Synoptic Anticipation My five-fold discourse commences with an outback Trek to a somewhat supernatural setting. This preparatory destination, by echelon, anticipates my nicer, statelier but more unendurable big Energy Center; designated as the glorious “Glib” megalopolis... Then, the reader is catapulted to its enormous “counterpart chorus” of something so inexpressible, and yet inchoate, as to render yardstick usage of vocabulary inadequate! But not only so- rather- in that the Plot of such outbursts skids to a standstill at the dilated disclosure of a Hypersphere! Accordingly addressed, as it were, a romantic and surreal tale of the personified Divinity- shared by my primitive gliff of Her- follows suit (instantaneously) until to no reservation. And finally- to conclude this Vision- I embark upon an ultimate frontier with that selfsame Hypersphere paramount. Precedent to deployment of The Yard Lamp of Gloria storyboard, I noticed interlink of the 1990’s at the LILCO, or Long Island Lighting Company with its fine public works of innovative energy distribution along New York’s industrial peninsula. Therein, I perused the early inception of its very vast framework of infrastructure, and how that the 120 mile “long” island has reached a zenith of such classical reputation. By this diorama- inter alia- I was able to reconsider well enough the future ramifications of street lighting, and that perhaps for its very own sake... As such, imagine a brighter Tomorrow of unparalleled “lamp entities” designed to energize us into Immortality. Indeed, the cornerstone of which paves parking lots of sacrosanct cessation; or- as shown in yon Yard Lamp of Gloria- some radiant respite to fulfill today’s anticipation still! Wherefore, our precarious din of affairs need be altered- drastically- nonetheless, if ever we are to attain the upper rung via Jacob’s Ladder! Not an impending cliché, I say, but a requisite pioneer spirit for all. Aglaia Marusin August 11, 2015

This book introduces the history of cultural exchanges between East Asia and the West through comparative biographical sketches of sixty personalities from China and Japan. These sketches illustrate how both countries, starting from a shared cultural heritage in script and Confucian, Buddhist, and Daoist worldviews, took rather different approaches in their encounters with the European world since the 16th to 17th centuries. In particular in the 19th century under external and internal pressure, both nations strove to modernize their societies by introducing technology and new ideas from the Western world, turning them into political rivals and even enemies. Thus, these biographical sketches also shed some light on the general dynamics of cross-cultural interactions between China, Japan, and the West up to the early 20th century. The Chinese and Japanese men and women presented in this book are outstanding personalities who tried to open up the road to international relationships, pioneers in their respective domains who introduced Western culture to their nations, precursors who strove for modernization, e.g., in the fields of translation, education, medicine, media, and social welfare. They testify to individual agency in these cross-cultural exchanges. Many of those who tried to be “cultural bridge-builders” since the 16th century were Christians, simply because the missionaries, who worked hard to learn the native languages of China and Japan, were the first to introduce new cultural elements to these countries. The universal scope and vision of the Christian faith enabled both missionaries and native believers to overcome narrow nationalism or xenophobia and turned them into cross-cultural mediators.

In 1950 Robert L. Gitler went to Japan to found the first college-level school of library science in that country. His mission, an improbable success, was documented in an assisted autobiography as Robert Gitler and the Japan Library School (Scarecrow Press, 1999). Subsequent research into initiatives to improve library services during the Allied occupation has revealed surprising discoveries and human interest of the lives of very diverse individuals. A central role was played by a librarian, Philip Keeney, who later became well-known as an alleged communist spy. A national plan, designed for Japan’s libraries, was based directly on the county library system developed by progressive thinkers in California, itself a dramatic story. The School of Librarianship at the University of California and its founding director, Sydney Mitchell, was found to have deeply influenced key figures. The story also requires an appreciation of the deployment of American libraries abroad as tools of foreign policy, as cultural diplomacy. Meanwhile, library services in Japan were seriously underdeveloped, despite Japan’s extraordinarily high literacy rate, very well-developed publishing and book retail industries, and librarians who were far from backward. The difference in library development lay in the huge divergence between the ethos of the American public library (dominated by support for individual self-development and Western liberal democracy) and the evolving political ideology of Japanese governments after the Meiji Restoration (1868). After absorbing authoritarian French and German administrative practices Japan became a militarist dictatorship from the 1920s onwards until surrender in 1945. The literature on the Allied Occupation of Japan is vast, but library services have received very little attention beyond the creation of the National Diet Library in 1948. The story of initiatives to improve library services in occupied Japan, the role of libraries as cultural diplomacy, the dramatic development of free public library services in California have remained unknown or little known – until now.

This book carries out a comprehensive analysis of the María Luz incident, a truly significant episode in Japanese and world history, from a legal perspective. In July 1872, the María Luz, a barque flying the Peruvian flag, carried Chinese indentured servants from Macau to Peru. After the ship stopped for repairs in Kanagawa Bay, a number of legal issues arose that were destined to change the perception and use of the law in Japan forever. The case had a tremendous impact on the collective imagination, both Japanese and international: it is one of the first occurrences in which an Asian country decided to resist the pressure of a Western nation, and responded using the most refined tools of domestic and international law. Moreover, the final outcome of the case (arbitration in front of the Czar of Russia) marks the debut of Japan on the stage of international arbitration. While historians have written widely on the subject, the legal importance of this event has been relatively neglected. This book uses the case to explore the technical legal issues Japan was facing in its transition from pre-modernity to modernity. These include unequal treaties, extraterritoriality clauses, the need to establish an updated judicial system, and a delicate balance between asserting sovereignty and resorting to diplomacy in solving disputes involving foreigners. Based on original documents, this book is an invaluable resource for researchers and academics in the fields of legal history, dispute resolution, international law, Japanese history and Asian studies.

Modeled on Fitzroy Dearborn's highly successful International Dictionary of Historic Places , the International Dictionary of University Histories provides basic information on 200 institutions--location, description, sources of further information--followed by an extensive 3000 to 5000 word essay on each university's history. Entries on each university conclude with a Further Reading list, and most entries are illustrated. Coverage is world-wide, and entries range from the great medieval institutions (Oxford, Heidelberg, the Sorbonne) to the great historic universities of the United States, to the newer universities of Australia and South Africa, to the lesser-known universities of India, China, and Japan. More than 200 writers, researchers and archival departments of the universities themselves have contributed to the Dictionary . Entries include those universities with the most fascinating histories and those that have played important roles in the development of their own countries and in the furtherance of world scholarship.

In recent years the modern world has developed a brave new concept: 'soft power'. It is the power of friendly persuasion rather than command, and it invites nations to compete (as they did in the nineteenth century) to expand their 'sphere of influence' as brands in a global marketplace. In Bloody Foreigners and The Last Wolf, Robert Winder explored the way Britain was shaped first by migration, and then by hidden geographical factors. Now, in Soft Power he reveals the ways in which modern states are asserting themselves not through traditional realpolitik but through alternative means: business, language, culture, ideas, sport, education, music, even food - the texture and values of history and daily life. Moving from West to East, the book tells the story of soft power by exploring the varied ways in which it operates - from an American sheriff in Poland to an English garden in Ravello, a French vineyard in Australia, an Asian restaurant in Spain, a Chinese Friendship Hall in Sudan; the fact that fifty-eight modern heads of state were educated in Britain; the student exchange that took a teenage Deng Xiaoping to a small town on the Loire; the way that Japan could seduce the world with chic food and smart computer games. Now there may be a new twist in this Great game. With soft power's quiet ingredients - education, science, trade, cultural values - and a new emphasis on shared mutual interest, it may be the only force supple enough to tackle the challenges the future looks likely to pose - not least the slam-the-door reflexes pulling in the other direction.

As a result of a time traveling accident, Chip finds herself trapped in a parallel universe where time travel doesn't exist. In order to get back to her universe and her father, she must build an entire timeship from scratch. With the help of a smart-aleck and someone she never should have met, Chip must wrestle with her guilt and the daunting task ahead of her.