It was 80 years ago today - November 19th - according to the story, Walt was on a train doodling on the back on an envelope and sketched the mouse called Mickey.

Walt was originally was going to call him Mortimer, but Walt’s wife Lily suggested Mickey instead.
Walt had a character called Oswald the Lucky Rabbit [...]

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Sunday marked the start of the holidays in the Netherlands with the arrival, in Amsterdam, of Sinterklaas and the Zwarte Pieten. This moment is the equivalent of seeing Santa Clause arrive at the end of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
However, instead of short, pointy-eared elves… the Dutch “Santa” arrives with his Moorish helpers, the Zwarte [...]

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Istanbul was Constantinople
Now it’s Istanbul, not Constantinople
Been a long time gone, Constantinople
Now it’s Turkish Delight on a moonlit night
Every gal in Constantinople
Lives in Istanbul, not Constantinople
So if you’ve a date in Constantinople
She’ll be waiting in Istanbul
Even old New York was once New Amsterdam
Why they changed it I can’t say
People just liked it better that way
So [...]

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Today’s date is pretty cool. A nice date for a product launch, store opening, or Olympic games to begin.
Today is a special day in Chinese culture where the number eight is a lucky number. (The sound of the word “eight” sounds like the word for “fortune, prosper, and wealth” so it is quite lucky).
I remember [...]

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When you visit another town - whether local or far away - tourist gift shops offer a nice table of contents to what you may expect within the destination.
In Athens, gift shops are loaded with items featuring the Parthenon, ancient pottery, owls, items with a Greek zig-zag pattern, and a strange round blue thing that [...]

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I found out recently the Dutch don’t have the word whimsical in their vocabulary. How do you define that for someone who has never heard it?
The best way I was able to describe whimsical to a Dutch friend of mine was with an example… I made reference to bikes in Amsterdam that women decorate with [...]

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I’ve been living in Amsterdam for 10 months and love it. It is a beautiful town full of nice people. Despite American stereotypes there is more to this town than the Red Light District and coffee shops selling marijuana!
Among broader observations, I’ve noticed nuances between Amsterdam/Europe and America. These differences are what a place interesting. [...]

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The Christmas traditions in Amsterdam, the Netherlands are much different than in the United States.
Twas the night before…
The Dutch celebrate the arrival of Sinterklaas (Santa Claus) or Sint Nicolaas (Saint Nicholas) in mid-November where the Saint arrives by ship from Spain.
He traveled up the Amstel River by steamboat, accompanied by sounds of horns, cheers, and [...]

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I’m studying one of my heroes and a newer member of the Idea Sandbox Board of Directors.

Leonardo.

No. Not DiCaprio.
da Vinci

Leonardo was a master at everything he did… One of the things I find interesting about him is that he wrote using “mirror writing.” (In order to read it, you’d have to hold it up [...]

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