People living on some of the islands of the Pacific don't describe much lightning in their language.

And in fact, I dream in whatever language I'm living in. So that, you know, after six months of being in the States, I started dreaming in English again. And when I moved back to Mexico, after a few months, I started dreaming in Spanish again.

As summer in the northern hemisphere progresses, you see lightning moving farther north. You see a similar pattern in the southern hemisphere, but not so pronounced because there isn't as much land outside the tropics.

Over land we see tremendous diurnal changes, a strong peak in lightning in the afternoon over land. Over water we see very little variation. We believe it's due to the land absorbing heat and causing strong convection. On the other hand, water can store a lot more heat, and release it slowly.

There you get thunderstorms all year round. It's a result of weather patterns, air flow from the Atlantic and enhancement by mountainous areas.

Today, for a Jew who writes in the German language, it is totally impossible to make a living. In no group do I see as much misery, disappointment, desperation and hopelessness as in Jewish writers who write in German.