Individual chapters of this book have been presented on various occasions over the past decade, although I would like to mention four of them in particular. One is the International Conference on “Globalization and Cultural Identity/Translation,” held in Foguang University at Chiaohsi (Taiwan) in 2008, where I gave a keynote speech based on an early version of the chapter on Murakami Haruki.

Nothing irks me more than entitled people. I understand that if we don't ask for what we want, we probably won't get it, but expectations are out of whack. Certain people unjustly expect to receive special treatment and they'll whine and pout like children when disappointed.

Ordinary people might find a nasty gram in the mail, a notice from a lender who has not received payment from a borrower.

Avoiding Tape Chew. In the early days of the ADAT, the V blocks (two arms that thread the tape around the front of the head) could sometimes get out of alignment and chew the outside track […]