Brandon DonnellyCanada must become a global superpower
The silver lining to the US starting a trade war with Canada and regularly threatening annexation is that it has forced this country out of complacency. Indeed, I'm hard pressed to remember a time, at least in my lifetime, when patriotism and nationalism has united so much of Canada. According to a recent survey by Angus Reid, the percentage of Canadians expressing a "deep emotional attachment" to the country jumped from 49% in December 2024 to 59% in February 2025. And as further evidence of...
Brandon DonnellyThe bank robbery capital of the world
Between 1985 and 1995, Los Angeles' retail bank branches were robbed some 17,106 times. In 1992, which was the the city's worst year for robberies, the number was 2,641. This roughly translated into about one bank robbery every 45 minutes of each banking day. All of this, according to this CrimeReads piece by Peter Houlahan, gave Los Angeles the dubious title of "The Bank Robbery Capital of the World" during this time period. So what caused this? Well according to Peter it was facil...
Brandon DonnellyThe story behind those pixelated video game mosaics in Paris
If you've ever been to Paris, you've probably noticed the small pixelated art pieces that are scattered all around the city on buildings and various other hard surfaces. Or maybe you haven't seen or noticed them in Paris, but you've seen similarly pixelated mosaics in one of the other 79 cities around the world where they can be found. Or maybe you have no idea what I'm talking about right now. Huh? Here's an example from Bolivia (click here if you can't see...
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Brandon DonnellyCanada must become a global superpower
The silver lining to the US starting a trade war with Canada and regularly threatening annexation is that it has forced this country out of complacency. Indeed, I'm hard pressed to remember a time, at least in my lifetime, when patriotism and nationalism has united so much of Canada. According to a recent survey by Angus Reid, the percentage of Canadians expressing a "deep emotional attachment" to the country jumped from 49% in December 2024 to 59% in February 2025. And as further evidence of...
Brandon DonnellyThe bank robbery capital of the world
Between 1985 and 1995, Los Angeles' retail bank branches were robbed some 17,106 times. In 1992, which was the the city's worst year for robberies, the number was 2,641. This roughly translated into about one bank robbery every 45 minutes of each banking day. All of this, according to this CrimeReads piece by Peter Houlahan, gave Los Angeles the dubious title of "The Bank Robbery Capital of the World" during this time period. So what caused this? Well according to Peter it was facil...
Brandon DonnellyThe story behind those pixelated video game mosaics in Paris
If you've ever been to Paris, you've probably noticed the small pixelated art pieces that are scattered all around the city on buildings and various other hard surfaces. Or maybe you haven't seen or noticed them in Paris, but you've seen similarly pixelated mosaics in one of the other 79 cities around the world where they can be found. Or maybe you have no idea what I'm talking about right now. Huh? Here's an example from Bolivia (click here if you can't see...
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>4.2K subscribers
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Imagine this sequence of events (and don’t peak by clicking on any of the links).
The year is 1994.
You notice that the internet is starting to become a big deal and that more and more products are being sold online. As a result of this trend, you decide to start an online business.
You write up the business plan and begin operations out of your garage. You then get lucky (or you’re just smart and talented). Within 2 months, sales reach $20,000/week. That’s over a million dollars a year.
Business continues to grow and within 3 years you’re able to take your company public, raising $54 million at a $438 million valuation. Over the subsequent two years, you’re then able to raise an additional $2.2 billion in debt to fund your continued growth.
The year is now 2000.
You were just named Time magazine Man of the Year. And traditional brick-and-mortar retailers are really taking notice (i.e. suing you). That’s pretty impressive after only 6 years of operation.
This company is called Amazon. And that “you” is Jeff Bezos.
I was reading up about how much of an asshole Jeff Bezos is, and then became interested in the Amazon story. I thought I would share a bit of it with you all here.
Imagine this sequence of events (and don’t peak by clicking on any of the links).
The year is 1994.
You notice that the internet is starting to become a big deal and that more and more products are being sold online. As a result of this trend, you decide to start an online business.
You write up the business plan and begin operations out of your garage. You then get lucky (or you’re just smart and talented). Within 2 months, sales reach $20,000/week. That’s over a million dollars a year.
Business continues to grow and within 3 years you’re able to take your company public, raising $54 million at a $438 million valuation. Over the subsequent two years, you’re then able to raise an additional $2.2 billion in debt to fund your continued growth.
The year is now 2000.
You were just named Time magazine Man of the Year. And traditional brick-and-mortar retailers are really taking notice (i.e. suing you). That’s pretty impressive after only 6 years of operation.
This company is called Amazon. And that “you” is Jeff Bezos.
I was reading up about how much of an asshole Jeff Bezos is, and then became interested in the Amazon story. I thought I would share a bit of it with you all here.
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