November 2012

When Being Third Place Is a Good Thing

When my dad was still living, I would visit him in my hometown, Vandalia, Illinois. I was amazed at how McDonalds by Interstate 70 had become the hangout for him and his buddies in the morning. I enjoyed going there with him for coffee and seeing his old friends of 70 years or more. CoffeeContinue reading “When Being Third Place Is a Good Thing”

An Art Museum and So Much More

On a recent trip to Japan, we had the great fortune to visit the Itchiku Kubota Art Museum in the Yamanashi region near Mount Fuji. We had been out for a drive to enjoy the fall colors but when we turned up the road toward the museum parking area, everyone in the car gasped atContinue reading “An Art Museum and So Much More”

Fall Festival at the Foot of Mount Fuji

We recently returned from speaking engagements in Korea and a visit with Masa Shintani and his family in Fujinomiya, Japan. Our friends lived in the town of Shibakawa until 2010 when it was incorporated into Fujinomiya, a city of about 130,000. Since 1942 this city has grown from the merging of several very old smallContinue reading “Fall Festival at the Foot of Mount Fuji”

Enjoyable or Engaging?

One of the most commonly quoted characteristics of interpretation is “enjoyable.” Sam Ham was one of the first to mention this term as a trait of what he calls the “interpretive approach to communication.” This makes sense to me – after all, if people are in a leisure setting and have chosen to be there,Continue reading “Enjoyable or Engaging?”