Radio Nurse

I spotted this object in the Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich.

The Radio Nurse was the idea of Charles Lindberg, the pioneering 1920's US aviator and advocate of eugenics commissioned this baby monitor in 1932 after his son was abducted and killed.

A beautiful object formed from ugly necessity.

Rathaus Munich

I have always enjoyed the Rotten Boroughs section in Private Eye and when I came across this impressive council administration building I felt that the name was very appropriate for our current local authority fiefdoms in the UK. I advocate our town halls to be renamed THE RATHOUSE.

Oktoberfest 2011

Another world of hedonism in Munich. Bavarians celebrating in their own unique style..

 It takes some getting use to the general conformity to the lederhosen and dirndl but young, old, rich and poor all follow the fashion of the traditional dress.

Ideas on Capitalism 3.0

There are many new and useful thoughts on the next generation of supporting society and the planet. A growing school of thought that aims to be disruptive in the traditional view of economic systems, that being Impact Investing. The markets stranglehold on value, on product, on market, on return and on investment seems to be lacking both creativity and holistic (joined up) thinking. This reminded me of a lecture delivered by the now elusive but then highly influential Jed Emerson who was the pioneer of what he terms the 'Blended Value Proposition'.

In one of his seminal papers, Jed Emerson once said that:

Companies move from marginal profitability to sustainable economic performance as a function of not focusing upon the parts, but rather the total value they have the potential to create. This value comes not only in financial terms but also in environmental and social terms. The intersect of these three constitutes the real value potential of companies.

This wise and sage statement lead me to thinking about the next inevitable stage of capitalism. With austerity riots in Greece and the Arab Spring western democracies are displaying the usual arrogance of laissez faire power brokers but we the people should look at why these things are happening and what are the root causes. Who are the puppet masters and who's strings are being pulled?

Paris Bistro

First night in Paris and Gloria and myself decided to take ourselves out for a traditional Paris meal. We struck gold on the first visit with this first example of the best of Paris bistro fare. If you are ever in Paris and in the Marais district, looking for the taste of old school bistro, please click on the link below:

N.B. Chef Speciality Pt1 = Côte de bœuf pour 2 personnes

http://robertetlouise.com/

Sunday Sounds

I found this couple whilst killing a few hours looking around the Sunday markets of the Bastille. Strangely enough the sound of their instruments did not resonate but their image will live on forever.

Paris Culture

I took this image whist waitinbg for my wife to buy a pair of sunglasses. in the Marais district of Paris. Notice that this father and son are passing the only Kosher Pizza joint I found in Paris.