Hotel design from a modern art hotel in Austria.

COMMENT. Global. – Trains, and rail is a resurgent transport platform.
For some great examples of trains, check out this slide-show on slideshare.
Safe, Cleaner, Practical.
Despite increasingly shrill voices on the right-wing think-tanks, calling for less public transport, rail has clear benefits, visible to all.
Most countries around the world can see the benefits. China, Japan, France, Austria, all are investing in rail. Why do you love trains?
Here at 2thinknow, next are 7 reasons why global trends support a rail renaissance.

COMMENTS — Airlines have been decorating their planes for some time now. Below is a slide-show from Reynolds on SlideShare. Well done!
The Trends. 2thinknow view.
Handmade, hand-painted, decorating mass-objects are key trends of the 21st century.
This is a nascent trend of modifying mass-produced objects.
Decoration & personalisation by hand, not machine, will be a strong dominant theme of the 21st century.
Once we were impressed by the modernist metallic sameness of airplanes. Now we are impressed by their uniqueness.
The mass-produced object is losing it’s 1960s gloss, at the cutting-edge. And has been replaced …

REVIEWS, Stuttgart — Traveling to Germany on Eurail had been an exciting adventure. Stuttgart, especially, surprised me, probably having more inspirational potential than text-based research would indicate.

The magnificent and exciting Stuttgart StaatsGalerie was holding an extensive Pop Art Exhibition at the time of my visit. It was a well curated exhibition of the Pop Art movement in the USA and UK primarily, in the 1950s & 1960s mainly.
Here is my journey through that exhibition, and an increasing realisation that modern art of a time period is often a window on …

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 …

TRAVEL, Shanghai — This video shows the marvel of the Shanghai skyline.
A modern international city, there are ‘China issues’, but Shanghai is an amazing international city, a star on the rise. Also shown is the famous ‘the Bund’.
Shanghai is being watched by 2thinknow, as an emerging innovation city.
Another video here shows the great wonder of Shanghai’s skyline, but also greyness of the sky and the cost of that modernity.
China, we watch you with interest and awe.

TRAVEL, Boston — Boston is ranked 2nd in the world as an Innovation City, after Vienna, in the Global Innovation Review 2007.
The contribution of Harvard university and MIT to world knowledge and learning is barely measurable across the broad scope of all professions.
In addition Boston in New England, is one of the few cities in the USA where the food supply is adequate. Most US cities have a food supply that is below world best practice.
In truth, Boston, like San Francisco or New York is one of the American cities …

COMMENT, Paris – Paris is divided into: Old Paris, where all the buildings have consistent height, and often consistent or at least fitting facades.
Standing on level 5 of Georges Pompidou, you can see the whole of Old Paris, laid out before you. I did this last in April 2007, and was mesmerized.

And New Paris: Office district on the other side of Paris; La Défense. This modern office block tower district, is really an additional side to the old Paris not a central part of Paris.
The new 300 metre tower by …

TRAVEL, Rome — Rome is a marvelous, eternal city of beauty without end.
These slides show some of Rome’s most inspirational areas and beautiful landmarks. The lovely backing song is Roma Capoccia by Antonello Venditti, a famous Roman singer.
Rome was ranked equal 5th Innovation Cities in the world largely due to its inspiration, and position as Italian capital. The rankings were part of the Global Innovation Review 2007, authored by Christopher Hire and published by 2thinknow.
Rome is undoubtedly one of the worlds, most cultured and beautiful cities.
And on previous trips …

VIDEOS, Youtube — Another beautiful world city Torino, or Turin, in the very North–west of Italy, near the Swiss and French borders. Embodying the rich layers of border cities, the images of this video, capture the beauty of Torino.
Most famously in a global sense, Torino hosted the Winter Olympics, and was able to use that to build awareness of the city internationally, outside Europe.
Once largely industrial, Torino is home to Fiat. The main newspaper is La Stampa. And now Torino, has become increasingly diversified in other areas of arts and …

VIDEOS, Youtube — For picturesque images of Bulgarian cities, including Sofia, watch this video.
Includes a musical backing soundtrack, in Bulgarian.
Bulgaria, notably, has changed a lot since the 90s.

ANALYSIS, Germany — Train travel, after an unfashionable period in the 1970s-80s, is emerging again as an environmentally-friendlier, and practical way to travel to and from work.
Well, this is true, in Germany, and much of Europe.

The ease of implementation of the Deutsche Bahn (D-Bahn) system, allows for the enquiry into, and booking of complex train routes.
Whilst no mechanical system is perfect, those with some human knowledge of conditions on the ground in Germany, can plan and map routes across Europe using the German website for D-Bahn.
German Trains Worldwide Benchmark
In public …

YOUR SAY, Europe — This March and April I will be going on a Global Innovation Tour. From mid-march I will be touring European cities. Some cities I will be seeing for the first time, other cities visiting, like Vienna, many times.
I represent 2thinknow, and we are dedicated to global positive social change in areas like environmental friendly transport, food supply, artistic city cultures, small-scale farming, regional produce, increased small business, economic moderation, regulation of industry and many other global issues.
Be Involved, Help Create Positive Global Change
This is the very …

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 …

COMMENT, Melbourne — Let’s face it privatized public transport has failed.
It’s not the same elsewhere in the world — where Public Transport is clean, reliable and safe.

Public transport succeeds in similar towns in Germany.
But not in Australia. Public transport can work, but does not now work in Melbourne & Victoria. There are issues in the approach of the State Government, private contractors and the various ideologically-driven desperadoes on this issue.
The biggest issue is the ideological gunfight set-up by far-Right gunslingers like Alan Moran, of the disingenuously-titled ‘Institute for Public Affairs’.
And …

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 …

REVIEW, Mag Nation, Melbourne & New Zealand — One of my favorite magazine shops, in late 2007, won a prestigious retail award in Melbourne.

You can often find me browsing the magazines, and occasionally spending more than I planned on European or US magazine titles. I like to support small or independent businesses so I also often grab a coffee here and browse.
Chief Magazineologist (sounds like a 2thinknow title!) for Mag Nation, Sahil Merchant commented:
“There is something about magazines that makes them worthwhile and approachable for all.
“Most of the …

TRAVEL, Austria — Culturally Vienna, like Paris, is one of those cities you must visit for artistic and cultural depth.
Of course, many European cities have great museums and art galleries and hidden treasures.

Vienna has a secret museum though. Well secret in the sense few people visit it as tourists. If you are arts-minded though you will enjoy it. …

COMMENT, Global: 2thinknow ® have identified Web 2.0 as one of the big trends sweeping the business world in a short to medium term.
If you feel Web 2.0 is a buzzword. it is. But then again unlike most, this one is useful.
What is Web 2.0?
In short Web 2.0 is the new new printing press, wireless and TV Tube.

TRAVEL, France — When you visit France, there are some paintings you must see to complete your Parisian cultural visit and understand France, and the modern world.
As Ruskin said:
“Great nations write their autobiographies in three manuscripts, the book of their deeds, the book of their words and the book of their art.
“Not one of these books can be understood unless we read the two others, but of the three the only trustworthy one is the last.”