…

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