A simple idea, and sure to be a crowd-pleasing, exhibit at the Smithsonian. A history of the holiday season. Sometimes city branding opportunities can be straightforward.

REVIEWS, Adelaide – Australia is blessed with great airports by US, UK and in some cases, continental European standards.
Most Australian small airports are superior to most North American small airports. Although in larger airport terms, Boston’s Logan or SFO are superior to the large Sydney airport most international visitors experience.

One of Australia’s great smaller airports is the comfortable, practical Adelaide airport.
With crisp clean design lines, comfortable seating, work desk areas for non-lounge members and a good choice of food and shopping, Adelaide airport does it well.
Lounges at Adelaide
The Adelaide Qantas …

REVIEWS, SYDNEY — When in Sydney, unless frequenting exclusive restaurants or suburban secrets, it is hard to find a decent food at any price. Reasonable prices in the city are harder.
In nearby Melbourne, it is easy to have a good-size quality meal in small café venues. There are Melbourne city venues where you can get decent lunch specials of classics like veal for $10 or $15 a plate (about 6-8 EUROs), the latter with a glass of wine.
Prego, in Melbourne CBD on Collins St, has one such special.
In …

COMMENT, Global, Easter — As we sit down and eat our chocolate eggs, and hot cross buns, there is much to be said about Easter and Christianity.
At this time of year, with also various Jewish and Muslim festivals, it seems natural to question one’s faith.

Yet tolerant Christianity is so central to our civilized Western world, as to be indivisible from it.
We forget the Western World is laid of Christian stone…
Laws are a substitute for basic Christian values, in a society of solid values, laws are needed less. For values, not …

VIDEOS, Youtube — From the Anglican Bishop of Ballarat, a regional centre of Victoria, Australia, not far from Melbourne.
Although I am not Anglican, this is a very accessible Easter message.
It is the sense of ethics, of Judeo-Christian ethics some say, that is missing to various degrees from around this commercial world.
And this well-spoken, accessible, message reminds us of how much Christian ethics are fundamental to the function of a society. And how, long-term deviation from ethics results in the inevitable decline of given societies.
It is ethics that make, build and …

Food, real food. We take it for granted – yet more often than not what Westerners are eating is not ‘food’, but produced artificially in labs. As Felicity Lawrence, Peter Singer, Jim Mason and Greg Critser (among others), have argued the time has for consumers come to demand and purchase only real food, and not ’substitutes’. This flight to food is fundamental to human health and wellbeing, now and in the future.

COMMENT, Serbia — Healthy and delicious serbian food! Serbians eat big meals. Huge meals in fact. Bigger than Americans often!
Yet Serbs are generally fit, healthy and not fat. No obesity problems.

And Serbians even eat Hamburgers, although with a lot less ‘bad stuff’ inside!
Serbians are mostly healthy as a result of the homecooked dishes they eat. With no additives and not from the supermarket. Although, this is changing.
Generally Serbians who live in Serbia do not have obesity problems despite the fact they eat large portions of meat. Serbians who live in …

COMMENT, Global – As I write this it is almost Christmas. And all over the world many of us are getting ready for Christmas Day.

In Europe, many people I spoke with are sitting down to Christmas.
A big traditional Christmas with your family, although that term “family” is more complex these days.
Many of you will have a Christmas tree. Some of you are eating turkey or chicken, some canneloni, pudding, fruit cake, beef, mince pies or even fish.
Père Noël, Babbo Natale, St Nicholas, Weihnachtsman or Santa Claus may bring your children …

A vintage article on coffee and inspiration from our 2007 series. How do you tell if you’re getting great espresso? And why is coffee so essential to innovation?

COMMENT, San Francisco, USA — Coffee is important. To world trade, yes. But it’s not all money, coffee is also (more importantly) critical to culture.
How many good ideas have been conceived over a cup of coffee?
How many intellectual battles have been fought in a coffee house until the wee hours?
Voltaire, Franklin and Napoleon all frequented the same Parisian coffee house (at different times)… there must be something in that brew.
Napoleon once left his hat for security whilst he fetched money to pay for the check!
The whole of WordCamp over the …