Tag Archives: Disney

May 8, 2025 · 10:11

In memoriam

I saw the stage unfold and I am still seeing the downfall of Florida, but the UAE just added the cherry flavored candy coating to that obituary. This was always going to happen, but two elements added to this evolutionary accelerated game. First there was Governor DeSantis who (seemingly) anti-Woke decided to give Disney a run for its money in all kinds of anti settings. I do not know all the details, but they are there. As such there was a diminished setting for tourism setting the destination to Florida. No matter how great the Epic Universe looks (and it looks beyond amazing for what I can see on YouTube), the stage was set. Then we get this whatever he calls himself in the White House playing the tariff game and impeding tourism in America (as I personally see it) and the busk of all Canadian are looking for another destination (plenty of Europeans too), so that is stage 1. The diminished interest in Florida, and even if you think that is not enough (and it isn’t), the UAE and Disney create a bond which will get Disney World to Abu Dhabi on (you guessed it) Yas Island. It will be sitting next to Warner Brothers World, Ferrari World, Water World and Sea World. When Disney opens its doors the setting of Stage 2 is achieved. 

Universal and Disney which was able to keep tourism in Florida will be setting a larger exodus of Tourism towards the UAE. It makes sense that Disney wanted to get in on the Emirati business, it they had not gotten there, others would have. So the business setting was clear and I saw this evolve over a year ago (minus the Disney part). 

I even set that stage in the article (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2024/01/25/those-happy-dreams/) where I wrote ‘Those happy dreams’ at that point I saw that tourism would be a larger setting and the service call to that pool of people had to be serviced differently. An overhaul of tourist serviceability through a customer care setting, in stead of a sales setting (which had been the focal point of many). With Saudi Arabia and its NEOM settings and now an even larger setting in Abu Dhabi warrants that change. I reckon that this might be a call upon Miral Experiences LLC to evolve their systems and make an Arabic solution which could also be deployed all over Saudi Arabia, an (optionally) c connected system that gives the tourist 110% of what others give them without impeding their own costs, optionally dwindling down some costs and making a system more efficient towards the tourist industry. When that is achieved other locations would follow. 

So now only will Florida not survive the outcome of all this, but it will evolve the settings for the UAE immensely. As such we could even see additional growth. And with the bullet train going from Dubai to Abu Dhabi, this high-speed train will enable individuals to travel in just 30 minutes, reaching speeds of up to 350 km/h. My sneaky brain even came up with a second train that leaves at 07:00 from Dubai, getting them ready to party in Abu Dhabi. The NM95 (painted in the Hogwarts Express colors) with NM meaning Non-Muggle and 95 being the square of 9 3/4 (ok, I did a little rounding, but 95.0625 might be a little weird on a train). So when these people depart from Dubai, in a Harry Potter (or fantastic beasts) themed train, the vacation merely goes with them on a journey. A setting where people take one week in Abu Dhabi and the second week in Dubai, with the non-tax setting of the UAE, a family buying iPhones for mum, dad and junior, the savings there pretty much enables that trip. I reckon that the UAE will be cleaning house in American tourism for years. And the stage that the BBC gives us (at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdrgr2zzv00o) ‘Disney to open theme park in the Middle East’ a mere 8 hours ago will have hidden treasures for the UAE as a whole. Disney might still be grabbing their 30%, but the larger cake with be for Miral Experiences LLC and the UAE. And with the quote “It added that 120 million passengers travel through Abu Dhabi and Dubai every year, making the Emirates the biggest global airline hub in the world.” I reckon that it will grow much closer to 150,000,000 soon thereafter. 

You see, with the Harry Potter world added to Warner Brothers (somewhere in 2026) and Disney coming after that, I reckon that anyone who faced fears over the Tumpisms of tariffs and other shenanigans will see Yas Islands with its amazing mall, and theme parks and on 4-7 Dec 2025 the Formula one as well, Abu Dhabi will be the place to be starting this year. So if they evolve tourism services in the UAE, Florida is pretty much done for, as such I see a speculated ‘In Memoriam’ appear in global newspaper in the near future. And I (yet again) got here a year early. I’ll be honest, I never knew that Disney was on route, but it made sense that they would come this way. And I reckon that there is another setting. You see, the amount of power required for Yas Island might in the nearest of futures require its own small nuclear powered reactor soon enough. Abu Dhabi (as I personally see it) already required it, but a Disney resort might make that a essential thing. It would probably fuel Abu Dhabi and Dubai, so something half way makes sense.

I reckon that the spaciousness of Abu Dhabi and Yas Island would fuel the need for growing the mall as well as place 1-2 hotels in that mall as well. 

A simple setting that President Trump overlooked when he started to play the tariff war. Now that the world has had enough of it, they are seeking another destination, the world sees a large neon sign stating “نحن هنا” (I’ll let you figure that one out). A setting comes an essential solution to a lot of tourists and the UAE is almost ready to provide. With the tax breaks that the UAE offers (Apple now has a new destination for its superiorly build iPhones), tourism in Dubai will fuel Abu Dhabi and Abu Dhabi will fuel the need to see Dubai. Both profiting and people get a new stage that they haven’t seen before. As I see it all winners. OK, America will sulk like a little girl but they basically put this on themselves.

Have a great day muggles, try the liquorices wands if you can, if not, there is always coffee.

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May 4, 2025 · 03:24

The nature of things

It was about to weeks ago that I wrote ‘Regarding that joke’ (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2025/04/19/regarding-that-joke/). In that article I wrote “A setting we all saw coming (even though the media seems to ignore this and merely keeps on shouting tax the rich) and the interested parties who are supposed to keep the people informed are merely shouting that Haley Joel Osment was intoxicated instead of working on the news, the media is pretty much on the discarded bundle of wannabe news”, as well as “As one source told me (and others) “China could theoretically weaponise the US Treasury holdings – by dumping it – meaning that it would sell off treasury holdings for less than they are worth. By doing so, China would then, because of the amount it owns, devalue the US dollar” so what happens when the dollar gets devaluated to this degree?” That was two weeks ago. In the meantime “Trump had demanded of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba that Japan eliminate its $70 billion trade surplus with the US. He claimed it would be easy. He repeated the demand during April 16 negotiations in DC. In response to all this, Japan tried to placate Trump, refused to cooperate with other nations suffering similar abuse, and asked for special exemptions for Japan at the expense of others. In fact, one of the reasons Trump chose Japan for the first round of trade talks was his belief that Tokyo would cave within a few weeks, thereby inducing others to do likewise.” (Source: several). Yesterday I thought I saw water burn (which is pretty freaky to say the least). Axios (merely one source) gives us ‘Japanese finance minister says selling U.S. bonds a “card on the table”’ with the yowza response “Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato said Friday that the country’s $1.13 trillion in Treasury holdings were a “card on the table” in trade talks, The Associated Press reported.” Talking about the tiger that feeds himself with your hand, and the added text becomes “Japan is one of the five largest U.S. trading partners, as well as a rock-solid ally in the region, so there was some surprise when the U.S. hit the country with a 24% reciprocal tariff in early April.” And now Japan puts the US bonds they have on the table and with more than one trillion in hand they could flood the market and push the dollar straight over the edge. If that happens no run on the bank will save people and America cannot come up with that much money to feed the hungry vultures, as such America now has a massive problem and it is not China pushing the cart, it is Japan itself who will not go gently into that good night. So on one hand we see “As U.S. Treasuries sold off last month and yields spiked, there was speculation foreign governments might be dumping bonds”, as well as “J.P. Morgan Private Bank, in a research note last week, said there were signs of foreign selling pressure, but from private holders, as opposed to governments “weaponizing” their holdings” which is fun as my blog article preceded the two by one week, so its not merely a sign of the day time reference, the planet moved 89,292 kilometers in the time that lapsed between me writing the blog and J.P. Morgan Private Bank coming to that same conclusion (it’s actually nice to use NASA metrics to make a case). All that and AP News giving us (at https://apnews.com/article/japan-treasurys-trump-tariffs-44b9b37bf7a290701201322f69bade2e) yesterday ““It does exist as a card, but I think whether we choose to use it or not would be a separate decision,” Kato said during a news show on national broadcaster TV Tokyo. Kato did not elaborate and he did not say Japan would step up sales of its holdings of U.S. government bonds as part of its talks over President Donald Trump’s tariffs on exports from Japan.”” The words from Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato to live by I say and when you combine this with the article I wrote two days ago (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2025/05/02/saudi-arabia-goes-hiragana/) ‘Saudi Arabia goes Hiragana’ where we see that Japan basically has a way out to prevents its economy to become scuttled as well. As such the noose around its economical neck is diverted to a working solution. As I see it, America now gets that additional noose around its neck to double the efforts of the economy strangling itself (what a security measure). 

As the grand vizier of Agrabah (in Aladdin) states “The idea has merit”, get economical advice from a Disney character? Oh, kill me now (I is havening to be laughing out loud at present) or as Monty Python states: ‘Howls of deriving laughter’ are mine and the tears are falling over my cheeks. I haven’t laughed this hard since my fathers funeral.

So this must be the most original way that a politician ever shoot its own foot

Americans might not be laughing as this is actually is devastatingly serious. The (as some call it) bully tactics are now starting to bite back and the bigwigs in Wall Street will be seriously moving assets with an additional passports to zero tax nations, perhaps one that also doesn’t have an extradition treaty with America. So if any of those get plane tickets out of America (people like Jerome Powell or Alan Greenspan), you get the idea. When people take that move, the setting is all over for America, there will be no more moves to make. And these people have been ‘diversifying’ their income for decades. They moved small amounts around the planet and they could survive on their millions and they might vacate their consultancy firm from Davos in the Desert to Davos, Switzerland (a mere example). So they were ready from the get go and with this situation they might have larger consultancy jobs in several nations (including Switzerland, Monaco and the UAE). So these people will just vacate Idiotville as some call it (that place between Canada and Mexico) as quick as their Beechcraft Premier can carry them. No lines, no waiting.

So, will Japan do this? I reckon it will depend on who controls President Trump, because as I see it, the man is basically a loose canon at present and with that level of knee jerks the financial world is pretty hesitant and frightened on what he might do next. That’s is basically what I personally see.

A setting that is a lot less nice than my weird personal dream I had on Friday involving a mall, a coffeeshop and me meeting Matt Damon and Ridley Scott (seeking a replacement voice for someone with a perfect Dutch accent), the weird snoozes and snores I tend to have.

The nature off things that we embrace, some will walk the path away from bully tactics, some are on the market for having financial independence and some are about getting out of the line of fire (or a location about to get carpet bombed). Whatever we do, we look out for number one (ourselves) and optionally (read: preferably)with improved comfort levels. What that is tends to differ from person to person and in the words of the great man Tony Curtis (Operation Petticoat) “In confusion, there is profit” a very acceptable stage for a lot of people with a calculating nature. 

So have a great day and enjoy your coffee today (I had mine with a cookie this morning).

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April 16, 2025 · 05:43

Mislabelled fear

That is what I saw when I took notice of the news in the Guardian called ‘US’s $2.36tn tourism business fears ‘Trump slump’ over tariff turmoil’ (at https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/15/trump-tariffs-tourism-business) we might look at “Warnings emerge even as effect of economic and political turbulence on the foreign visitors to the US is hard to define” I disagree, you see, slices from UK (69 million), Australia (26 million), New Zealand (5 million) are now avoiding America mainly because of the Canada (51st state) issue. We took offense and even as I yearn to see the Epic Universe, I have decided that if I do get to pick a vacation, I will choose Warner Brothers Abu Dhabi over Orlando. I know that Warner Brothers will still see my money, but in this case 70% will go to Miral, a United Arab Emirates operator. In that same trend many will seek out Euro Disney, Parks in Tokyo and a few other places. And this is not for a mere year, this is for the duration of the Trump administration. Some insults are just a little too much to bear. Oh, and the Canadians with their 40 million people are also avoiding America. I didn’t think that it amounted to 5%-10% of $2.36tn but that could be because America insulted a little more than just the Commonwealth setting. Perhaps others see the weak American setting, perhaps the stage of the Ukraine is equally as upsetting as the Commonwealth setting. America has been kicking the wrong legs, just as interest payments of a 36 trillion dollar debt is due, America loses a lot more income. As such there is nothing that is hard to define, it is the cost of doing business and that part is becoming increasingly hard. 

So this fear is mislabeled, the proper labelling is seen as the price of insulting people, the price of neglecting people and as we see Europe taking additional steps like the fear of espionage on their people by Americans, we need to see that this will take years to undo, especially as Orlando just launched the biggest park in human history, 110 acres (45 ha) in the park itself and the overall size is 750 acres (300 ha), which comes at a cost of $7.7 billion to build, which is stated to be one of the largest and most expensive theme parks in history. Now consider what it takes to get this going, the hotels, the retail stores staff and such costing a bundle in its own right. So as we see the $2.36tn and the 10% lessened revenue and a slice is on that part. Epic Universe will do ok, because it will have millions of Americans wanting to see this place, and the use of influencers was well played, they all showed a place that nearly everyone wants to see. As such the lessened revenue will be felt all over America. Because those wanting to see Epic Universe will take their share from the other places. And that is merely one place. A mere fortnight ago we were told “Several nations issued travel warnings about potential safety risks in America, including Japan, Australia and Canada” others will take notice and that is the larger setting for America for now. So what will Comcast Corp. do? Put it all in a bad bank mortgage and loan and write it off? That would be the economic player will do, as such America will lose a hell of a lot of taxation these several years. Another part of the equation shown in a simple setting. What will happen? That is not for me to tell. But that is the setting that the Guardian is seemingly overlooking. 

So as we are given “Warnings that international tourism to the US could be hit by Donald Trump’s effort to re-engineer economic and political relations with the rest of the world are slowly emerging.” With an added “The Las Vegas Visitors and Convention Authority said last week it was projecting a 5% decline in room tax revenue for its upcoming budget – a decline that may reflect Trump’s trade disputes with Canada and Mexico. Those countries account for 2.6 million visitors to sin city, or half of international travel trade.” As such these two countries account for half the international trade? It seems that America created its own downfall, as I personally see it. And as we see the trend evolve, we need to understand that next year that trend will continue and as Europe, the Commonwealth and others will seek other paths to joy like Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Paris (EuroDisney), London,  Beijing, Tokyo and other places, the losses for America will add and add. 

They wanted to overwhelm the tourist industry and due to political pressures, they merely shown the other places that they might be more desirable. As such, the problem wasn’t hard to define, the Americans merely needed to look into themselves and the problem will exasperate. Consider these places and how they rely on international students to get cheap labour, as the BBC reported last week “Marco Rubio says US revoked at least 300 foreign students’ visas”, and that will have a trickle effect on those still seeking international student visas, they are more likely to seek education from other, non-US places. And the top 50 of universities has plenty of offers on the table for its pending international students. This might seem little, but plenty of business rely on the next batch of international students. So as you are sitting in a theme park hoping for a quick coffee, think again, they might be down a number of staff members because this is a short term impact, the term of summer and that is about to hit all the places that rely on the new batch of international students and with them gone their hiring approach needs to change fast. 

All these elements can be foreseen, but are these places taking notice? America is going through huge changes at present and that place is not ready to face the serious impact of the political pressures they tried to set to other nations. These nations are now retaliating in other ways and Canada seeking other location, other drinks and other choices was a mere first step. With Europe joining their homegrown defense spending, America will lose more and more. All this I put in my blog over the last 3-5 years. Even without President Trump the signs were clear, now they are merely escalating revenue losses and that is impacting America in a few ways. Tourism is merely the latter step, but this is the more visible one. It trickles down to nearly every level of the population, still, that might prove fruitful for people who had been unable to find a job. Still the report of a loss of $118B – $236B is not nothing, add to that lessened defense spending and the people not coming now, will hit tourism the clearest, but this loss will go into nearly very level of the American industry and that impacts small businesses a lot more than foreseen. 

This is merely my view on the matter, but I have been writing on these dangers for some time. Have a great day.

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March 28, 2025 · 01:36

The old frame of thought

Today I had a small meeting (read: presentation to watch) and I got struck with an idea that would give that person 10,000 customers. She hadn’t thought of it, so now she has a new focus on clients. If she can solve one idea, she will have access to millions of users. That is all I have to say about that. You see this evening I was brooding (like I usually do) and I suddenly thought of an old idea. I haven’t seen anyone using this setting in today’s world and I had to giggle. You see, perhaps some have thought of the idea, but I had worked it out. And it is no longer a focus of mine. It is perhaps my weakness. I like to work out puzzles. When I have solved it the drive slows in me, it becomes a typing exercise and that is not what I am about.

The original idea (and it was programmed) in Clipper. A DBA’s faithful companion, the Nantucket Clipper compiler. And it was something I revered doing. So what was the puzzle. In the Netherlands, pub owners need to pay BTW (their version of VAT) over all the drinks they sell. A such I took a different path. You see, a bottle of booze is a known amount, each bottle represents X amount of drinks. And over the quarter they represent a set amount of VAT. As such I went with the setting of every bottle. Now to make the calculation, 17 drinks of spirits go out of a 750ML bottle. Now a bar gets their delivery of certain amount of booze. That ticket gets implemented in the system and you know what is due, now at the end of the quarter you do a stocktake and we get drinks minus stock equals VAT due. There was a second upside in this. As you get the list per brand, should the staff steal and ‘replace’ a few bottles. The equation sees that and you know you have a problem. 

So as the proprietor enters each receipt duly when it arrives, they would know ahead of time what is due and you won’t need an accountant to make the calculations, you merely hand over the printout and the setting is known. As such I made the program and that proprietor saved himself hundreds of dollars on accountant costs every quarter. In addition that you get a nice setting of revenue streams and you know where your settings are. So feel free to use this idea and get additional income streams. I did it decades ago and it is no longer interesting to me. I have other fries to fry. 

I just saw another puzzle, but as I am no longer a programmer, I might place it here is a few days (or I might hand it over to someone I like). Life is all about balancing points. So as I am listening to David Sylvian, I might brood a little more. Most likely on the setting I presented a few days ago (might have been a week) on the application of Eki stamps outside of Japan in all manners (I made a theme park mention) and I also made mention on another setting of Disney park and personal amateur video settings. For some reason my mind goes back to that, there seems to be more there. It seems that my mind is trying to alert me to unseen stuff. Not sure yet what to make of that, but I’ll work it out somehow. 

At present there is a gap from what I see and what I am missing, but there is enough time. At least I have given Amazon, Google and Microsoft a run for their money and they seem to come up short. Not really my problem, my mind keeps on creating, so off I go with a sample of snoring partially through the night. If I only could see what my mind is trying to tell me. Ah well. Such is life. So feel free to mould the idea I had decades ago into something you can sell. It is all yours.

Have a great day, i’ll be brooding a little while longer.

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March 7, 2025 · 02:10

True to the old word

The ‘old’ saying is “Where are idiots grouped”, the answer is “Usually between Canada and Mexico”, I don’t completely agree as politicians are for the most to some degree a global problem. But you get the gist of the matter. It gets to be funnier as we look at the numbers on Fentanyl smuggling where 86.4% of the convictions are US citizens. Take that and the anger from Canadian people (regarding the 51st state) and we have ourselves a clambake. And that is getting more traction now. The setting has gone viral as many places (I am reluctant to hide behind the operative word ‘all’) have removed America booze from the shopping racks (example: LCBO). For others (Australia) it could be seen as good news as Bundaberg Rum might grace the stalls of these shops, UK already had their gin setting, but that could grow a lot more now that brands like American Gin are removed (sorry Mr. Reynolds) as well, and the removal of several Vodka brands will be good news for Sweden. The branding marks will currently see a shift in consumer ‘appreciation’ as over $20,000,000,000 is removed from America’s branding. I reckon that soon others will see places like Coca Cola will soon also have an impact. Then there is tourism, that ship still under investigation might also see impacts. I think that the numbers for the tourist operators (like Disney, Warner Brothers and Universal) might see a bad summer coming. I don’t think that they have a large dip as they were seemingly over capacitated, but there will be an impact. As such the estimated impact from Canada on Fentanyl is getting a weird impact. According to some, the In the first 10 months of 2024, the Canadian border service reported seizing 10.8lb (4.9kg) of fentanyl entering from the US, while US Border Patrol intercepted 32.1lb (14.6kg) of fentanyl coming from Canada. And if the NPR is to be believed that joke has a nasty sting as in 2024, only about 43 pounds of fentanyl was seized at America’s northern border. That compares with roughly 21,100 pounds seized at the southern border. So the difference of this implies that the 43 pounds of substance caught on the Canadian side amounts to a mere 0.002 of the actual problem and that is now costing America an additional $20B plus change and commission. So how does that go over with Wall Street? So in a short moment, Alcohol, Tourism and retail is impacted in America. If we can believe Doug Ford (Premier of Ontario) has given the headline ‘Ontario premier Doug Ford cancels $100-million Starlink contract’, it becomes a comedy should Huawei fill that gap. So how is that Trump ego going at present? As Canadian tourists generated $20.5 billion in spending and supported 140,000 American jobs last year. They could see an optional 40% drop at present, I personally believe that this could be as much as 60% in an area where spend was 20% down from pre-Covid settings. And others are taking notice Especially the UK, Australia and New Zealand. They might not amount to much, but they do have an impact. I for one had dreamt (I have silly dreams) of seeing Universal Orlando once, but at present I will chose Abu Dhabi over USA. Warner Brothers would still see my money, but where in America my contribution would be close to 100%, In Abu Dhabi they merely fetch 30% of my money and the rest is all for Miral Experiences L.L.C. As such I become an asset feed to Julien Kauffmann. And consider I am merely one person, now consider that 40% of the commonwealth sees this the same way? How much damage did President Trump do to his own economy? If he was the King of Australia I would advice the board of Governors in Australia to muzzle him. This typically refers to the Reserve Bank Board, which oversees the monetary policy of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and is made up of the Governor (currently Michele Bullock), Deputy Governor, and other appointed members. So, what did Wall Street duo to reign in this level of idiocy? (Just to coin a phrase). 

So, as we realize that over the course of Rome’s long history, taxation was frequently a source of outrage and grief. Indeed there is a basic lesson to be learned from Roman history, namely that people did not like paying taxes they found unjust. And this setting comes from 357AD. As such it is over 1700 years old. Even Julius Caesar, according to the historian Ammianus Marcellinus “declared that he would rather lose his life than allow it to be done. For he knew that the incurable wounds of such arrangements, or rather derangements had often driven provinces to extreme poverty.” So President Trump (and his advisors) had examples coming from history and now the stone is set and Beijing announced retaliatory tariffs of 10-15%, starting 10 February, on various US imports, including coal, crude oil and large cars. (Source: BBC) and that has larger repercussions. Huawei is sensing blood in the water and at present they are ‘arming’ their devices with Linux (I reckon for Europe and other places). People might not ‘go’ for HarmonyOS at present but they now have a foot in the door and with a linux setting they could get into the Commonwealth to a larger degree (Canada included) as America now has to prove that there is an actual danger (which they never did). And only yesterday ‘Huawei Unveils Latest Suite of Intelligent Campus Solutions to Accelerate Intelligent Campus 2.0 Development’ that is the business opening to more. By providing high-quality 10 Gbps network experiences, it accelerates the digital transformation of enterprises across various sectors. No American solution got this close before (only on leaflets as far as I could tell). So whilst Huawei was stated to look out for what was coming, they opened the door to a juicy steak for all the greed hungry entrepreneurs sailing the global waters and they will get their grain. With ‘Intelligent Stadium Solution: Redefining Sports Venues’ they stand to win the hearts over in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, including people in Glasgow (2026), 2027 Cricket World Cup (South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia),  French Alps (2030), 2031 Cricket World Cup (India and Bangladesh) and Brisbane (2032). So when you add that up, how much of the world stage will Huawei capture? And China will be there to laugh out loud, especially as America NEVER showed any evidence and that has been voiced by Germany more than once. 

So how stupid was starting a trade war founded on tariffs and based on a ludicrous setting whilst Canada was a mere 0.002 of the actual problem? Oh, for desert we get the quote we were fed less than 10 minutes ago (source: USA Today) ‘Canadian province leader threatens to cut off energy to 3 US states, imposes 25% surcharge’ and I suggest that the MAGA fans in Michigan, Minnesota, and New York find a good hiding spot, because when that energy block comes through a lot of people will curse the day President Trump was reelected for some time. And then there is the energy coming at +25%, so how much energy does New York need?

Have a great day and happy trails to Bundaberg Rum as they now have an open door to an optional 40 million additional consumers.

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February 3, 2025 · 22:05

The edge of imagination 

That where we are at times. We all are and some use it to fuel the idea they have. We can speculate all we want, but there are words that the Star Trek Communicator fueled the concept of the mobile phone (don’t know if it is). Then later on the Star Trek Pad (TNG) was the base for the Kindle and also the iPad. We can deny, we can be offended. But the truth of the matter is that any innovation required a group of people thinking in the same way, that is how innovation starts. When the thoughts of this are set to a base, the base grows and the concept becomes a real thing. I have always believed that to be true. So whilst we think that all inventions are in the trend of Oppenheimer that person is not completely wrong, because the imaginations comes from whomever employs it, but usually it take a nudge. The iPad and mobile phone being clear examples of that. There were some bad examples (losers trying to fraud their way through) but they get found out soon enough and now we see medical devices on the same Trent as the losers were, but these people imagined the solution though. They went the additional step.

This is the foundation, now consider that DisneyWorld has the ride Rise of the resistance and galaxy’s edge. We know Star Wars and that is fine, but these two places in the eyes of a child will boost that child’s imagination and that is where the setting changes. That child could be there seeing the life sized version of a Tie fighter and that thought will remain with the child and in 15 years the concept of something he did not realize becomes reality, true innovation. What it is? I don’t know, not my thoughts. I merely thought of Newt Scamander in the series fantastic beasts and I came up with giggle water. A drink in the movie magic based, but the drink could be real. I set that out in a blog around when that movie came out. You see we have all kinds of fuzzy drinks. So what happens when you add Nitrogen (laughing gas) to the syrup that will contain the nitrous oxide and with the added liquid (most likely water, or fruit juice) we now have giggle water. Of course as it is ‘regulated’ all over the place someone in that field would have to tinker with my idea. But can you ignore a fan fleet of millions when it comes to any new drink? Only Coca Cola started with nothing. There is a whole fleet of people now in range and in the Harry Potter field everyone is going nuts about butter beer. Can you imagine having the one good no one else has? 

Did anyone else consider this? Possibly, but they might not have heard of laughing gas, it was discontinued when better alternatives were found, but that doesn’t make the idea useless, it can be applied to other fields. Innovation is the combination of thoughts and imagination and the one solving it has a future ahead. I think I had my fair share of innovations and more are coming. To get into a field I am not even qualified is folly. To be true, I was not qualified in the field of nuclear ‘solutions’ either. But someone had to deal with Iran (and now Russia as well). As such I started a thought that could be interesting. As such I figured that as Russia has 38 reactors, when half a dozen melt down they will end up having a massive energy problem. Simple problem, simple solution and when you consider that a snow globe drove this idea, you can see that innovation can be found anywhere. 

This led me to the setting that America gave us all. The trade wars. Now America has plenty but not all in America. You see Disney is also in Europe, Universal is also win the UAE. So if all people of the commonwealth denounce their visit to America and chose these two other locations America will soon have a new problem. So what if we all disregard America as a destination for the next two years? Disney reported an annual revenue of $88.898B, they beat expectations by a mere 7%, so what if all in the commonwealth and Europe select other places and now Disney falls short for 50%? and Universal is doing equally good, that is until President Trump pulled the rug from under them. You see I like Theme parks, but if I can enjoy another one I would like it to be outside of America. I am a member of the Commonwealth and be decided to blame Canada and Mexico for their own irresponsible spending. As such The Dutch has the Efteling, Harry Potter can be found in London, Japan and soon the UAE (Warner Brothers Theme park) and several other parks are there all over the world. Saudi Arabia will soon have the alternative to Aspen and Utah, Canada has Whistler and Blue Mountains in Ontario and a such there is every chance that they could all get more Mexicans. President Trump did not really consider that, did he? In that same setting Universal (before covid) had 5.5 million tourists, so what happens when that slows down to less then 3 million, how long until Orlando has a massive budget problem? How long until businesses collapse due to a stupid idea that seemingly only President Trump likes. How long until the America economy goes below sustainable (I believe it is on the line now) measures that collapses the larger companies is slicing whatever they have?

Innovation comes in all sizes and directions. So when will we see a webpage with a connected database mapping all theme parks on the world so that people from the Commonwealth and Europe can seek alternative travel arrangements? Consider that Saudi Arabia and the UAE have done nearly all to become the better solution for tourism. Their airports are top node and their theme parks are too. Warner Brothers will still syphon some funds to America, but it is meager pickings for the yanks as their theme parks are on the edge of shutting down. 

That is the other side of innovation, making sure that America dwindles down to nothing. You see, there is a down side to Trade Wars. This is merely one side of this, there are a few others but I reckon the Canadians are already on that part.

As I see it, the stupid side of this world can be found between Canada and Mexico. And they are finding out that there is a cost to electing the wrong president (not sure if the other party had a real contender)

So have a nice day and consider the chance that you yourself have an idea that could be innovative, there is 100% certainty that I am not the only one and innovations can be found in any field, it merely needs fuel and imagination is the best fuel.

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November 6, 2024 · 15:45

As ideas come

That happens. We all have (at times) the idea that you wonder why no one else had thought of it. It might have been so, but in the meantime I just wonder what happened to the idea. You see, retail is all about making a splash, yet the larger setting is that they never tend to think long term and that what gave me the idea. I was looking at a YouTube video by some lady who is stark raving bonkers about the Disney and Universal theme parks. In this bonkers is not a negative term. She goes on and on about the great options that these places have. Like for one the monorail that goes around all the parks. I never knew that and today about easter eggs all over the Universal theme park. At some point she was showing some stuff and I started to wonder a few things. You see, we all observe and take delight in (some of us do) the Halloween and Christmas settings of these places. Yet no one considered the creative vibes that kids have. Now consider any Disney or Universal stage and in this stage we use fridge magnets. A simple enough setting. Yet the larger stage is ignored. What if there is a range of A3 based stage screens (like a piece of paper), but these are not merely pieces of paper, they are coated stage screens (like the ship of Captain Hook) and on this we place the magnets, like Peter Pan, Goofy, Tiktok (the crocodile), Mickey and a whole range of other options. Now that we have a set these people (mostly kids) can make their own version of stop animation with a mobile, or merely hand operated movements. Universal has its own pieces (like Hogwarts and the people there) or perhaps Trolls, Minions or Popeye. Now consider that these people can cross match any story with their magnets and create their own story. Soon we will see that Universal and Disney will grow their own kind of Youtube/Tiktok settings where the makers can create their own story and share them with others. They optionally learn about stop animation and as such they all grow in creativity. 

There is no need to grow a massive battery of merchandise. Each season (Easter, Summer, Halloween, Christmas) they would release 1-2 stage placemats, optionally they would be placemats that get a secondary function and as such these makers have more stages to work with. They would also introduce fridge magnets to characters and every season a few more. This doesn’t happen overnight but with a start we optionally see more creativity from the visitors (or people visiting any store globally). That gives us a new focus and the parents will like the idea of a not so expensive hobby to exploit creativity with.

I seen some fridge magnets, but I haven’t seen anyone taking that to the next level. And in this day and age, any loyalty created tends to have a long term impact. So why wasn’t this done? Perhaps it was done in the past but with mobiles the way they are now, no one seems to have revisited that idea. There is even an options that Universal could use that certain items are only there on Halloween (optionally bought online as well, but for the term of the Halloween dates). I think that this has options. Consider that fridge magnets are already there. There is no reason to think that they cannot be used with another setting. And consider the placemat, get a negative sheet below this and it could have serious revenue options for either and that is not merely the end of it. The Dutch have the Efteling and they to could profit from their own setting. If awareness drives revenue, then this awareness have been ignored for the longest of times. That is what I think and believe. By the way the Dutch (perhaps the Belgiums too) have the feast of St. Nicholas (December 5th), another stage where we might see global appeal. Disney has a lot more options when it comes to characters, and they could have an annual focus (like Aladdin, 101 Dalmatians and so on). I saw several Hero 6 magnets and no one took this to that next level, why not? Then there is the option that both (Universal and Disney) could invite an animator once a year to make a video that all could download and take learning from that. A setting that might work (no guarantees), but in this day and age where everyone is so obsessed with revenue that this long term path is ignored? Consider that thousands of creators give voice to creativity and no one drills into that well? Perhaps I am wrong, but I believe that to get something you need to relinquish something and that idea sprouts revenue in all kids of ways, and here there is no “I come first”, the buyer will see through that and a shared setting is a setting all with enjoy when the results are harvested. That is just my view one the matter.

So, lets get these makers get working so that we see creators creating. 

Have a fun day.

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October 23, 2024 · 06:14

The tightening belt

What I foresaw is now coming to pass in more than one way. ECNS China gives us ‘Saudi Arabia aims to attract up to 5 million Chinese tourists by 2030’ there was always a shift coming and as we see it, Saudi Arabia becomes more and more driven to see what the Chinese markets can deliver. We saw this last week in the Saudi Tourism Festival held in Beijing on Oct 17, 2024. We are given “Saudi Minister of Tourism and Chairman of the Saudi Tourism Authority Ahmed Al-Khateeb said that Saudi Arabia is China-ready and welcomes all Chinese travellers with increased connectivity, customised products and strategic partnerships.” Now some of you will respond with ‘so what?’ And that might be fair in one way. But this number represents a much larger issue. As I see it, one third is goal driven tourism. People will decide on Saudi Arabia as a destination for a job, or as a cheap tourism destination. Two third will go as tourist with optional goals, but these three million tourists will go to Saudi Arabia and not to their ‘normal’ destinations. That will show in diminished numbers all over Europe (France, England, Spain and Italy) and America. These people will also attract optional tourists who will change their initial destination. The other 2 million will optionally retrench their optional ‘cheap labor’ destination from Australia and places like the Netherlands, Belgium and the nordic countries. You will think that it does not matter, but consider all these coffee places that ‘allowed’ for these people, optionally in other areas too. They will come short of their usual numbers. These tourists also spend all they earn in that country. As such there will be a shift, an initial shift that seems small but could grow over time. These 5 million will spend their money somewhere else (in Saudi Arabia) and that facilitates to more, it always does. You might not think much of this, but the Saudi job market is booming. There are (allegedly) at present a little over 10,000 jobs outstanding. A fair deal are out reach of a lot of them, but consider this job “Digital Marketing Specialist. Average Salary: SAR 9,500-35,000 per month” and consider that they have the Beijing University of Technology and over a dozen more universities where these young crackers would like to see options in their first 2 years. They have just graduated University, they have spend almost every waking hour working on digital solutions like TikTok, broadcast experience and on the other hand we see places like Huawei making waves in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. These two places will see an increase of Chinese workers with an option to fulfil their dream a lot faster, so yes, Saudi Arabia will become a swing location for these people. All options that are shutting doors on Europe, Australia and America. 

We are also given “the country is preparing to launch its winter season tourism attractions, which will provide a range of experiences filled with entertainment, luxury, adventure and natural beauty, running from October to May”
Now consider that Oxagon, Trojena, Magna and Sindalah now suddenly will have a grasp of a thousand more affordable workers, bringing both a digitally active workforce as well as language skills to their regions. Yes, the cheaper groups will also infuse the wealth group from China to their shores because these people will encounter others with their language skills. As such the people who depend on these rich tourists will endure a lessened impact as they will all want to go to the newest places in Saudi Arabia. I reckon that in the 5,000,000 people will be at least 500,000 people who are beyond well-off and they will go to Saudi Arabia in the space of 2026-2028 (at least) and that is a kick to the heads of economy in the aforementioned countries. The top 1% of wealthy Chinese who are making over $80,000 are expected to spend that money in Saudi Arabia. And I am referring to the people who would have spend their cash in London, Paris and Orlando. Merely these three places will see a drop of income in the next few years. So how much more is needed? You might think that the small setting of “France is the most visited country within Europe, attracting an impressive 81,411,000 foreign sightseers each year”, but that would not be entirely correct. It includes all nations, including Europeans and a bunch of them will be attracted to Saudi luxury as well and consider that 1% is still 814,110, even if they merely lose 1%, that amounts to quite the drain on revenue and that is in part already heading towards Saudi Arabia. Already we are seeing messages on Free tourist visas, the one element that partially blocks choices is in the process of being removed. And all this is piling up against Europe and America. All whilst we were given ‘Tourism trips by residents of EU in 2023 up close to 6% y/y’ we ignore the drop that a mere 1% drop wouldn’t be much, but these tourists have beckoned billions in investments all over Europe and now I expect to see the Chinese drop as well as the ‘local’ tourists now dialling Saudi Arabia for their upcoming destination. Add to that whatever business bookings we see and you know these sales types, how they like to be known to go to new and luxurious destinations, the punch packing trips all over Saudi Arabia will be handing several body blows to Europe (America as well). We might merely see that the effort is on 5,000,000 Chinese tourists. But the overall impact will be a lot higher. That is the one part that everyone forgets about. The overly large population of tourists can only spend their money once or perhaps twice a year and the appeal of Saudi Arabia is overwhelming with at least three locations appealing to a lot of tourists. Add to this Riyadh and the impact of Saudi tourism will be felt in most of the tourist places of Europe and America. I reckon that if Disney and Universal sets a theme park in these places the damage will be near complete. Not a mere 2-3 years. But an impact over the next decade at least. Whatever we think of these parks in Orlando, they are overpacked and soon there will be an alternative of the same making. We see (at present) “With over 58 million annual tourist visits, Disney World averages approximately 159,000 visitors per day across all its parks” as well as “In 2023, 10 million tourists visited Islands of Adventure, a decrease of 9%” and consider that these two places could lose close to 15% more, people that have had enough of these massive queues and they want an alternative. Well Warner Brothers is already seeing an increasing populous enjoying Abu Dhabi and I reckon that these are all people contemplating Saudi Arabia as an optional destination.

Tourist destinations in Europe and America will see the need to tighten their belts. And this is not new. I floated the idea on September 27th 2023 in ‘As the belt tightens’ (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2023/09/27/as-the-belt-tightens/) so this is not news to me. I saw it coming a mile away (well, actually a year ago), and that is all before the glamour of Vision 2030 hits the tourists on the retina. I think I made my case 2 times over and the impact should be seen all over Europe in the time 2026-2028, after that? That depends how Saudi Arabia plays it cards. I made one other prediction (presumption) on what would be needed and that could put Europe and America in a bind, they either invest and make ready for 2025 or they might lose a lot more.

Have a great day and contemplate the view from the Aedas ski resort. Can America match that view? Now consider that Saudi Arabia could simultaneous hit 5-10 tourist attractions at the same time in 2026.

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September 30, 2024 · 11:48

Co inky dink

Yup, my previous article on comic films preceded a BBC article. Or perhaps better stated I saw the article after I wrote my article. As coincidences, go a nice one. The BBC article (at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj6er83ene6o) gives us ‘Hollywood’s big boom has gone bust’, I have some issues here. The first is seen with “the good times ground to a halt in May 2023, when Hollywood’s writers went on strike” I resent the implied status that this was up to the writers going on strike. And as we are given both “The actor and aerial cinematographer turned his hobby of flying drones into a profitable business in 2012 just as the streaming wars were taking off. For a decade, he was flying high above film sets, creating sleek aerial shots for movies and TV shows on Netflix, Amazon and Disney” and “But rather than roaring back, in the one year since the strikes ended, production has fizzled.” This story isn’t giving us the goods. You see there are a few elements. One is saturation of business. First there was Netflix, and not we have in addition Disney plus, Hulu, Paramount, YouTube TV, Sling, Fubo and Amazon prime. Several more to follow but these are the better ones. What was one is now eight and it doesn’t end there, there are all kinds of digital boxes who keep tabs on it all. The problem is that income levels are still the same as they were in December 2019, pretty much in synch with the first Covid setting. In 5 years most incomes are either the same or ridiculously close to that and in the meantime the cost of living has gone through the roof. Housing has been raised in many places by as much as 50%, that is hundreds of dollars a week. Food has risen by about 5% per year. There is the larger set that most people can at best afford 1 digital channel (if at all), as such all eight channels competed for the same customer at the same time. As such it isn’t merely that production fizzled, or that projects were cancelled. There is a dwindling population that cannot even afford one channel. And to relate that to the present, Disney projected it would spend between $8 billion-$9 billion on content for its premiere streaming service. Now see that investment all whilst less people could afford that TV channel. This isn’t merely America, this is a global problem. Hollywood has relied on the old Roman principle “Give the people bread and games” and now the people cannot afford the games and more and more of them are falling short for buying bread and this is happening all over the world. So whilst we get “Projects have been cancelled and production was cut across the city as jobs have dried up, with layoffs at many studios – most recently at Paramount. It had a second round of layoffs this week, as the storied movie company moves to cut 15% of its workforce ahead of a merger with the production company Skydance.” We see that there is a lull in the setting of projects and the attainment that people are in the mindset of “things will go better soon” but that is not the case. America and Europe wasted at least two years on their ego all whilst the ‘customers’ who had the cash have vacated to China. I saw this happen two years ago, which is why I created a script that could entertain the Muslim population. And I was right that SBA (Saudi Broadcasting Authority) and Dubai media are growing like crazy, all whilst the American players are merging and buying each other out. I saw the same happen in the IT in the early 90’s with a Dutch company called Infotheek. On the edge of bankruptcy, they bought the smaller players and take that revenue as your own. It didn’t work then, I doubt it will work now. And in that light America has a second problem. Many players will divert to Canada as it could be an option. Many actors and actresses are Canadian, so that works for some. Vancouver is a new powerhouse in this and the more the capture the smaller the American pie becomes. As such the article is right, Hollywood big boom has gone bust, as could be the case for Hollywood fairly soon. And there lies the problem, an over bubbled industry, A premise of channels that ned to invest billions, all whilst there is doubt that the revenue in 2026 could have diminished by 20% (at least), as such who gets the money? Then in the past 300% on investment was achievable, soon it will merely be between break even and perhaps 50%, so how many investors will leap the fence to optionally Arabic channels? I made it clear in 2020 that you cannot bite the hand that feeds you, but did the American defense industry listen? Nope and now the Chinese defense industry reports a growth of 25% year-on-year. That is money that is not going to America and now the streaming channels are optionally seeing a similar move towards Arabic nations and India. So how long until the boom turns into a gap that implodes implodes? 

All things that have been out in the open, but the BBC overlooked it. It is a good story and it gives some of the goods, but it overlooked the attached factors and these are a lot more disastrous. Well, that’s it for now. It is almost lunch time for me, have a great morning wherever you are.

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July 21, 2024 · 20:33

Credit where credit is due

I was in a setting where I had to look at YouTube videos of the Hogwarts theme parks in Orlando and Tokyo. I saw a lot more than that. I also saw some Disney World places (for different reasons) and it struck me that there is a lot that is the same. I do not men Hogwarts, I meant that the Universal sites all work on the same premise. Now, this is to be expected, however the Disney places and the Universal places are a lot alike, more alike than unalike. 

This is not any kind of critique, it just is the way it is. Then we get the Abu Dhabi Warner Brothers world. Now they are all excellent in their own way and if you are a Harry Potter fan as I am, an uneasy feeling comes over me. Don’t get me wrong, these places, there is nothing wrong with them. As I said, they are too much alike. It seems that we are all pushed in the same box (painted in some colour). 

It then struck me that I might be too spoiled. I grew up in the Netherlands. As I can see it, there is nothing like The Efteling, besides the Efteling. Yes, it too has rides others have, but the setting of the Efteling, with a lot of Anton Pieck favoured styles is basically unique. In this places like UAE (Abu Dhabi) or Saudi Arabia (Riyadh or Dammam) might be in need of an Efteling styled theme park and it does not need to be a copy. The Efteling has a fairy tale forest and in Europe they strike a chord with these fairy tales. But a desert place where we can see the fairy tales like they exist in the Arabic nations would have a national and international appeal. There are “Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp”, “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves”, “The Seven Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor”, “The Enchanted Horse” and many more. I think that most Arabic Fairy tales come from the 1001 nights book, but I could be wrong there. You see the world needs more that a Universal setting. The Efteling has earned its place amongst the theme parks with the highest awards. In 2020 they had more visitors than Disney Paris. I believe that the fairy tale forest gave the people something they had forgotten. In this I blame Disney, they fed us what to like and didn’t inquire what people would like (the cost of the park and the waiting times at rides might have been a contributing factor). So as we turn to the UAE (or Saudi Arabia) for what to seek, the international market might like an original fairy tale forest with unique stories. Optionally stories from other places like Indonesia as well. In this I feel that an Efteling approach might give people another way to look at things. There is still enough space for places like Warner Brothers, Universal or Disney. Yet consider the aging IP, as such a new park can be done in the ‘trend’ of Efteling, but need not be a copy. 

There could be stories that would be present in both, no doubt about it.

There is the Gardener and the Fakir, I saw this on my first visit in the 60’s, it never lost its appeal to me, not ever when I saw it again in the late 90’s. Then there is ‘het spook slot’ (the haunted castle).

It is now either already demolished or it in the process on demolition, to make space for something new. That place had been around since 1978, I saw it in its first year which was my birthday present. The attraction had remained active for over 40 years, the show shown there which lasted about 7 minutes took an estimated 800 people per hour. And this was based on technology we had at that point. As far as I can see, unique experiences and there is more to be seen. But in reality, who has actually read the book 1001 nights? Wouldn’t it be great if someone had a different theme park based on Arabic lore? 

There are many ways to do this. I still believe that ride like pirates of the Caribbean with the boats, but they take you on a show though several fairy tales, narrated by Sheherezade. The ride would be about 15 minutes, taking you to the next stage which would be on foot showing you more fairy tales with rest rooms and snack sites, after that another boat ride of the same length and that is one side of the tracks. Then we could do more walking and see places like the Gardener and the Fakir and other places. The problem is a lot needs to be ‘in house’. These two places are just too warm in summer. In a previous article. I discussed part of this in Ratatouille (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2023/11/20/ratatouille/) I had some ideas based on droomvlucht (Dream Flight) but now set on a magic carpet like a real Aladdin. An expansion for the Warner Brothers park, but it could become its own place, with new attractions and a wholesome dive into Arabic fairy tales and It could be in Saudi Arabia for pretty much the same reason. You see, the lesson that places like Disney never learned was that there is something like saturation. ‘More’ at some point becomes ‘too much’ and infrastructures tend to collapse when we reach the ‘too much’ point. I cannot speculate here, it requires an econometrist with serious skills to make a better estimate. I perceive it to be a setting of balance. If the theme park is in the left hand, you need something another kind of fun in the right hand, so that balance can be reached. What that is? Not sure, but I imagine that Abu Dhabi with its waterpark, zoo and Warner Brothers has a seemingly good grasp of this balance. So is that the right place for this new park? I cannot tell, but it seems so sad that they are all copying Disney and Universal and the idea of another Efteling with its own unique features and a dozen global awards is largely ignored and thy aren’t just any awards. They won in 1972 the Pomme d’Or and in 2018 the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) award. Disney lost out on both that is one hell of an achievement. Especially as the Efteling has nowhere near the cash Disney has. 

But that is merely my point of view in this matter, enjoy the day, Monday is a mere 3 hours away for me.

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