 under the Tokugawa shogunate, which enacted a policy of foreign isolationism. This period ended in 1854 when a United States fleet forced Japan to open to the West, leading to the fall of the shogunate and the restoration of imperial power in 1868. In the resulting Meiji period, Japan adopted a Western-style government and pursued a program of rapid industrialization and modernization. In 1937, the Empire of Japan invaded China, beginning the Second Sino-Japanese War; in 1941, it entered World War II on the side of the Axis powers. After suffering defeats in the Pacific and two atomic bombings, Japan surrendered to the Allies in 1945, coming under a seven-year occupation and adopting a post-war constitution. Japan has since maintained a unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy, with the Emperor as the head of state and an elected legislature known as the National Diet. Today, Japan is a member of numerous international institutions, including the United Nations, the OECD, and the G7. Though it has officially renounced its right to declare war, Japan maintains a military for peacekeeping and self-defense that has been ranked as the world's fourth most-powerful. Following World War II, the country experienced decades of record economic growth, becoming the world's second-largest economy by 1990. As of 2019, the country's economy is the third-largest by nominal GDP and the fourth-largest by purchasing power parity. Japan is ranked "very high" on the Human Development Index; its citizens enjoy high rates of tertiary education and longest life expectancy in the world, though its population is currently declining due to low birth rates. Japan is a global leader in the automotive and electronics industries and has made significant contributions to contemporary science and technology, notably in the field of robotics. Culturally, Japan is renowned around the world for its art, cuisine, music, and popular culture, including its prominent animation and video game industries.
Excitement abounds with in-person return
April 22, 2022 in Arts & Entertainment, Literature, Main Feature
In addition to hosting more than 625 authors, 260 events and 250 exhibitors, the two-day literary festival will also feature eleven live music performances. (Photo courtesy of USC/Gus Ruelas)
Ahead of the 27th Los Angeles Times Festival of Books — the series’ first in-person event since 2019 — the mood in the organizers’ office is nothing short of electric. To staff, volunteers and speakers alike, the return to University Park Campus is the restoration of a prized tradition.
“Everyone is excited to be back in person, back doing this event that we love so much,” said L.A. Times associate director of events Ann Binney. “And I felt that very same excitement from the authors that we have.”
The annual celebration continued for the last two years as much smaller virtual events, restricted by technical limitations and a sense of detachment that became emblematic of the public’s struggles during the pandemic. That estrangement prompted uncertainty among organizers, who anticipated audience and artist anxiety over returning to an in-person event.
“When we started thinking about [the 2022 Festival] in the fall, I was worried,” Binney said. “[I thought], ‘What’s the response going to be? Are people going to be excited to come back in person and do this?’”
Rather than seeding hesitance or restricting attendance, Binney said the Festival’s decision to return in-person has been invigorating, especially for artists eager to connect. With more than 625 authors, 260 events and 250 exhibitors, the event’s grand scale is comparable to those in the past, and organizers predict a suitable turnout.
“We have an incredible roster of people who are coming to participate and there’s that same excitement from them — they want to see people in person, and have that experience together and sign books for people,” Binney said. “That experience is one that people have missed over the last couple of years and that people seem to be really excited to be doing again.”
Writers of all genres will be welcome at the event, sprinkled across campus in themed areas such as the Poetry or Cooking stages or in ticketed panels in various campus buildings. As they have for decades, organizers seek to include authors and exhibits revealing the depth and complexity of language.
The weekend’s festivities will also include a USC Stage on Hahn Plaza, where students and alumni will treat visitors to an array of musical performances. Student performances have been a hallmark of the Festival since it moved from UCLA in 2011 and have put forth a wealth of Trojan talent at the nation’s largest literary event.
Though organizers said they learned much from the challenges of remote Festivals, they are fully embracing the in-person return by opting to not provide virtual components this year. The organizers plan to follow Los Angeles County’s coronavirus safety protocols but are requiring indoor panel attendees to wear masks and encouraging masking in outdoor queues.
The pandemic has also prompted organizers to alter their selections. While the L.A. Times has been reviewing speakers and submissions since October, they have expanded their view to include works published during the pandemic. Still, organizers have maintained the same admiration for and prioritization of Angeleno artists that inspired the first Festival 26 years ago.
“[The Festival] was a gift to the city, a call to readers everywhere to bookmark the page and come gather with us,” wrote the Times’ executive editor Kevin Merida in their Festival of Books program. “[Virtual Festivals] gave us an opportunity to reflect … But we have missed the communal experience. We’re incredibly excited to be gathering in person again.”
Tags: a&e, festival-of-books, sage-wheeler, spring-22
Read a Book Today: ‘Bookchella’ is back at USC 2022 Los Angeles Times Festival of Books MapThree prisoners attempt an escape from Alcatraz, but are caught and must be punished.
Prison Guard: "OK, the governor has prescribed punishment of three lashes each, but you may have on your back the covering of your choice....
Divje Babe Flute
The Divje Babe Flute is a cave bear femur pierced by spaced holes that was found in 1995 at the Divje Babe archeological park located near Cerkno in northwestern Slovenia. It has been suggested that it was made by Neanderthals as a form of musical instrument, its hole spacing and alignment leading to its being labeled a "Neanderthal flute". Slovenian archeologist Mitja Brodar, however, argues that it was made by Cro-Magnons as an element of Central European Aurignacian culture.[1] A form of flute, it is possibly the world's oldest known musical instrument.[2] Despite alternative hypotheses suggesting it was formed by animals,[3][4][5][6] the artifact remains on prominent public display in the National Museum of Slovenia in Ljubljana as a Neanderthal flute.[7]
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Site and similar findings in Slovenia[edit]
Divje Babe is the oldest known archaeological site in Slovenia. The site is the location of a horizontal cave, 45 metres (148 ft) long and up to 15 metres (49 ft) wide. It is located 230 m (750 ft) above the Idrijca River, near Cerkno, and is accessible to visitors. Researchers working at this site have uncovered more than 600 archaeological items in at least ten levels, including 20 hearths,[8] the skeletal remains of cave bears and have studied climate change during the Pleistocene.[9] According to the museums statements, the presumed flute has been associated with the "end of the middle Pleistocene" and Neanderthals, about 55,000 years ago.[10]
In the 1920s and 1930s, archaeologist Srečko.
Since World War II, specimens have also been found in the Mokrica Cave (Slovene: Mokriška jama), Betal Rock Shelter (Betalov spodmol). These bones are preserved today at the National History Museum of Slovenia in Ljubljana. According to archaeologist Mitja Brodar, who discovered many of them, bones with holes so far not been found in Western Europe and they have been dated only to the end of the Mousterian and the beginning of the Aurignacian. Mitja Brodar assumes that these bones are still not recognized by the international research community due to the fact that most of the bones were found in France and the Paleolithic is still considered to be the French domain. Another bone point with a hole was found in the Potok Cave. According to Brodar, such holes are an element of the Central European Aurignacian,[1] they have been ascribed to modern human Cro-Magnon.[12] According to Brodar, the Divje Babe Flute is as well a product of modern humans, but this has been disputed by other Slovene scholars.[1]
"Neanderthal flute"[edit]
In 1995, Ivan Turk found the approximately 43,100 year old[13][14] cave bear femur at the Divje Babe site near a Mousterian hearth. Because it has the characteristics of a flute he has dubbed it a Neanderthal flute.[8] at 43,000 years ago,[16][17] thus Ivan Turk has asserted that whether the holes are of "artificial" (made by man) or "natural" (punctures from a carnivore bite) origin is the "crucial question.".[8] An equally critical issue is that if the holes in this "flute" are of artificial origin (i.e., "man-made"), to date there does not seem