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Europe Fashion Lasting Love Those Crazy Kids!

The WLBOTT Royal Wedding

WLBOTT’s most eligible (and only) bachelor, UC#2, will be heading to Düsseldorf this week as part of his summer scholarship. Semi-Sequitur: Please try this Say this three times, and your mood will improve 27%: Düssel Düssel Dorf Dorf DorfDüssel Düssel Dorf Dorf DorfDüssel Düssel Dorf Dorf Dorf Anyhow, UC#2 will be in close proximity to […]

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Baltic States Collapse of Democracy/Civilization/etc. Poland Will there be a buffet?

The Suwalki Gap

This may seem obscure, but it makes me nervous. There are some very serious people worrying about this. Russia, with their insatiable greed and lust for power, has their eye on the Baltic states (Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia). Many fear that Russia’s original plan was to use Ukraine (their 3-day special military operation) as a […]

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russia Sticking It To The Man The land, the people, the culture Ukraine

Ukraine’s Incursion into Kursk

On August 6th, 2024, Ukraine made a well-planned incursion into Kursk. The Kursk Oblast (or state) is an 11,582 sq. mile area that borders eastern Ukraine. It has a population of just over a million, and has been populated since the last ice age. Eduard Mykhailovych Moskaliov (Ukrainian: Едуард Михайлович Москальов; born 22 December 1973) […]

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Book Club Climate Change Ireland Scholarship/Erudition

The Heat Will Kill You First / The Second Coming (part I of III)

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 […]

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Iceland WLBOTT Corporate Work-Life Balance

Þrídrangaviti Lighthouse

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 […]

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Iceland WLBOTT Corporate

Our First Diplomatic Mission to Iceland

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 […]

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Iceland The land, the people, the culture WLBOTT Corporate

WLBOTT Establishes Diplomatic Relations with Iceland

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 […]

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Alberta British Colombia India Norway Oh, Grow Up!

The Seven Sisters in Geography

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 […]

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Adventures of the Elders Engineering russia Texas Will there be a buffet?

Rudder Tower / Sbisa / Commies

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 […]

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Collapse of Democracy/Civilization/etc. Spain

The Spanish Civil War (part II)

[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 […]