Author: Ezra

The war in Ukraine continues to raise gasoline prices both in Europe and in the United States and has a direct impact on drivers’ pockets. A rise that affects even more thinking about the cost of journeys everyday life and long car trips. An unexpected winner has emerged from the situation: the electric bicycle. But for e-bike or electric scooter companies, the surge in interest has not resulted in the profits they hoped for. The increase in gasoline prices is a double-edged sword. sales boom. Companies are experiencing a sales boom as consumers turn to electric mobility, but their own…

Many of Japan’s theme cafes focus on a handful of odd chores to keep you busy, like befriending a robot maid, playing with cats, or admiring a recreated world of Cowboy Bebop. But in Tokyo there is an even more unique cafe. An establishment located in the Koenji district that has been causing a stir since its opening because it really does have a formula to keep you really busy. It is called The Manuscript Writing Cafe and it works as a base for those who have to complete tasks with deadlines. But be careful, it’s not just the theme…

Someone can lose the mobile, the bag or the umbrella. But lose an entire city? The same thing happened in upstate New York, USA, in 2014. Google did something it almost never does: it wiped a city off its maps. But don’t blame them. The origin of the city was suspicious. And how that town, Agloe, a speck of a village in the western Catskills, ended up on maps 90 years ago remains a cartographic enigma. How he persevered is even more unheard of. Let’s see what actually happened. The town was invented as a cartographic trick in the 1930s,…

Disrespect for religious communities or ingenuity in the service of marketing? If there is something we know how to do well in Spain, it is to take offense at almost everything. At Magnet we have told in several articles and for several years how the most insurgent humor has been buried in almost all sectors and media by the same detractors who today punish Burger King’s latest advertising campaign. The controversy. “Take and eat all of it. It does not have meat”: it is nothing other than the message that reads one of the posters of the advertising campaign of…

An earlier version of this article was published in April 2017. Amsterdam, city of bicycles, amsterdamthe bicycle capital of the world, Amsterdam, the place where even your dog could cycle to work, Amsterdam, the example of sustainability and mobility for the future. Talking about bicycles and Amsterdam has become a cliché: there are so many and they are everywhere that the mere image of the city has become permanently associated with its figure. And that is very good: bicycles are very useful for urban mobility, reduce congestion and are friendly to the environment. Hence, many cities around the world are…

If you only watch movies made in Hollywood, you are severely limiting yourself. Take note of it. Countries around the world have been producing movies since the advent of cinema worth seeing, from ambitious blockbusters to independent films. Call it “world cinema” or whatever you like, every corner of the world has given birth to an impressive array of films far from the United States. Like regular American classics, films from countries from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe include titles about love, fantasy, adventure, war, and comedy. But the techniques used to tell the stories and share the emotions are often radically…

Produced since ancient times, the beer it has become a ubiquitous element in society. Wherever there is a settlement there will be a tap that provides such a precious liquid. However, its quality and price varies depending on the region in which we are. The most seasoned beer consumers will know it perfectly. Its historical meccas, Belgium or Germany, enjoy an impeccable reputation. But are they the cheapest? That is a good question. A frequent consumer of beer can value both its balance, aroma and flavor as well as the price that the bar on duty charges for its service.…

In 1992 Francis Fukuyama published one of the ultimately most influential and also most ridiculed essays in modern thought: the end of history. Fukuyama argued that the liberal democracy, epitome of the Western political model, was the ultimate milestone in human evolution. That if we understood our history as an inexorable path towards progress, progress, its most perfect, free, fair and prosperous form, ended in liberal democracies. Fukuyama published his essay in the aftermath of the fall of the Berlin Wall and during the demolition of the communist bloc. For a time, those ideas seemed plausible. As Ivan Krastev and…

When Vladimir Putin made the decision to invade Ukraine, he unleashed several long-dormant geopolitical demons. One of them was energy. Russia being an economy focused on the exploitation of resources, it was natural that the sanctions were directed towards its oil or natural gas exports. The consequences were and continue to be dramatic, although the foundations had been discreetly laid for months. 2021 was already a year of energy crisis. One in which many lost and a few won. all to black. This is illustrated by the Global Electricity Study prepared annually by Ember. Throughout 2021, two energy sources gained…