Into the World:
The Random Thoughts in My Mind

When my wife first showed me that Worcester sauce goes well on a meat bun, I was a bit skeptical. A classic sauce of England on a classic snack of the Orient. It sounds like too much of a clash of civilizations without hard evidence on the palate. But with the first bite, I was surprised. Yes, we know that Worcester sauce goes well on grilled meat, but even through a soggy steamed flour covering, the sauce can still evoke the satisfaction of a (thankfully much healthier) steak. Defying culinary categorization at the get-go, the combination transcends international boundaries of what tastes good.

I've never been a purveyor of novels. Their often made-up stories simply did not sit well with my interest in facts, expressed through news articles and research reports analyzing the ins and outs of contemporary affairs. Novels, and their focus on the emotions of individual protagonists, just felt so small, maybe even irrelevant, in the larger trends of our world, represented by wars, pandemics, climate change, and bold moves by executives at globally renowned multinationals. Average Joes and Janes, to me, simply mattered little, on their own, to those larger-than-life forces that shape human civilization.

  今週リトアニアで開催されている北大西洋条約機構（NATO）の首脳会議では当然、お隣、ウクライナでの戦争が主な課題である。ウクライナが領土の奪回で軍事支援が必要である中、NATO各国はどのようにさらなる支援を打ち出すか、そしてウクライナがNATO加盟までの道のりについて議論を重ねている。だが、NATO各国がウクライナ情勢に没頭する中、岸田総理は去年に続き、二年連続でNATOの首脳会議に参加している。日本からもウクライナに引続き支援することを表明すると同時に、NATOがアジアに目を向けることを言及している。

  伝統、それは文化の物理的な形として代々受け継がれられた。人々は伝統を守ることによって、そのコミュニティーの一員であることを実感し、社会的なアイデンティティと地位を確保した。そして、コミュニティーのさらなる発展、継続のため、より多くのメンバーを集めることにインセンティブを感じ、日々努力をしている。やがて伝統は定期的に人を集める行事として形を変え、文化に貢献するだけではなく、貿易や観光資源として地元の経済に大きく価値を提供することになっている。

Hours ago, the US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) ruled that affirmative action – the practice of some of the country's most prestigious universities to openly use race as a factor in promoting diversity of admitted students – is unconstitutional. As expected, among watchers of higher education in the country, this decision has triggered immediate and widespread discussions. The impact of affirmative action policies, especially among overrepresented minorities like Asian Americans, has been noted more than a decade ago when I was a university student. With the policy's formal abolishment, changes to universities' admissions may be significant.

With the increasingly widespread use of the internet, it is becoming increasingly common for it to be used as a source of education. While prestigious high schools and universities continue to value the importance of face-to-face camaraderie among students and teachers, as well as real-world social experiences of offline activities on their campuses and communities nearby, plenty of educational services providers have emerged to offer online-only classrooms. By giving people more freedom to choose when, how much, and with whom to study, these online courses seek to transcend the physical and financial limitations of brick-and-mortar school campuses.

Where does a white-collar worker get most of their work done? The answer these days might be obvious at first sight: somewhere with good internet connections, a reliable power outlet to charge electronic devices, as well as a comfy chair and desk that does not make hours of deskwork not stressful on the back and the hips. Logically, the more routine around this setup, the better. After all, what can be a better desk than one that has proven itself, day after day, that does not cause back pain. What is better than wireless internet that has a track record of not disconnecting spontaneously over weeks and months?