Entries by Jeffrey Ian Ross

Softening the brutalism of big downtown hotels and areas where they are located

Almost every big North American city has a part of their downtown where tall, frequently imposing, and well-known brand name hotels are located. Sometimes these structures are built beside each other or sprinkled among the equally massive office towers, apartments, and condos. Occasionally they are integrated into a central business district where a variety of […]

Train station bars and social connections

In addition to ticket counters, bag storage rooms, waiting areas, restrooms, newsstand stores, and platforms, almost every big city train station in the United States has one or more bars. With big screen televisions playing live sports games, the murmur of peoples conversation, the occasional sound of glasses clinking, and ranging in size and shabbiness, […]

American elections, political parties, and leaders in critical times

This week American voters will participate in a critical midterm election. If the pollsters and pundits are correct, the Democratic Party is going to lose seats both in the Senate and in Congress. Meanwhile many of the states that were led by Democratic and moderate Republican legislatures and Governors are going to flip to Republicans, […]

How learning to cook Japanese food improved my life

Over the past twelve years, I’ve been increasing my knowledge and skills towards mastering cooking Japanese food. Although my initial efforts in this direction were slow and haphazard, learning about Japanese cuisine and how to cook it ranges somewhere in my life between a strong interest and a passion. And in many respects this preoccupation […]