Top Five Dickens' Characters

(in no particular order, except for the last and best):

Mr. Alfred Jingle (Pickwick Papers) - “an indescribable air of jaunty impudence and perfect self- possession pervaded the whole man.”

Then there is his singular form speech:

'Is anything the matter with Mr. Snodgrass, Sir?' inquired Emily, with great anxiety.

'Nothing the matter, ma'am,' replied the stranger. 'Cricket dinner--glorious party--capital songs--old port--claret--good --very good--wine, ma'am--wine.'

The Old Mr. Turveydrop (Bleak House) - A model of deportment

Wemmick (Great Expectations) - Selected for the pride he has in his, erm, home, his collection of curiosities, his relationship with his father (The Aged P), and for his attitude:

“When I go into the office, I leave the Castle behind me, and when I come into the Castle, I leave the office behind me.”

Mrs. Jellyby (Bleak House) – for her telescopic philanthropy

Mr. Wilkins Micawber (David Copperfield) – Where to begin… How about these excerpts from Copperfield’s surprising encounter with Micawber at Tommy Traddles’ place in Camden Town (Chapter 27).

Excerpt 1:

I found that the street was not as desirable a one as I could have wished it to be, for the sake of Traddles. The inhabitants appeared to have a propensity to throw any little trifles they were not in want of, into the road: which not only made it rank and sloppy, but untidy too, on account of the cabbage-leaves. The refuse was not wholly vegetable either, for I myself saw a shoe, a doubled-up saucepan, a black bonnet, and an umbrella, in various stages of decomposition, as I was looking out for the number I wanted.

The general air of the place reminded me forcibly of the days when I lived with Mr. and Mrs. Micawber. An indescribable character of faded gentility that attached to the house I sought, and made it unlike all the other houses in the street - though they were all built on one monotonous pattern, and looked like the early copies of a blundering boy who was learning to make houses, and had not yet got out of his cramped brick-and-mortar pothooks - reminded me still more of Mr. and Mrs. Micawber. Happening to arrive at the door as it was opened to the afternoon milkman, I was reminded of Mr. and Mrs. Micawber more forcibly yet.

'Now,' said the milkman to a very youthful servant girl. 'Has that there little bill of mine been heerd on?'

Excerpt 2:

'You find us, Copperfield,' said Mr. Micawber, with one eye on Traddles, 'at present established, on what may be designated as a small and unassuming scale; but, you are aware that I have, in the course of my career, surmounted difficulties, and conquered obstacles. You are no stranger to the fact, that there have been periods of my life, when it has been requisite that I should pause, until certain expected events should turn up; when it has been necessary that I should fall back, before making what I trust I shall not be accused of presumption in terming - a spring. The present is one of those momentous stages in the life of man. You find me, fallen back, FOR a spring; and I have every reason to believe that a vigorous leap will shortly be the result.'

Lithium, the new mobility and Japan

For the last 60 years or so, oil has been the key limiting factor governing human mobility. Yet the growing recognition that a fossil-fueled economy is unsustainable has spurred investment in alternative energy sources. While the contours of the new energy economy are still unclear, bridging technologies such as rechargeable batteries whether in hybrid or electric vehicles, cell phones or laptop computers, are likely to figure heavily in the medium term. The new mobility afforded by portable electronic devices such as Blackberries relies on compact sources of power, and in particular lithium ion batteries. In scaled-up versions rechargeable lithium ion batteries are also imagined to propel the automotive fleet into the future. Two interesting economic geographies and sets of actors are emerging in the face of this anticipated demand.

On the one hand, the uneven distribution of global lithium reserves raises the strategic stakes surrounding access to this heretofore taken-for-granted resource. This recent piece from The New York Times illuminates the shifting sands of lithium mining, especially in key source nations such as Bolivia. The article also points to the second emergent player associated with the new mobility, Japanese firms such as Mitsubishi that are currently inking deals to secure supplies of lithium for their battery manufacturing divisions.

In a related development, Panasonic’s bid for Sanyo, the largest recent merger deal within Japanese industry, has been driven by the former’s desire to access the rechargeable battery and renewable energy (solar) expertise of the latter. Japanese firms, according to the World Intellectual Property Organization, currently lead the world in obtaining patents for ‘green’ technologies. Despite the massive job losses in corporate Japan, the evidence suggests its leading firms, from Toyota to Panasonic, are well positioned for the future, given their pivotal role in facilitating the new mobility. This development is good news for the Kansai region of Japan where Panasonic plans to base its lithium business.