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The Death of Fred Phelps

I remember the first time I heard of Fred Phelps and his “church.” It was around the time of Matthew Shepard. The Westboro Baptist Church protested his funeral and wrote lots of horrid stuff about him. I was shocked that anyone could display such violently cruel behavior. Years later, they’ve managed to repeat the behavior so often that it’s lost its shock value somewhat, but it’s still inexcusable. Continue reading →

Meet “Lammily”, the Correctly Proportioned Average-Sized Doll

We are all well aware of the bizarre proportions of Mattel’s “Barbie” doll. Last year, artist Nickolay Lamm became internet famous for creating this correctly-proportioned “Barbie” doll concept. Building on this publicity, Lamm refined his “real Barbie” prototype and created “Lammily”, the beautifully average doll. And now he wants to crowd fund her into existence. Continue reading →

Crimea – Here We Go Again

Black_Sea_mapThis post is, as we had a couple of days ago, a place to have your say about this weekend’s events in Ukraine.

Here is a brief history of Crimea.

Crimea has been fought over since before it was Crimea. The ancient Greeks set up some colonies, but then came the Romans, then the Crimean Tatars (part of Genghis Khan’s Golden Horde), then Goths, Huns, Bulgars, Khazars, and then the Kievan Rus in the 10th and 11th centuries. Byzantine Empire, Mongols, then Venice, and then the Republic of Genoa. Continue reading →

Brunei vs Singapore: A Case Study

There are two countries that are always going to be linked in the Southeast Asia region due to their similarities, and the key choices that turned one into an economic powerhouse. Brunei and Singapore are the two smallest and wealthiest Southeast Asian nations, and have a currency interchange agreement. Sixty years ago, both set out to diversify their economies and become leaders in the region. The result is a real-world model lesson for developing nations. Continue reading →