Two friends were walking into Town with a barrel of wine. The road was dusty, their walk surrounded by bright fields of yellow flowers. It was mid-July and the sun was warming their backs. “I reckon we could make a decent amount from this you know” said one, patting the side of the barrel. TheContinue reading “What Happened to FTX?”
Author Archives: Alex Martin
Would you…um?
In 1998, a Jazz group called Touch & Go composed an earworm that shot to number 3 in the UK charts. Its saxophone riff is iconic – the link is below if you’d like a quick boogie: One of the most distinctive aspects of this song is the sample. A dulcet female voice simply says:Continue reading “Would you…um?”
Would you…um?
In 1998, a Jazz group called Touch & Go composed an earworm that shot to number 3 in the UK charts. Its saxophone riff is iconic – the link is below if you’d like a quick boogie: One of the most distinctive aspects of this song is the sample. A dulcet female voice simply says:Continue reading “Would you…um?”
Smarticles Business: Payroll Evolution, not Revolution
In 2007, Steve Jobs jumped up on stage to unveil something that people in the 1980s thought was utterly impossible. He was dressed in his iconic turtle neck, with dad-style sneakers and baggy jeans. His pale pallor was a stark contrast to the black curtain at the back of the stage. Soon he was dwarfedContinue reading “Smarticles Business: Payroll Evolution, not Revolution”
The Mummy
In October 1917 Vladimir Lenin oversaw the October Revolution in Petrograd Russia. It was a seismic political shift that changed the face of the world as we know it. It was arguably responsible for the outcome of the second world war, the proliferation of nuclear weapons, and the rise and fall of many despots andContinue reading “The Mummy”
Sugar and spice and everything nice: The Elfbar
The first thing that you notice from a distance is usually the colour. Bright but tasteful, tipped with a futuristic blue pinpoint glow. As you get a little closer, it begins to scintillate your other senses. Sweet clouds billow across the space and fill your nose with fruity aromatics. When you take a drag, thereContinue reading “Sugar and spice and everything nice: The Elfbar”
How to survive a freefall
Read Time: 2 mins Grandmother’s wisdom suggests that getting back up after a fall is important. It’s a metaphor and is designed to help us steer ourselves away from the incapacitating quality of despair. There is a rich tapestry of psychological reasons why getting up is important. But that isn’t what this piece is about.Continue reading “How to survive a freefall”
5 Lessons to Help Save Democracy
Read Time: 5 mins History does not repeat, but it does inform. This is the key takeaway of Timothy Snyder’s book “On Tyranny – 20 lessons from the 20th Century”. Globalization was accelerating in the 1900s and its rise led to complexities that no one could have predicted. These changes were frightening and ever-present. InventionsContinue reading “5 Lessons to Help Save Democracy”
Can you gamble your way to heaven?
It has been argued that the people of France are the best protesters in the world. Since 2018, over 3 million people participated in the Gilet Jaunes movement. The point was to protest against the prices of fuel, cost of living and inequality. They bought the French government to its knees. And more importantly, theyContinue reading “Can you gamble your way to heaven?”
Logical Fallacies
Read time: 2 mins Despite what most people think, Ancient Greeks were avid perfumers. The streets of Athens were infused with the delicate herbal scents of almonds, coriander, bergamot and conifer, steeped in olive oil over many months and liberally applied to skin and hair. Compared to modern chemical and alcoholic perfumes, these scents wereContinue reading “Logical Fallacies”
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