Artist creates giant snow bullfrog sculpture

Long before Hollywood films like Lost in Translation popularized contemporary Japan in the imagination, Matthew Alt of AltJapan was actually finding himself in translation. As a technical translator for the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and later as a producer of English versions of Japanese video games, Alt understood Japanese culture well enough to move to Japan, start a business, while remaining relatively immune to the impact of the culture shock that sometimes confronts newcomers.

In Greece today the people are now very scared of their future and where their once proud nation could end up in the coming years. Greece’s debt has ballooned out of proportion and it appears they are on a road to financial collapse and social unrest that know-one can provide a solution for.

For generations, diamonds have been renowned all over the world as tokens of power and love, adorning royal sceptres and lovers’ fingers alike. But for some people diamonds have a more utilitarian appeal.

From ancient times it has been a proven war strategy to try to strike the enemy at it weakest point. At the moment the ruling coalition of India seems to be the common enemy thanks to all sorts of campaigns and bizarre happenings. And of course, the coalition has been at its weakest due to the number game and a series of unending scams.

Is a strong sense of nationalism bad? I would submit to you it isn’t bad, and if you’ve ever been on a sports team you know that it is important for the team to come together in a common cause. Nationalism is quite a bit about that actually, and it helps a nation coalesce and conquer the larger problems they face.