17th century to 21st century

New York (CNN Business) Beloved discount store Century 21 is reopening in New York City nearly two years after the pandemic forced it out of business. The retailer, which sold designer clothing at bargain basement prices, is reopening in spring 2023 at its former location near the World Trade Center in downtown Manhattan. A New York favorite, Century 21 gained international notoriety for its appearances in pop culture, including in the original "Sex and the City" TV series. "In our 60-year history we have only closed our doors twice, once after the devastation of 9/11 and then again during the Covid-19 pandemic," said Raymond Gindi, Century 21 co-chief executive officer, in a press release. "But like the true New Yorkers we are, we have persevered." Century 21 is reopening its Cortlandt Street store in New York next year. The family-run business is partnering with retail management company Legends to reopen the one location, a move … [Read more...] about Century 21 is staging a comeback

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin When the world gathered in Glasgow, Scotland for the COP26 UN climate convention, the conversation had not yet added “war in Europe” to the dual challenges of sustainability and biodiversity. Now, eight months later, in the Ukrainian port of Odesa, European Union Council President Charles Michel has described Ukrainian silos “full of grain, wheat and corn ready for export” locked in place by Russia’s wartime blockade of Black Sea ports. Independent data cruncher World Population Review estimates Russia and Ukraine together account for 30% of the global wheat trade. Today, global grain supplies are facing the one-two punch of not only climate disruption but also wartime supply shortages. The food you eat, the food that your food consumes, and perhaps some of your favorite libations are all affected as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine moves into a third month. In a world that has changed everyone and everything, the … [Read more...] about From Odesa To Your Dinner And Dram: How The War Over Fossil And Caloric Energy Supplies Is Shaping The 21st Century

As the world’s need for large amounts of portable energy grows at an ever-increasing pace , many innovators have sought to replace current battery technology with something better. advertisement Italian physicist Alessandro Volta tapped into fundamental electrochemical principles when he invented the first battery in 1800. Essentially, the physical joining of two different materials, usually metals, generates a chemical reaction that results in the flow of electrons from one material to the other. That stream of electrons represents portable energy that can be harnessed to generate power . The first materials people employed to make batteries were copper and zinc. Today’s best batteries – those that produce the highest electrical output in the smallest possible size – pair the metal lithium with one of several different metallic compounds. There have been steady improvements over the centuries, but modern batteries rely on the same strategy as that of Volta: … [Read more...] about How electric eels inspired the first battery two centuries ago

TOKYO, May 15 (Reuters): The Japanese island chain of Okinawa marked the 50th anniversary on Sunday of the end of U.S. occupation and its return to Japan with ceremonies and celebrations amid growing worry about their proximity to an increasingly assertive China. Okinawa, a string of tropical islands off far southwest Japan much closer to Taiwan than Tokyo, suffered massive devastation in World War Two. Two months of bloody battles between U.S. and Japanese forces left as many as a third of its people dead. Nearly 30 years of U.S. rule followed. On May 15, 1972, the islands were finally returned to Japan in what was seen as a hopeful step forward from the war's painful legacy. But today they still host the majority of U.S. military bases in Japan, a devil's bargain that has provided jobs but also fed worries about crime and military accidents. Now, as China grows increasingly assertive in the Pacific region and tensions rise around nearby Taiwan, which Beijing considers a … [Read more...] about Japan’s Okinawa marks half century since US handover as regional tensions grow

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin “Everyone should own a Beezy Bailey.” David Bowie High praise indeed from the late great musician and artistic collaborator of the South African artist Beezy Bailey. After meeting in South Africa in the mid 1990s, David Bowie made at least 50 paintings with Beezy while recording his album Outside in New York. If owning a painting or sculpture by Mr. Bailey isn’t a possibility, seeing his colorful, energetic work certainly is, in two exhibitions organised by Everard Read gallery. More than 30 pieces are on show at Everard Read’s London gallery in Chelsea and in a site-specific exhibition at Boughton House , a glorious historic home in Northamptonshire. The exhibition provides a rare opportunity for public visits. Viewing the art, along with house tours and exploring the gardens is currently possible at Boughton but it’s not regularly accessible like other stately homes. Boughton House, the historic seat … [Read more...] about Beezy Bailey’s Balm For A Mad World Boughton House, Northamptonshire

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Manuel Blay is editor of TheDowTheory.com , a website that closely tracks the price movements of the Dow Industrials, the Dow Transports and the Dow Utilities, among other indexes. It’s an old-school type of looking at charts that you don’t hear about much when technical analysts gather to compare notes. Blay says you should be paying attention, there’s lots to be learned. I had a chance to ask him some questions about it and here’s how it went: John Navin : Dow Theory is an old form of price chart analysis. Why is it still relevant? Manuel Blay : It is more relevant than ever for three reasons: 1) Because it works. By this, I mean: it cuts drawdowns and outperforms buy and hold. And it performs much better than its trend-following competitors, namely moving averages and breakout systems. 2) Because it was a track record spanning +120 years (for stocks). 3) Because it can be applied to many markets. … [Read more...] about Dow Theory: Is It Still Relevant? Editor Of TheDowTheory.Com Says Yes

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin What better test for a Bentley Flying Spur than a short toddle to a gallery event at the Huntington Library & Gardens , one of the most beautiful places in Southern California? Appropriate for an exhibit opening devoted to black & white fine art photography of mid-century Britannia, our test car was finished in two-tone Tungsten over Moonbeam, rolling on high-fashion 21-inch alloy wheels thinly skinned with 275/35 Pirelli tires. Under the canopy of old oaks in our moonlit garden, the Spur achieved that needed sense of occasion. In spite of its considerable length (nearly seventeen and a half feet), the Spur executed an efficient multi-point J-turn on our meandering gravel drive before nosing toward the gate. A benefit of Bentley’s popularity with professional athletes, dimensions of the Spur’s interior suit tall people. The seats are superior to almost any found in the lobby of a fine hotel, with a range of subtle … [Read more...] about Driving the Bentley Flying Spur V8

Harnessing The Crowd Without Breaking Its Spirit Harnessing The Crowd Without Breaking Its Spirit Aros Quirky advertisement advertisement Garthen Leslie is an IT consultant and looks the part. He’s geeky, quiet, and middle-aged, sporting a long, untucked white polo, khakis, and wire-framed glasses. But today, very suddenly, he is also the face of a new ideal–a symbol of how invention itself is being reinvented. “It was August and really hot,” Leslie says, recalling how it all began, as he reaches for an hors d’oeuvre at a media-saturated party being thrown in his honor in Manhattan’s Chelsea neigh­borhood (Martha Stewart will amble through the door in about 15 minutes). The 63-year-old had been commuting from Washington, D.C., to suburban Maryland, dreading the hellishly stuffy home that awaited him–but he didn’t want to leave his AC on all day, for fear of an equally hellish energy bill. “I thought, There are all kinds of applications … [Read more...] about Design Is Changing How We Work

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin This is Part II of a three-part series from an extensive interview with the former finance minister of Ukraine. The third one includes how to help Ukraine. She also gave career advice. Part I is here. Part II: The Hidden Power Of ESG As explained in Part I of this series, the Russian invasion of Ukraine reflects the weakness in the core of the “liberal peace” doctrine believed for decades — that global commerce would disincentivize conflicts — in part because of dark money, argued Natalie Jaresko, the former finance minister of Ukraine, in an extensive interview on my Electric Ladies Podcast. Furthermore, she argues that taking Russian money is inconsistent with the commitments to ESG, or environment, social and governance principles, that dozens of companies and countries have declared. ESG commitments from companies and countries, and investments in ESG funds, have swelled over the past few years. ESG funds … [Read more...] about The Hidden Power Of ESG – Part 2 Of 3-Part Series: Interview With The Former Finance Minister Of Ukraine

When people talk about ways to slow climate change, they often mention trees , and for good reason. Forests take up a large amount of the planet-warming carbon dioxide that people put into the atmosphere when they burn fossil fuels. But will trees keep up that pace as global temperatures rise? With companies increasingly investing in forests as offsets , saying it cancels out their continuing greenhouse gas emissions, that’s a multibillion-dollar question. advertisement advertisement The results of two studies published in the journals Science and Ecology Letters on May 12, 2022— one focused on growth , the other on death —raise new questions about how much the world can rely on forests to store increasing amounts of carbon in a warming future. Ecologist William Anderegg , who was involved in both studies, explains why. What does the new research tell us about trees and their ability to store carbon? The future of forests is on a … [Read more...] about In an increasingly warming world, we can’t rely on trees as a climate change cure-all