Centennial of the shots in Sarajevo

Sarajevo 1914 by Achille Beltrame in Domenica del Corriere (cropped)
The murder of Franz Ferdinand and Sophie as illustrated by Achille Beltrame.

Today it is exactly 100 years since the ill-fated attentate on the Austro-Hungarian crown prince Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie. The double murder is traditionally viewed as the event which started the First World War and even if its position in history as the unavoidable ignition of the war can be debated, there is no doubt that it was a turning point from which it had taken considerable effort and will to stop – a will that didn’t exist at that moment in time. Instead the hard demands put forward by Austria-Hungary on Serbia became an ultimatum and then the fire was unstoppable before it had spread and brought destruction to most of Europe and the rest of the world.

Only in Japan…

Waitress in Akihabara café
Waitress at the Meteor Shower cosplay café in Akihabara, Tokyo. Source: Anime News Network

There are some things that just really can’t exist anywhere else than in Japan and even there only in some select places like the famous – or infamous – Akihabara district in Tokyo. Such as the latest addition to their very special café settings, this time it is a pop-up café with the special gimmick of having the staff wearing the easily recognizable Japanese school swimsuits and of course having a menu styled appropriately with beverages such as “sweet pool juice” and jello.

The café which is a part of the cosplay café Meteor Shower is a promo for the June 14 release of the live-action film “Sweet Poolside”, adapted from a manga.

Berlin’s Tempelhof to remain free

Tempelhof Airport in 2012
Tempelhof Airport in 2012. Photo: A. Savin

It seems like Berlin’s classic and iconic old airport Tempelhof will remain an oasis in the heart of the German capital after that the people’s movement who wanted to preserve the old airfield area as an open space for the impromptu mixed uses which have developed after the closure of the airport. Among the many activities people now enjoy there are ecological gardening, biking on the abandoned runways and flying kites over the vast open space.