Word: public
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...self-contained insularity of American life has been commented on endlessly, with its gated communities, mirror-tinted SUVs and Xbox-equipped "man caves" requiring zero participation in public life. But these ever narrowing areas of interest, however great they may be - and things like all-Latin fried-chicken chain Pollo Campero or Bacon of the Month Club are really, really great - point out that we are no longer a single nation. And when you lose that, you lose the foods that go with it, like the old standards of roast beef and twice-baked potatoes and lobsters served with melted...
...which isn't to say there is nothing holding together all the different sectors of the eating public. Whether in the form of bizarre, genius fast food like KFC's Double Down, a fried-chicken, bacon and cheese sandwich in which two breasts serve as the bun, or the latest high-end fondues, foams and organ fritters, we all have an "open desire for more stimulation." We're at least American enough to all have that in common, anyway...
...turned into a movie, and a television series about his business is also in the works, but not everyone regards his service as a good thing. Several hundred years ago, the Japanese witnessed death regularly, with bodies buried by family members and samurai displaying severed heads in public. These days, such moments are rare. Such ceremonies would give "an opportunity to think about the dead person," says Masaki Ichinose, a University of Tokyo philosopher and head of the university's Institute of Death and Life Studies, founded in 2002 to encourage more national conversation on death...
...Japan, kodokushi, a phenomenon first described in the 1980s, has become hauntingly common. In 2008 in Tokyo, more than 2,200 people over 65 died lonely deaths, according to statistics from the city's Bureau of Social Welfare and Public Health. The deaths most often involve men in their 50s and the nation's rapidly increasingly elderly population. Today, 1 in 5 Japanese is over 65; by 2030 it will be 1 in 3. With senior citizens increasingly living away from family and a nationwide shortage of nursing homes, many are now living alone. "There is a kind of myth...
...network of rural microfinance intermediaries typically composed of 10 to 15 women who contribute small savings to a common fund until they have enough to begin lending. As part of the trial, the groups were asked to replace talk of business with babies, and open meetings to the general public...