I recently began reading the excellent book The Heat Will Kill You First, by Jeff Goodell. Executive summary: We’re doomed. Goodell dedicates some of the book to discussing air conditioning and how this technology has allowed people to live in hotter climates but also has become a major contributor to global warming. Goodell explains how […]
Category: Destinations
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Paper Wasp People
Ms. Paper Wasp shortly after stinging Elder UC#4. The Devil’s Sting A poignant story by Drew Bratcher about nine year old’s encounter with a paper wasp. (Paris Review). I am nine years old, soon to be ten. When people ask me what I want to be when I grow up, I say “country singer,” I […]
Our initial intent was to describe, in great detail, the 105 Lighthouses of Iceland. But our attention was soon redirected when we learned of Þrídrangaviti. Without a doubt, Þrídrangaviti is one of the most dramatic, unique and visually stunning lighthouses in Icelandic territory. The lighthouse is built atop an enormous, 120-foot basalt stack in the […]
WLBOTT is excited about our first official diplomatic visit to Iceland! Passports First order of business: getting passports for our ambassador UC#1 and his wife, UC#1SU. Elder G has agreed to be our Chief of Protocol for our embassy in Iceland. He, too, requires a passport. I’d be honored to serve as the “Chief of […]
Today WLBOTT congratulates the new Icelandic president, Halla Tómasdóttir. First things first…. How do you pronounce Halla Tómasdóttir? Halla Tómasdóttir From The Guardian: A feminist entrepreneur who started an investment fund with the musician Björk at the height of Iceland’s 2008 financial crisis and gave a TED talk on applying “feminine values” to finance is […]
Turns out there are many natural formations named “The Seven Sisters.” Let’s look at a few of them. Seven Sisters Mountain, Alberta Canada We couldn’t help but notice the proximity of Seven Sisters Mountain and Ma Butte. (Oh, grow up.) Seven Sisters Peaks, British Columbia Just down the road, in British Columbia, are the Seven […]
On his birthday, UC#3 shared with us his admiration for monolithic concrete structures. We had brunch at Rudder Tower. They had some dining room set up at the top floor – was a fave for parental units when they visited. I will note Rudder Tower at A&M and the Stalin Seven Sister Towers are widely […]
Q: If April showers bring May flowers, what do May flowers bring?A: Pilgrims As we were crafting the tale of Babusia Bott, the first Bott to come to America, we weren’t able to find much (i.e. any) information about her twine-constructed sailing vessels (because it’s not real). However, we can assume that her voyage had […]
[ed. note: The Spanish Civil War is an incredibly complex historical event, and a worthy subject for scholarly research. Our goal here is highlight the similarities between the events leading up to the war, the war itself, and the ensuing dictatorship, then reflect on the current political situation in America. We are not scholars, but […]
The Elders are trying to peer into the Crystal Ball of Twine and see what will become of America. Let’s look back into history and see if we can see any parallels. We’ll start with Spain. A little context: The Spanish Civil War (Spanish: Guerra Civil Española) was a military conflict fought from 1936 to […]