Global trek: A writer senses a changing planet

Paul Salopek and his traveling companion
(Photo: By John Stanmeyer,
courtesy of nationalgeographic.org.)

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and National Geographic Fellow Paul Salopek is one migrant among many. He’s retracing our ancestors’ ancient migration on foot out of Africa and across the globe and writing about his adventures. His story has been shared by PBS NewsHour, the New York Times, NPR and Christiane Amanpour, among many.

As he begins the seventh year of his global trek, billed as the “Out of Eden Walk,” Salopek senses a changing planet.

As he wrote earlier this week on the National Geographic website (nationalgeographic.org) from Varanasi, India, it was exactly six years ago that he ducked out of a tent in the Rift Valley of Ethiopia, “clipped a pedometer to my belt, clapped on a cowboy hat, and began hiking to the Middle East on the Out of Eden Walk: a global ramble along the pathways of the first ‘Homo sapiens’ who dispersed out of Africa in the Stone Age.”

As Salopek recalled, by the desert dawn of January 10, 2013, some 60,000 people already had died in the distant war in Syria (a toll that now exceeds 400,000). “Barack Obama was soon going to be sworn in for a second term as U.S. president. And in Ethiopia, cell phone usage was exploding at the rate of 400 percent a year, though coverage hadn’t yet reached my desolate camp. I was using a satellite phone. It’s sudden ringing that silent morning startled me. It was an American radio host.”

The radio interviewer asked Salopek if he was still carrying his New Mexico house keys. The answer was no. The writer had sent them back years ago while he was walking in Cyprus. He no longer owns a house. He has a map. Home is on it everywhere.

“Ancient migrations have guided my walk’s route and storytelling across the world from Africa to my finish line, the tip of South America,” writes Salopek. “So it’s natural that some readers – the calling journalist included – tend to see my project as an antique and maybe ethereal endeavor, a monkish pilgrimage, a ‘journey out of time.’ But it’s been just the opposite.”

By Salopek’s estimate, over the past six years, he’s walked nearly 16 million footsteps from his starting point at a human fossil site in the wilderness in the Horn of Africa and his current location on the cultivated plains of northern India. His days, he says, “have been extraordinarily busy: crammed with incident and talkative people, immersed in modern problems and current events. In this way, the Out of Eden Walk has been more like a trek into a common future: After all, we’re walking together into the shared bottlenecks of the 21st century.”

According to Salopek, after walking for six years on his trek, “two broad impressions have emerged, at boot level of this vast world.”

First, he says, “we’re living in a golden age of human migration” as desert villagers by the millions try clawing their way into urbanized global economies.

“Even at the utterest ends of the Earth, I’ve found myself walking among striving people on the move. In the remote Afar Desert of Ethiopia, I stumbled across the bodies of African migrants who had died of thirst on the unforgiving desert trails to find jobs on the Arabian peninsula. I slept in sandy Jordanian fields among Syrian war refugees.”

As Salopek points out, “the UN (United Nations) estimates that more than a billion people – one in seven humans today – are voting like this with their feet, migrating both internally and across borders. Such numbers may alarm the more settled, richer corners of the globe. But history teaches that the forces behind human exodus are rarely contained by walls.”

Are you listening, President Trump?

“I sit dusty and sweating under a ficus tree, one walker among many,” writes Salopek, “watching busloads of India’s hardworking poor come and go ceaselessly. Sooner than later, the world must learn to harness the extraordinary energy behind mass aspiration.”

As for the second change, Salopek likens it to a tectonic shift, “a new geological weight over the horizon that tilts the surface of the planet east.”

For the past three years, Salopek has walked the old Silk Road from Turkey to India. In Central Asia, he writes, he’s seen societies transformed by Chinese economic power: “new highways, pipelines, communications grids, railroads. Part of this is the trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative, the most costly infrastructure project in the world today.”

Salopek writes that he’s unsure whether this will be the century of the Chinese. “But it is clear from hundreds of trailside conversations in shops and farms, in schools and offices that we collectively walked across a new Asian threshold some time ago. All roads may yet lead to Rome. But there are new Romes now. And the old ones have lost something of their glow.”

The writer looks forward to exploring these new questions, on foot of course, as he walks east, toward Myanmar, toward Yunnan.

“Whatever the case,” writes Salopek, “there is no need for fear. The key is stop and talk, and then to keep moving. To cross the next river. To look around the next mountain. Humankind’s ancestors did this, and they gave us the world.”

Salopek has a map. Home is on it everywhere. “And it will do.”

(The Out of Eden Walk is Paul Salopek’s multiyear, 21,000-mile storytelling odyssey across the globe in the footsteps of our ancestors. Join the #EdenWalk journey through social media on Facebook and Twitter.)

Thoughts on tennis: Nadal, Djokovic must break silence

Are Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic
being used as sporting pawns?

The boldfaced headline in Thursday’s Times of London newspaper spoke loudly: “Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal warned over Saudi Arabia event.” In a story by tennis correspondent Stuart Fraser, he wrote that the two tennis superstars “have been warned that their participation in a lucrative exhibition in Saudi Arabia in December could be used used by the country’s controversial regime as ‘a form of sportswashing.’”

While Saudi Arabia has always been viewed as a prominent destination for conducting global big business, tennis – I have learned – is part of a growing Saudi sports propaganda program. Mind you, Saudi Arabia has little or no history when it comes to professional sports. Besides tennis, it has shown recent interest in bringing motor racing, boxing, football – even pro wrestling – to the Arab empire.

Now is the time for Nadal and Djokovic, currently ranked No.1 and No. 2 in the world, to use their global popularity to bring attention to the “truly appalling” human rights record of Saudi Arabia, warns Amnesty International. The world human rights organization made its plea in the aftermath of the disappearance and murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who for the past year had been writing global op-ed pieces for the Washington Post while living in exile in the United States. Many of Khashoggi’s writings were critical of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the Saudi royal family.

A day after news about Khashoggi’s disappearance surfaced, a tennis exhibition match billed as the King Salman Tennis Championship in Jeddah, between Nadal and Djokovic, was announced. The financially attractive, end-of-the-year exhibition scheduled for December 22, would see each participant make at least $1 million. Under the present circumstances, it would seem to fly in the face of their humanitarian outlook.

Since the news about Khashoggi emerged, dozens of global business and media conglomerates have withdrawn from attending an upcoming international conference in Riyadh, billed as the Future Investment Initiative – among them: Bloomberg, CNBC, CNN, the Financial Times, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Viacom and the World Bank president, Jim Yong Kim.

In a recent sports blog for The Guardian of London, sports writer Kevin Mitchell notes “the two players appear to have remained deaf to growing clamor over seeming endorsement of Saudi Arabia.” He calls both Nadal and Djokovic “men of conscience and integrity,” but warms they “continue to risk their good name by accepting an invitation to play in a meaningless exhibition in Saudi Arabia, a regime under critical scrutiny for the disappearance of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi.”

(Since the publication of Mitchell’s blog, early Saturday Saudi Arabia confirmed that Khashoggi was dead. He was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.)

Indeed, I agree with Mitchell. Perhaps, it’s as if both players are waiting for the international embarrassment to pass. Yet, I have to wonder if either is oblivious to the growing criticism that’s gathering around them. Or, simply, are they ignorant of the seriousnous of the greater issue?

“Neither is a good look for athletes who have always been aware of their wider responsibilities,” writes Mitchell. After all, both have foundations that help disadvantaged youth through tennis. Plus, Nadal was widely seen – thanks to social media – helping clear debris in his native Majorca after recent floods hit the Spanish island, and Djokovic has been active in campaigning for flood relief in his home country of Serbia. Bottom line: both Nadal and Djokovic are decent gentlemen.

In hindsight, one wonders whatever possessed Nadal and Djokovic to agree to play in the Saudi exhibition in the first place? Certainly, they don’t need the money. Although December exhibitions in various corners of the world are common and bring the sport to cities not already on the ATP World Tour schedule, the tennis season is already much too long. Pulling out now would make a statement about how the world should view Saudi Arabia’s behavior and pattern of state-sanctioned killing.

I would hate to see Nadal and Djokovic continue to be used as sporting pawns – displayed before a world-wide audience – flaunted by the Saudi government to distract us from their murderous regime. They need to break their silence now.

This "Hamlet" needs to be seen and not just heard

National Theatre Live: Coming to a cinema near you. /
Benedict Cumberbatch in "Hamlet."

Ever wanted to experience the best of British theatre without having to trek to London? Now you can, thanks to National Theatre Live, where all the world's a stage even if the stage is on a big movie screen.

One night recently, my wife and I drove to the Century 14 cineplex in downtown Walnut Creek, Calif., about a half-hour's drive from our East Bay home, where we thrilled to an enjoyable evening of London West End theatre come alive on the big screen.

For just $20 a ticket, we were treated to the National Theatre Live's cinematic presentation of the critically-acclaimed "Hamlet," Lyndsey Turner's monumental Barbican production of the 1603 iconic William Shakespeare play about the melancholy prince of Denmark, that was broadcast to a global audience of more than 225,000 on 1,400 movie theater screens in 25 countries around the world.

I was one of those near quarter-million experiencing one of the greatest moments of theatre I had ever experienced. Yet, what I was watching was more a film than a play, but without any compromise to the live appeal of theatre.

That total represents the largest global audience for a live broadcast of any title in National Theatre Live history. Not to worry if you missed out on the excitement. Additional encores of "Hamlet" are scheduled to be shown in movie theaters later this month.

Since its debut in 2009, among the National Theatre Live presentations beamed to theaters include: "Frankenstein" with Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller alternating between the title role and Dr. Jekyll; "King Lear," produced by Sam Mendes; and "A Streetcar Named Desire," which starred Gillian Anderson.

Throughout, "Hamlet" had plenty of "visual swagger" and, of course, there was an infinitely touching prince, played by Benedict Cumberbatch, whom U.S. audiences have grown to love from his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes in "Sherlock" on PBS's Masterpiece.

"If there's one good thing about the avalanche of hype surrounding the (Hamlet) production, it's that it made Shakespeare seem sexy. That's quite a feat," wrote Lyn Gardner in The Guardian, one of London's pre-eminent newspapers and news websites.

"The production has been accused by several critics of being overly cinematic, but its visual swagger,  with its indigo hues, comes into its own on the screen. It would be worrying if this production set a precedent for stage shows that are directed and designed with an eye to the live screening and a global audience rather than those seeing it in a theatre," added Gardner.

On the night we watched "Hamlet" -- October 15 -- the audience was comprised mostly of middle-aged suburban adults. There were the curious fans like us, who were eager to see Cumberbatch tackle the title role of Hamlet -- both as a prep-school misfit and as a toy soldier -- and to embrace and enjoy outstanding theatre. In addition to Cumberbatch, there were stellar performances given by Ciarán Hinds as Claudius and Sian Brooke as Ophelia.

The only thing missing that would have made our night more complete -- and something that makes attending West End theatre unique to an American -- was a vendor selling ice cream cups in the stalls during intermission.

Seeing National Theatre Live's "Hamlet" reinvented for a 21st Century audience reminded me of this: "Hamlet" needs to be seen and not just heard. And, seeing a larger-than-life Cumberbatch up-close and personal for three hours added up to one hell of a wonderful night of theatre on the big screen.

Photo: Courtesy of Google Images.

Quality of Life: Naming the best places to call home

No. 1 Tokyo / Provides great quality of life for those who live and visit.

"What makes the good life and where can we find it?" asks Monocle, the global affairs and culture magazine that's published in London. While great cities adapt and change like their residents, it's worth asking: How do we create cities that deliver quality of life for everyone?

Stanley Park / Vancouver, B.C. 

It's no secret that the best cities in the world are ones which are vibrant and offer the best quality of life for their residents. The best city environments are those which are tolerant and open-minded, celebrate diversity, have great universities and welcome creativity. Having quality independent bookshops, green spaces and clean streets as well as efficient transportation systems are big pluses, too.

In summer 2007 when the magazine was still just a few months old, Monocle launched its inaugural Quality of Life list, naming the best global cities to call home. Munich was the first No. 1. Over the years, its added new metrics that take into account both intangibles and infrastructure which have led to some dramatic changes and brought about a new world order. While London, Paris and Rome remain three of the biggest tourist destinations in the world, their popularity doesn't necessarily translate into great places to live.

Place de la Concorde / Paris

"Now we know we are not the only people to draw up a ranking of great metropolises but ours is different," writes Monocle editor Andrew Tuck, in the preface to this year's Quality of Life list. "For a start we ensure that we are not just looking at data about the quality of education or the cleanliness of the streets but also the softer elements that inspire you to make a city your base: cinemas, bars, opening hours. And while much of our survey is pretty data-driven we are happy to say that a good amount comes from the views of our correspondents and editors. And it is also tilted to our readers' needs; we know, for example, that while that Alpine city is cute it's also woefully disconnected and lacks even a modest airport -- so it's not in the running for us."

This year, Monocle also took into account another annoyance: "cities where the cost of living prohibits old bookshops from staying in business or young entrepreneurs finding a start-up space." I guess that's why San Francisco didn't make the Top 25 and Portland, Oregon did.

So, when the ninth annual Quality of Life list was published in Monocle's July/August issue, a new number one emerged for 2015 -- say hello to world No. 1 Tokyo.

On Tokyo, Monocle wrote: "A new and worthy winner. Monocle has made little secret of its love for Tokyo through the years and it does something no other global city can: provides great quality of life for those who live and visit. London and New York, take note.

"Tokyo has appealed to many outsiders and for many different reasons: its cleanliness, tolerance, politeness and difference, as well as its sheer scale, which has always allowed foreigners to bathe in comfortable anonymity. ... It was recently identified as the world's safest city, a stereotype that residents can happily attest to. ... At the heart of this unexpected sense of security is Tokyo's defining paradox: its heart-stopping size and concurrent feeling of peace and quiet."

Powell's City of Books / Portland, Oregon

Monocle asked its contributors, which included architects, chefs, writers and directors, to consider what draws them to their favorite cities and what quality of life means to them.

"Quality of life is ... simple pleasures," wrote Mari Shapiro, founding director of Protocinema, which creates contemporary-art exhibitions. "What makes life good is simultaneously a very simple and complicated question. It is about being in a city that allows you to do or have what makes you happy. Ultimately, this issue often comes down to class and economy and the cities with the best quality of life are those in which the basic pleasures -- to be safe, to have the time to enjoy food, to be engaged with culture, with friends and family -- are available to people of any means. At the top of my list is Istanbul: a strong cay or a grilled fish for a few lira by the Bosphorus is available to anyone."

Bloemenmarkt / Amsterdam 

One thing Monocle hopes, as in previous years, is that the Quality of Life list provokes a stimulating and lively debate.

At the very least, for me, it's always interesting to pour over the list and see how many of the cities I've visited in person -- six (Vancouver, Helsinki, Copenhagen, Paris, Amsterdam and Portland).


Here is Monocle's 2015 Quality of Life ranking of the top 25 cities in the world:

• 1. Tokyo
• 2. Vienna
• 3. Berlin
• 4. Melbourne
• 5. Sydney
• 6. Stockholm
• 7. Vancouver
• 8. Helsinki
• 9. Munich
• 10. (tie) Zürich and Copenhagen
• 12. Fukuoka
• 13. Singapore
• 14. Kyoto
• 15. Paris
• 16. Madrid
• 17. Auckland
• 18. Lisbon
• 19. Hong Kong
• 20. Amsterdam
• 21. Hamburg
• 22. Geneva
• 23. Oslo
• 24. Barcelona
• 25. Portland

To watch a film on the Monocle Quality of Life Survey 2015:
http://monocle.com/film/affairs/the-monocle-quality-of-life-survey-2015/

Photographs: Tokyo - Google Images; Amsterdam, Paris, Portland, and Vancouver by Michael Dickens © 2012 and 2015.

The little free library that's always open

Take a book, return a book ...  a simple guiding premise.

I had just bought the November Monocle, the bookish and dense global briefing on international affairs and culture, from my favorite magazine shop, Issues, where they were holding a copy for me. As I walked back to retrieve my car that was parked less than 50 yards away, I came upon a small, colorful structure that resembled a miniature one-room school house.

A closer look revealed something totally unexpected to me. What I saw was a Little Free Library in front of the residence at 38 Glen Avenue, just off Piedmont Avenue in Oakland.

The noted Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar and writer Cicero once opined: "To add a library to a house is to give that house a soul."

Although I'm not sure if this is what Cicero had in mind, after seeing this lovely and quaint rainbow-colored Little Free Library, built with repurposed wood and other materials, and filled with a few choice books and periodicals leaning against an interior wall, it left me wondering if this was the start of something new or a part of a larger movement.

So, I decided to find out more about Little Free Libraries.

Open morning, noon and night.

Did you know: Little Free Libraries are part of a U.S. and worldwide community movement offering free books housed in small containers -- some resembling wooden doll houses -- for members of the local community. According to a recent story in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, there are more than 12,000 Little Free Libraries around the world in countries such as Italy, Japan, Brazil and Ukraine -- even Pakistan. They have a website, http://www.freelibrary.org, and, they even have a dedicated Facebook page with more than 36,000 likes.

Other names for these little free libraries include: community book exchanges, book trading posts, pop-up libraries, and Noox (Neighbourhood bOOk eXchange). Anything that encourages people to read more is a good thing. Fostering a sense of community, reading for children, literacy for adults and libraries around the world adds up to a tremendous mission with a wonderful sense of purpose.

A friendly site in wintertime.

Even Hollywood has found a way to give a shout out to the movement's new-found popularity. Earlier this month, the new motion picture "The Book Thief", about a young girl's relationship with her foster parents, other residents of her neighborhood, and a Jewish fist-fighter who hides in her home during a period of heightened escalation in World War II, offered a special opportunity for Little Free Library stewards to spread the word about the importance of books by sharing photographs of their own little free libraries via Twitter and Instagram accompanied by the movie's hashtag #thebookthief.

The bottom line to this great community -- and worldwide concept -- is simple: Take a book, return a book ... as the sign says.

Oh, to have a hungry mind and to be able to nurture it!

To learn more about Little Free Libraries or to order a library, go to http://www.littlefreelibrary.org. 

Top photograph by Michael Dickens, copyright 2013. 
Other photographs courtesy of Google Images.

A simple question with a complicated answer: Where do you want to live?

Copenhagen Concert Hall at night. /
The No. 1 best global city according to Monocle.

Our cities are designed for living, working, cultural entertainment and late nights. Even fresh starts. Some cities have it figured out, some don't.

From transportation to green space, retail possibilities and residential settlements, it's always interesting to find out what makes a good city a great place to live.

The July/August issue of Monocle
rates the 25 best global cities.

Each summer for the past seven years, Monocle, the London-based global magazine that's a must-read for its coverage of international affairs, business, culture and design, has presented a special quality of life rankings with a top of the world list of the 25 best global cities.

"Too many major cities, including some of our top 25, all but shut down on a Sunday -- we believe a city should be a seven-day operation," writes Monocle's Steve Bloomfield and Michael Booth, in the introduction to this year's top of the world list, which appears in the magazine's July/August 2013 issue (issue 65, volume 07). "We asked our team or correspondents and researchers to judge how easy it is to arrange a spontaneous dinner with friends on a Sunday night. Are the restaurants open? Can you buy groceries and wine?"

Other common factors which Monocle studied include: crime rates, weather, education, health care, transportation and "an airport with a host of international destinations." Of course, it helps if a city has good plazas and outdoor cafés as well as art galleries that stay open late and museums that are free, too.

It did not surprise me that few U.S. or North American cities made Monocle's Top 25 -- Honolulu at No. 17 was highest ranked while my beloved San Francisco ranked 24th. Nor, should it be surprising that six of the top 10 were European cities, including this year's No. 1 Copenhagen.

No. 14 Paris /
The Pyramid at the Louvre is always a buzz of activity.

Why did Copenhagen rank No. 1 and not Paris (ranked No. 14) or London (which did not even rank in the top 25)? Here's why: "World-conquering urban quality of life requires the trickiest of balancing acts -- between progress and preservation, stimulation and security, global and local. Perfection is unobtainable, of course, but Copenhagen is striking one of the best deals right now.

"The Danish capital has hit the top spot this year not just because of its daring art scene, its matrix of cycle super-highways and its pioneering approach to street culture but also its ability to define itself as a global city. Copenhagen's wonderful self-reinvention continues to impress."

As for what the magazine said about San Francisco, in a nutshell it wrote: "Northern California's spectacular city scores high on tolerance and urban verve but tech-dollars continue to drive up the cost of living." I'd have to agree. As much as I would enjoy living in the Inner Sunset, within walking distance of Golden Gate Park, the cost of buying or renting is somewhat prohibitive. Thus, living across the bay in Oakland, I believe, is a better value.

No. 19 Vancouver, B.C. /
This western Canadian city hosted the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

Here's Monocle's world list of the 25 best global cities for 2013:

1. Copenhagen

2. Melbourne

3. Helsinki

4. Tokyo

5. Vienna

6. Zürich

7. Stockholm

8. Munich

9. Sydney

10. Auckland

11. Hong Kong

12. Fukuoka

13. Kyoto

14. Paris

15. Singapore

16. Hamburg

17. Honolulu

18. Madrid

19. Vancouver

20. Berlin

21. Barcelona

22. Amsterdam

23. Portland (Oregon, U.S.)

24. San Francisco

25. Düsseldorf

No. 22 Amsterdam /
The city's bicycle culture and canals are an appealing.

In looking over Monocle's top 25 best global cities list, I've been lucky enough to have visited eight of these cities in my lifetime -- Copenhagen, Helsinki, Paris, Honolulu, Vancouver, Amsterdam, Portland and, of course, San Francisco, which I get to see nearly every day. There are many more on Monocle's list I would love to visit some day in the future like Sydney and Berlin.

Does the perfect city exist? Not likely. Will it ever? Probably not. And, of course, what works for some of us, doesn't for all of us. Yet, it's nice know that there are a handful of good cities throughout the world whose quality of life makes me want to live there some day.

No. 24 San Francisco /
The de Young Fine Arts Museum in Golden Gate Park.

By the way, one reason the San Francisco Bay Area (which has been my home for nearly 18 years) is a great place to live is because it is easy to arrange a spontaneous dinner with friends on a Sunday night; great restaurants are open on Sunday nights; and you can buy groceries and wine on Sundays, day or night.

And, having a Major League baseball team -- the San Francisco Giants -- that's won two World Series titles in the past three years is a nice bonus and adds to the quality of life, too.

Where do you want to live?

Photo of Copenhagen Concert Hall courtesy of Wikipedia Commons.
Photo of Monocle courtesy of monocle.com.
All other photos by Michael Dickens, copyright 2010, 2012 and 2013.

Clothes with value that suit your values, too

Elements of Style: Uniqlo /
Making clothes that transcend all categories and social groups.

Uniqlo is the elements of style.

Uniqlo is a toolbox for living.

Uniqlo is clothes that suit your values.

Uniqlo is how the future dresses.

Uniqlo is beauty in hyperpracticality.

Uniqlo is clothing in the absolute.

Uniqlo is made for all.

Can clothing change the world? Uniqlo, the Japanese brand that has been taking San Francisco by storm, not only believes it can. It already is doing it. 

Uniqlo's brand philosophy is simple: It doesn't matter who you are or where you live. "Uniqlo makes clothes that transcend all categories and social groups," says the global clothing retailer on its website. "Our clothes are made for all, going beyond age, gender, occupation, ethnicity, and all other ways that define people. Our clothes are simple and essential yet universal, so people can freely combine them in their own unique way."

Novak Djokovic /
Serbian world-class tennis player,
who has partnered with Uniqlo.

In May, Uniqlo made a big splash in the sporting world when it signed Novak Djokovic, the top-ranked men's tennis player in the world, to a five-year apparel contract. Djokovic debuted his new Uniqlo red, white and blue kit at the French Open in Paris. On Monday, when he won the ATP World Tour championship in London, Djokovic sported a brand new black kit that made its debut during the tournament. During his post-match news conference, he wore a jazzy, red ultra-light down vest jacket.

On a recent Sunday afternoon, I experienced Uniqlo for the first time when I visited the brand's newly-opened West Coast flagship Uniqlo Store located just off Union Square in downtown San Francisco. Upon entering the 29,000 square-foot, three-story clothing emporium (located at 111 Powell Street in the former DSW store), the colorfully-lit and vibrant atmosphere made an immediate impact upon me. So did the 91 rotating mannequins showing off Uniqlo's latest apparel, such as ultra-light down jackets in a variety of colors, as well as the 77 LCD screens that lined the perimeter of the store and seven large-screen wall monitors showing off the company's marketing campaigns.

"When people first walk in, we want to shock them with the colors and the variety," Yasunobu Kyogoku, Uniqlo's chief operating officer for the United States, told the San Francisco Business Times on the eve of the San Francisco Uniqlo's October 5 grand opening.

Uniqlo's brand logo.

Uniqlo likes to think big and the company is driven by innovation. In just 10 years, half of Japan's population is relying on Uniqlo's Heattech technology to make dressing in winter "as fun and flexible as in any other season." In fact, 80 percent of the population of Japan live within 20 minutes of a Uniqlo store, the first which opened in 1984 in Hiroshima. There are 847 Uniqlo locations in Japan alone. I appreciate that Uniqlo has an eye toward social responsibility, too, by recycling millions of pieces of clothing for the needy, supporting small businesses through microcredit and working to restore Japan's Seto Inland Sea. They're a business with a soul.

Worldwide, Uniqlo has 1,132 stores in 13 markets, including: Tokyo, Bangkok, Seoul, Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Moscow, Paris, London and New York City. Here in San Francisco, Uniqlo's high-quality, affordable fashion merchandise will compete with nearby H & M and Gap for the young, hipster urbanite retail dollar in the upcoming holiday shopping season.

I had a blast visiting Uniqlo, and the store's modern and hip design, filled with bright lights, technological gadgetry and pulsating music, gave off a cool vibe that reminded me of being inside a discotheque. It definitely put me in a mood for shopping and, impulsively, I bought a stylish but affordable ($19.90), zip-up navy blue fleece jacket that was on sale and can be worn in San Francisco's moderate climate almost year-round. Added up, the phenomenon that is Uniqlo, from the colorful displays to the courteous and eager customer service to the idea of a company that wants to make our lives better through clothing, made shopping fun, again.

Indeed, clothing can change the world.

Photograph inside San Francisco Uniqlo store by Michael Dickens, copyright 2012.
Photograph of Novak Djokovic courtesy of Getty Images and ATP World Tour Facebook page.

Thinking global, connecting through tennis

Tennis / Thinking global beyond borders.

It's been a long week with so much riveting news being made throughout the world, especially in Egypt.  Fortunately, it's rewarding to know that in these challenging times of unrest, a spirit of peace, sportsmanship and multiculturalism can exist and thrive through world sport.

Last weekend, the Australian Open crowned its 2011 champions in men's and women's singles.  The Americans didn't fare very well, while Serbia and Belgium did just the opposite.  And, when the new world rankings were announced on Monday, for the first time since the rankings began in 1975, the women's Top 10 players were from 10 different countries.  It's just another example of the global nature of tennis ~ and sport beyond borders ~ in an era when the United States is no longer a dominant force from the baseline or at the net.

Down under in Melbourne, basking in a glow of sunshine in the middle of summer, "The Grand Slam of Asia/Pacific" provided a couple of nice endings that got the 2011 tennis season off to a very promising start.  First, Kim Clijsters of Belgium proved that she is the best women's player in the world ~ bar none ~ as she defeated Li Na of China in three very competitive sets. It was the fourth career Grand Slam singles title for Clijsters, who improved her world ranking afterwards to No. 2.  Now, it's just a matter of time before she's No. 1 and, someday soon, Li will prove a worthy Grand Slam champion, too.

The following evening at Rod Laver Arena, Novak Djokovic of Serbia won his second Australian Open crown in straight sets over his boyhood friend, Great Britain's Andy Murray. Throughout the fortnight, the acrobatic Djokovic showed his shot-mastery and fortitude, dropping only one set in seven matches and dispatching defending champion Roger Federer in the semifinals.

In accepting the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup, awarded to the men's champion, Djokovic paused for reflection, choosing his words carefully, and thoughtfully projected a mature side of himself not always displayed on the court.  "There's been a tough period for our people in Serbia, but we are trying every single to day to present our country in the best possible way. So, this is for my country, Serbia," Djokovic said, clutching the trophy.

Both matches brought out a lot of great qualities in each of the finalists, and above all, there was a tremendous display of sportsmanship shown by Clijsters, Li, Djokovic and Murray. The multicultural crowds for both finals, many waving flags and holding up tasteful banners of support, applauded politely and respectfully.  After all, this was the Happy Slam.  Added up, it gives us hope for the future of the sport, even if there isn't always an American ~ or Roger Federer ~ playing on the final day of a Grand Slam.

As noted earlier in this post, the new WTA (Women's Tennis Association) rankings released this week show the Top 10 players hail from 10 different countries.  It's like a United Nations of tennis with Denmark, Belarus and Australia all having representation on the court.

"Having 10 different players represent the top 10 rankings shows how truly global tennis has become," WTA Chair and CEO Stacey Allaster said in a statement after the release of the latest rankings.

The women's Top 10:  1. Caroline Wozniacki, Denmark; 2. Kim Clijsters, Belgium; 3. Vera Zvonareva, Russia; 4. Francesca Schiavone, Italy; 5. Sam Stosur, Australia; 6. Venus Williams, U.S.; 7. Li Na, China; 8. Jelena Jankovic, Serbia; 9. Victoria Azarenka, Belarus; 10. Agnieska Radwanska, Poland.

And, the 11th ranked player, Shahar Peer, is from Israel. Thirty of the top 60 are from different nations.  Plus, Schiavone is the first Italian to break into the top five, and Li is the first Chinese player to reach No. 7.

Thinking global, connecting the world peacefully with tennis racquets instead of igniting chaos with stones.

Photograph by Michael Dickens (2004) from the Museum of the French Federation of Tennis, Stade Roland Garros, Paris.