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...
Subscribe to Brandon Donnelly
>4.2K subscribers
Share Dialog
Share Dialog
I am still a young guy, but already I find people of my vintage starting to hate on some of the things that even younger people are into.
I hear people say that they’re not into Snapchat because it’s for teenagers. What’s the point?
I hear people say that they don’t get why anyone would want to rent an urban shoebox. It’s so small. Do you have to hang from the ceiling like a bat when you sleep?
I hear people say that they don’t get how that new app will ever make money and turn into a business. It’s just a toy.
It’s so easy to fall into this mentality, where you think that you’re right and everyone else is wrong. But it can be toxic.
Because what is crazy and fringe today could very well become mainstream tomorrow. And the earlier you can recognize that shift, the easier it is to stay ahead of the curve in business and in life.
I’m not suggesting that we all try and predict the future. Instead I am suggesting that we all try and remain as open as we can so we recognize the shifts earlier.
I think there can be a natural tendency to close up over time – unless you deliberately fight it. We start to believe that there’s a certain way that things should be done. We get busy and don’t want to reinvent the wheel. I find myself falling into that trap sometimes and then I try and fight it. This must be why Steve Jobs told us to “stay foolish.”
In an information and attention economy where the best new ideas win, it pays to keep an open mind.
(This post was written on my phone which is why it’s void of links.)
I am still a young guy, but already I find people of my vintage starting to hate on some of the things that even younger people are into.
I hear people say that they’re not into Snapchat because it’s for teenagers. What’s the point?
I hear people say that they don’t get why anyone would want to rent an urban shoebox. It’s so small. Do you have to hang from the ceiling like a bat when you sleep?
I hear people say that they don’t get how that new app will ever make money and turn into a business. It’s just a toy.
It’s so easy to fall into this mentality, where you think that you’re right and everyone else is wrong. But it can be toxic.
Because what is crazy and fringe today could very well become mainstream tomorrow. And the earlier you can recognize that shift, the easier it is to stay ahead of the curve in business and in life.
I’m not suggesting that we all try and predict the future. Instead I am suggesting that we all try and remain as open as we can so we recognize the shifts earlier.
I think there can be a natural tendency to close up over time – unless you deliberately fight it. We start to believe that there’s a certain way that things should be done. We get busy and don’t want to reinvent the wheel. I find myself falling into that trap sometimes and then I try and fight it. This must be why Steve Jobs told us to “stay foolish.”
In an information and attention economy where the best new ideas win, it pays to keep an open mind.
(This post was written on my phone which is why it’s void of links.)
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