Starting in the late 1930s, New York City began hiring photographers to document each and every building in the city. It did this to improve the accuracy of its tax assessments, and so every photo was taken with a sign board indicating the building’s block… Read More
I have been using Google Translate a lot on this trip. Few people here in Rio de Janeiro speak English. It is an incredible app that also works without cell service. You just download whatever language(s) you need to your phone. There’s a conversation feature… Read More
In 2015, Marshall Burke, Sol Hsiang, and Ted Miguel published a paper in Nature that looked at the relationship between temperature (climate) and economic output. They examined the historical impact of temperature changes (1960-2010) on 166 countries and then used this data to try and predict… Read More
Rio de Janeiro has some pretty spectacular entranceways. Here is one that I found today on Rua Duvivier in Copacabana: It is a magical front door located exactly one block from the beach. The other gem I stumbled upon today was Rua Carvalho de Mendonça,… Read More
Brazil has been on my travel bucket list for many years, if not decades. Whenever I tell someone that they often ask me why that is the case. In addition to its breathtaking natural beauty, sunny beaches, beautiful people, and lively culture, Brazil is also… Read More
The Human Development Index (HDI) is a composite index that ranks countries based on four key indicators (3 dimensions): Life expectancy in years (health) Expected years of schooling (education) Mean years of schooling (education) Gross national income per capita (standard of living) Equal weighting (1/3)… Read More
Merry Christmas from Rio de Janeiro. Even though I am still practicing my daily blogging ritual, this is about the only time of the year where I find it’s possible to “disconnect” a little. So hopefully you’re doing a bit of that yourself and spending time… Read More
Here are two images of the unfinished Museum of Image & Sound in Rio de Janeiro by Diller Scofidio + Renfro. The building sits across from Copacabana’s famed beach and tiled boardwalk. The street you’re looking at is Avenida Atlântica. The idea behind the architecture… Read More
I just arrived in Rio de Janeiro, which is where I’ll be for the next ten days. Here is a photo looking south from the rooftop of our hotel (more photos to follow on Instagram): Today was a fairly relaxed day after many hours of… Read More
At this time of year, I am always amazed by the number of mass emails that I receive from unknown people and companies. They have my email address, clearly, and yet I only receive one email a year from them – a happy holidays email.… Read More
BRANDON DONNELLY 