Tag Archives: 20th Century
Europe: ‘An Economic History Of Poland’ (Video)
The Polish economy was the fastest growing European economy over the last two decades, being the only one to avoid a recession following 2008. Outperforming other post communist nations, to become the first to reach developed status. However it’s fair to say that Poland often receives less attention than it deserves. Despite regularly being touted as Europe’s growth engine. This raises all sorts of questions, like how has Poland’s Economy done so well? Why do under 26 year olds pay less income tax and whether, as some have suggested, it can catch up with Germany’s average income by 2040. Is Poland a Tiger Economy?
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country located in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces, covering an area of 312,696 square kilometres, and has a largely temperate seasonal climate.
World History: ‘The Decline And Fall Of The League Of Nations’ (Video)
This film is the history of the League of Nations from 1930 to the onset of the Second world War: that 10-year span ending when Geneva, surrounded by Axis Powers, almost faded into memory.
Tributes: French Fashion Designer Pierre Cardin Dies At 98 (Video)
Legendary French fashion designer Pierre Cardin died Tuesday at the age of 98 at a hospital in Neuilly in western Paris, his family told AFP.
Pierre Cardin, was an Italian-born naturalised-French fashion designer. He is known for what were his avant-garde style and Space Age designs. He preferred geometric shapes and motifs, often ignoring the female form. He advanced into unisex fashions, sometimes experimental, and not always practical.
Infographic: ‘Vaccination Innovation – 1880 To 2020’
Video Profiles: French Painter Sam Szafran – ‘Dizzying Perspectives’
Contemporary artist Sam Szafran created truly dizzying perspectives in all of his art. In this episode of Expert Voices, discover how his extensive oeuvre often featured the same themes focusing on staircases, his studios and plants. ‘Staircase with a Blue Window’ and ‘Plants with Skylights’ perfectly depict his skill at capturing vertiginous aspects and ‘Atelier de la rue de Crussol’ shows a multitude of hidden details in this captivating work.
Sam Szafran (19 November 1934 – 14 September 2019) was a French artist. He has been buried in the cimetière parisien de Bagneux.
Video Profiles: American Conceptual Painter Lee Lozano (1930-1999)
Jo Applin gives an insight into both Lee Lozano’s life and her work, contextualizing her practice and highlighting her response to the constraints of constitutional systems, gender dynamics, power, money, and politics.
Created in 1962–1963, the early paintings and drawings on view at Hauser & Wirth Somerset use airplanes as a central image and can be considered as examples of the artist’s passionate exploration of creative energy in its purist form. This focused body of early work exposes a complex and deeply intimate inner life grappling with one-sided gender and societal dichotomies, while other works display a form of ferocious humour and playfulness, exploiting the rhetoric of exaggeration to its most cogent effect.
Her raw expressionist brush strokes create powerful works imbued with a very personal iconography, including genitals, religious symbols, tools and body parts. Lozano’s short lived but influential career remains a source of fascination, lauded by Lucy Lippard as the foremost female conceptual artist of her era in New York. Jo Applin is author of ‘Lee Lozano: Not Working’ and ‘Eccentric Objects: Rethinking Sculpture.’ She teaches modern and contemporary art at The Courtauld Institute of Art in London.
Video Profiles: French Architect & Designer Charlotte Perriand
In 1938 architect and designer Charlotte Perriand (1903-1999) designed a mountain shelter able to withstand the harsh elements of any mountaintop yet still light enough to be carried by hand.
The “Refuge Tonneau” (“barrel shelter”), her piece of nomadic architecture designed with Pierre Jeanneret, consists of just 12 main prefabricated panels light enough to be manually transported. Once on location, the panels lock together to resist wind, snow, and cold. The tiny barrel-shaped structure sleeps up to 10 people and while it was never constructed in Perriand’s lifetime it was just one of her many designs created for the masses.
In 1934, after 7 years working with Le Corbusier, Perriand began a five-year study of minimal shelters, like the prefab aluminum Bivouac refuge and the affordable, elegant prefab “House at the Water’s Edge”. Hoping to improve upon her easily-transportable, aluminum Bivouac shelter she found inspiration in the merry-go-round. Counting on the dodecagon shape’s ability to withstand strong centrifugal loads (and high winds), she made it the basis for her Refuge Tonneau.
All her tiny shelters were works of studied elimination. “Her mission was to eliminate anything unnecessary,” explains her daughter Pernette Perriand-Barsac, “but always to concentrate on the flow of light and air. Then you can live in the smallest of spaces.” Sébastien Cherruet gave us a tour of Perriand’s minimal structures and apartment design at the Louis Vuitton Foundation’s exhibit he curated: “Charlotte Perriand: Inventing a New World”.
Fast Food: ‘How Much It Costs To Open An Arby’s’
Arby’s is one of America’s favorite fast food sandwich chains. They “have the meats,” according to award-winning actor Ving Rhames’ voice in the brand’s iconic commercials.
Arby’s has been known for its roast beef sandwiches since Leroy and Forrest Raffel opened the first Arby’s in 1964. They wanted to stand out in a sea of burger joints by offering something different: roast beef. They later added cheddar cheese sauce, red onion, and a toasted onion roll to the sandwich in 1978.
Flash forward, and Arby’s has started selling its famous meats by the pound. The fast food-chain also adds limited-time options to attract a variety of customers, such as an upgraded prime rib sandwich, and chicken cheddar ranch sandwich.
Today, Arby’s clearly wants to be seen as more than the place with roast beef. In fact, a campaign was launched called “Head of Sandwiches,” the main purpose of which was to promote the other sandwich options available at Arby’s. The campaign has been successful in attracting a younger consumer into the restaurant, according to Forbes.
Arby’s is currently owned by one of the largest restaurant companies in the U.S., Inspire Brands. In addition to Arby’s, Inspire Brands also owns Sonic, Buffalo Wild Wings, and Jimmy John’s. All combined, there are more than 11,000 restaurants, 1,400 franchisees, and $14.6 billion in system sales within the group, according to the company. Inspire Brands has recently filed trademarks for names of possible ghost kitchens which would offer delivery and takeout only a move that could put them ahead of several quick service chains.
If all this sounds enticing, here’s what you’ll need: The Arby’s team expects all franchise candidates to have extensive multi-unit restaurant operator experience, as well as a desire to open multiple Arby’s locations. You’ll also need a minimum of $500,000 in liquid capital, and a net worth of at least $1 million. Breaking it down further, according to Franchise Gator, Arby’s initial license fee is $37,500 for the first restaurant unit, and $25,000 for each additional store. Royalty fees are an additional 4 percent of gross sales. National and local advertising are additional fees 1.2 and 3 percent of gross sales respectively. Still on board?
Let’s keep going. Arby’s president Jim Taylor recently addressed 700 Arby’s franchisees, telling them, How is Arby’s innovating? Remember the pork belly sandwich, or the marrot, Arby’s meat carrot? Arby’s was also one of the first fast food chains to say it would never serve plant-based meat, according to Food & Wine. Still on the fence? Let’s look at a few more details about Arby’s.
As a franchisee of any corporation, what other franchisees do can trickle down to your stores. While you may own your own restaurants, you are still part of a big family. Arby’s ordered the franchisee to remove the sign and publicly issued an apology — but perhaps the PR damage was done. Which brings us to our next point to consider. Could it be better to open your own independent restaurant in lieu of a franchise? There are pros and cons to both scenarios.
As a franchisee, you benefit from branding, training, marketing, and ingredient sourcing, but also pay fees and royalties, lose some control as an owner, and are subject to scrutiny by the franchise. As an independent owner, you can control your own brand, marketing, menu, and hours, but you also start with no brand recognition, resources, training, or access to suppliers. So what did you decide?
If you’re interested in peddling those famous Arby’s meats, alongside the popular, perfectly seasoned curly fries, submit a franchise application online at Arby’s. Keep watching to see Here’s How Much It Really Costs To Open An Arby’s Franchise.
Tech: ‘Why Electric Cars Took So Long To Develop’
Electric cars have been around since the mid 19th century… So why didn’t they catch on sooner? Telegraph motoring journalist Paul Hudson explains the long journey EVs have gone through, from almost extinction in postwar Britain, up to present day and their pivotal role in the future of driving. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/advi..
Boomers Daily 