Weegee

(via Wiki) Weegee was the pseudonym of Arthur Fellig an American photographer and photojournalist, known for his stark black and white street photography.

Useful links:
www.icp.org/weegee
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/06/07/arts/weegee.php
www.imamuseum.org

He will take his camera and ride off in search of new evidence that his city, even in her most drunken and disorderly and pathetic moments, is beautiful.
- William McCleery in Naked City

Brilliant collections!

Ecologically Responsible Jewelry

I found GreenKarat interesting because they create original earrings, rings and necklaces out of 100 percent postconsumer recycled gold.

Useful link:
www.greenkarat.com

Diamond Buying Experience

Jay Greene profiles Mark Vadon, Blue Nile's executive chairman and co-founder @ http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_23/b4087039014145.htm

Useful link:
www.bluenile.com

A Splendid Exchange

A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World by William J. Bernstein is fascinating story about human nature and character + covers history of trade from prehistoric to modern times. A great book. I liked it.

Useful link:
www.efficientfrontier.com

Neighbors are more useful alive than dead.
- William J. Bernstein

Indie Filmmakers

John Tozzi writes about Indie filmmakers who are using the Internet to get their stories in front of people who want to hear them, foregoing the conventional path of shopping their films to a distributor @ http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/jun2008/sb2008065_226261.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index_news+%2B+analysis

Useful links:
www.filmcommunity.com
www.withoutabox.com
www.bside.com
www.cineticmedia.com

BusinessWeek staff writer John Tozzi's narrated slide show was brilliant. I liked it.
Thanks John.

Brand Heaven/Hell

(via Bruce Nussbaum/Businessweek) David Armano's illo of the steps to Brand Heaven--and Brand Hell was brilliant. Great visuals. I liked it.

Bob Dylan: The Drawn Blank Series

Bob Dylan: The Drawn Blank Series by Frank Zollner + Ingrid Mossinger + Kerstin Dreschel is a wonderful catalogue of the works of this great artist.

Useful links:
www.bobdylan.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTeYYenRTFA

Art Boom + Insurers

Nazanin Lankarani writes about fine art and collectible insurer, AXA Art Insurance + other viewpoints @ http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/05/30/arts/rcartaxa.php

Useful link:
www.axa-art.com

Business Of Green

According to The International Energy Agency, the amount it will cost to go green is $45 trillion. The agency thinks the answer might lie in a global treaty, persuading member nations of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to lower emissions. I don't think it's that easy. With the prices of gas and oil reaching record levels, energy entrepreneurs will have to think differently. We need to completely transform the way we produce and use energy.

Useful links:
www.iea.org
http://unfccc.int
http://ec.europa.eu
www.cera.com
www.ecfr.eu

Random Thoughts

The U.S. middle class jewelry buyer is toast -- he doesn't have the money. He is living off pay checks.

- Martin Rapaport

Diamond Market Update

Mark Boston writes about the state of the diamond industry @ http://hgoldie.blogspot.com/2008/06/unintended-consequences.html

Useful link:
www.hgoldie.com

Jewelry Industry Update

I found Nicholas White's analysis on the state of the large and mid-sized jewerly chains @ http://www.glgroup.com/News/Large-and-Mid-Sized-Jewelry-Chains-Lose-as-the-Industry-Consolidates.-25340.html
interesting and insightful. The industry is definitely consolidating; I think the winners are specialized small jewelry chains who know their customers.

The Uncertain Art

The Uncertain Art: Thoughts on a Life in Medicine by Sherwin B. Nuland is an insightful book on a doctor's practice (expertise, luck, good judgment) and life. There is much to be learned and there are events that can’t be explained by current scientific knowledge, and perhaps never will be.

Life is short, and the Art so long; the occasion fleeting; experience fallacious; and judgment difficult. The physician must not only be prepared to do what is right himself, but also to make the patient, the attendants, and the externals, cooperate.
– Hippocrates, c. 400 B.C.E.

Random Thoughts

Like cans of fruit in the great supermarket of business, we all have a shelf life… a sell-by date that is stamped somewhere, possibly on the tops of our cans, I don’t know. When that date arrives, it’s time for us to go. It’s business. It’s not personal.

- Stanley Bing

How true!

The Appeal Of Opera In Modern Culture

Peter Gelb's talk with Alex Ross about the appeal of opera in modern culture at the 2008 New Yorker Conference @ http://www.newyorker.com/online/video/conference/2008/gelb was brilliant. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Video Games Live Announces New Shows

Video Games Live has announced 50 shows, including first time ever game concerts in France, China, Taiwan, Scotland and Portugal.

Useful link:
www.videogameslive.com

It has everything: cutting edge visuals + technology + interactivity. It's amazing!

GIA’s Box Of Trade Secrets

Chaim Even Zohar writes about GIA issues + other viewpoints @ http://www.idexonline.com/portal_FullEditorial.asp

Food = Gold

It's hard to believe, but as the world's need for food and energy greatly increases, speculators are investing in farmland, technology and development of infrastructure, bringing small, fragmented pieces together to boost the production side of agriculture.

I hope this brings value to everyone.

Heard On The Street

Each person is a business, with various assets, liabilities, capacities, and reserve capital, as well as capitalization of barriers to access. A trader with people skills, charm, or good looks squanders these normally valuable assets yoked to the torture machine all day.

How true!

Curtains

Curtains: A unique murder-mystery musical. Don't miss it!

Useful link:
www.curtainsthemusical.com

Fischer Travel

(via artful persuasion) In essence, the scarcity principle says we value what is scarce. When we discover that something is scarce or may be unavailable, one of our first thoughts is that it must also be valuable.

Fischer Travel, a small, exclusive New York travel company uses the scarcity principle to build up its highly lucrative business of providing luxury and exotic travel to the rich and famous. Fischer Travel's select list of 500 business and entertainment 'big names' includes record mogul Quincy Jones, basketball legend Magic Johnson, and fashion designer Donna Karan, plus members of the super-rich Vanderbilt and Rockefeller families. To support its claim to exclusivity, Fischer Travel never advertises, has an unlisted phone number, and distributes business cards that carry only the agency’s name and address - no phone number. Clients come in by personal referrals.

Brilliant idea!

Games For Change

The only conference dedicated to the exciting new movement using Digital Games for Social Change will explore real-world impact + the latest state-of-the-art games on June 27-28, 2008 in New York.

Useful links:
www.gamesforchange.org
www.parsons.newschool.edu

Diamonds + Jeans

(via kitmeout fashion forum) Secret Circus Clothing Company make the world's most expensive jeans: £640,000! Hand-made in Los Angeles and then flown to England to be embellished with a design that includes 15 diamonds cut by London-based diamond firm Duttson Rocks (Here’s the break down: 1 marquise cut - 4.63 carats = £102,0002; round brilliant cut - 6 carats each = £250,0001; princess cut - 5.09 carats - £104,0001; pear cut - 5.37 carats £134,000; 10 single carat diamonds = £50,000).

Useful link:
www.secretcircusclothing.com

Brilliant PR!

Money + Happiness

I found the article Spending on Happiness @ http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/5944.html educational and insightful.

Useful links:
http://hbswk.hbs.edu
http://tierneylab.blogs.nytimes.com

It's really amazing to uncover the domains in which money might lead to happiness.

Art Basel

Art Basel: The largest international contemporary art fair opened on June 4, 2008, in Basel, Switzerland.

Useful link:
www.artbasel.com

What's amazing is despite the financial market crisis and high energy prices, the art market is still booming.

First, Break All the Rules

First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently by Marcus Buckingham + Curt Coffman is a great book on identifying talent.

Useful links:
www.marcusbuckingham.com
www.curtcoffman.com

Hotel: An American History

Hotel: An American History by Andrew K. Sandoval-Strausz is a wonderful book about the rise of hotels and the hospitality industry in the United States. What an eye-opener! I liked it.

Cleantech Entrepreneurial Community

I found the article Changing the World from the Edge @ http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/may2008/id20080530_606257.htm educational and inspiring.

Useful links:
http://berc.berkeley.edu
http://ceei.berkeley.edu
http://blumcenter.berkeley.edu
www.deloitte.com
http://www.edgeperspectives.typepad.com

Mastering Executricks

I am huge fan of Stanley Bing. Take Stanley Bing's quiz to find out if you're an accomplished trickster @ http://money.cnn.com/quizzes/2008/bing/executricks/index.html

Useful link:
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/stanleybing

Lab-grown Pink Diamonds

Gemesis, known for its lab-grown yellow diamonds, has added a new shade to its color palette -- pink; the pink stones will be about 1-2 carats rough, and about 30 percent to 50 percent of that weight once polished. Expect to see cut stones in jewelry stores by early 2009!

Useful links:
www.gemesisdiamondco.com
www.gemesis.com

Social and Environmental Stock Exchange

I found the article, A Stock Exchange for Do-Gooders @ http://www.newsweek.com/id/139436 inspiring. I wish there were more social stock exchanges embracing pragmatic business solutions fighting poverty. Hats off to Celso Grecco!

Useful links:
www.atitudemarketingsocial.com.br
www.bovespasocial.org.br

Influence At Work

(via Wiki) Robert Cialdini is an internationally respected expert in the fields of persuasion, social influence, compliance, negotiation and social norms.

Useful link:
www.influenceatwork.com

Micropower Generation

(via Guardian) According to the Department for Business, Energy and Regulatory Reform (DBERR), British buildings equipped with solar, wind and other micro power equipment could generate as much electricity in a year as five nuclear power stations + a combination of loans, grants and incentives could lead to nearly 10m microgeneration systems being installed by 2020 + such a large scale switch to microrenewable energy could save 30m tonnes of CO2 – the equivalent of nearly 5% of all UK electricity.

Useful link:
www.micropower.co.uk

I would really like to see similar actions in emerging economies of Asia and Africa because micropower generation combined with energy-efficient measures will definitely help towards reducing our carbon emissions.

Earth Works

Lamar Clarkson writes about artists who are finding novel and sometimes quirky ways to heal the world + other viewpoints @ http://www.artnewsonline.com/issues/article.asp?art_id=2503

Brilliant!

Design-art

I found Alice Rawsthorn's article on design-art @ http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/06/02/arts/design2.php
interesting, in fact, she was right, design-arts are becoming commercial phenomenons, and auction houses are making good money.

Useful links:
www.designmiami.com
www.mossonline.com
www.neutra.org
www.contrastsgallery.com
www.galeriekreo.com
www.toolsgalerie.com
www.establishedandsons.com
www.deitch.com
http://galerieneu.net
www.moma.org
www.airdeparis.com
www.haunchofvenison.com

JVC + Green Pack

The Jewelers Vigilance Committee (JVC) is going green + the JVC's Green Pack includes an informational CD, templates, forms, an AML DVD to help jewelers train their employees on the requirements of the law, new guidance for the industry and a storage binder.

Useful link:
www.jvclegal.org

Václav Havel

(via Wiki) Václav Havel is a Czech writer and dramatist. He was the tenth and last President of Czechoslovakia (1989-1992) and the first President of the Czech Republic (1993-2003). He has written over twenty plays and numerous non-fiction works, some of which have received international acclaim. He has received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Philadelphia Liberty Medal, and the Ambassador of Conscience Award.

Useful link:
www.vaclavhavel.cz

I am huge fan of Václav Havel.

Planet Green

Planet Green's 24-hour eco-lifestyle television network with online and on-air presence represents a broad range of ideas and perspectives. I think the solutions-oriented tips and information are practical and inspiring. Let's go green!

Useful links:
http://planetgreen.discovery.com
www.planetgreengame.com

Film School

Here is what San Francisco's Film School site has to say about filmmaking:
'At the San Francisco School of Digital Filmmaking the film set is your classroom – whether you’re directing your own film, writing your first screenplay, or working with professionals on a feature. For aspiring filmmakers, screenwriters or film actors, our film school gives you the three most valuable tools you need to start your career - a reel of your own work, credits on student and professional projects, and contacts in the industry. Our film school curriculum is entirely project-based, allowing you to develop your skills hands-on while bringing your creative ideas to life. SFSDF has a powerfully simple philosophy 'the best way to learn the craft of filmmaking is to make films!' At our film school, students produce hundreds of films every year.'

Useful link:
www.sfdigifilm.com

Faith + Globalisation

I think the links between the religious, economic and political forces shaping our world are either translucent to opaque or too rarely explored or explained. I hope The Tony Blair Faith Foundation will put this right. Good luck!

Useful link:
http://tonyblairfaithfoundation.org

Blue Print

Sylvia Hochfield writes about the disputed fingerprint on Jackson Pollock's paint can + other viewpoints @ http://www.artnewsonline.com/issues/article.asp?art_id=2504&current=True

Useful links:
www.jacksonpollock.org
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackson_Pollock
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0487092
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_the_Fuck_Is_Jackson_Pollock%3F

Selling works of art with ambiguous or questionable authenticity requires special skills. I encounter the same problems in the gem and jewelry industry. Catch me if you can!

Random Thoughts

Sushil Kedia writes: My father handed over the wealth of his knowledge from a lifetime of speculating the night before I was leaving home and starting a career in the markets of Mumbai:
1) Sleep well and enough and at regular hours. Deprived sleep doesn't get compensated by catching up.
2) Eat well and at regular hours. An upset stomach makes the mind waver. Drink lots of water.
3) Speak only when necessary. Never loudly.
4) Listen.
5) Gather facts, steer clear of opinions.
6) Stay away from losses. Money will come from chance.
7) Don't trust anyone completely. But trust.
8) Write your books of accounts everyday.
9) Adjust sleep if any of these don't work well.

Brilliant!

Humanitarian Engineering

Amy Smith talks with Rebecca Mead about applying new technology in the developing world @
http://www.newyorker.com/online/video/conference/2008/smith which I thought was innovative and brilliant.

Useful link:
http://web.mit.edu/d-lab

World Science Festival

I found Wired's article on World Science Festival educational and insightful + what's intriguing was a model city now under construction in Dongtan, China (Wired's profile of the city at Dongtan here). Brilliant! http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/05/five-people-who.html

Useful links:
www.worldsciencefestival.com
www.arup.com
www.verticalfarm.com
www.ssbx.org
http://transstudio.com
http://cities.media.mit.edu
http://www.archinode.com/peristalcity.html
http://www.archinode.com/bienal.html

I hope there were more sustainable cities worldwide.

Working Longer

Working Longer: The Solution to the Retirement Income Challenge by Alicia H. Munnell and Steven A. Sass is an interesting book on retirement issues and how to stay well-off after retirement.

Useful links:
www.brookings.edu
http://crr.bc.edu

I think much depends on individual's attitude (hard work + updating skills = productive).

An Inconvenient Truth Opera

The legendary La Scala opera house in Milan has commissioned a full-length work to be based on Al Gore's book, An Inconvenient Truth, and the Oscar-winning documentary of the same title, by Italian composer Giorgio Battistelli, to be staged in 2011.

Useful links:
www.teatroallascala.org
www.climatecrisis.net

I think Al Gore is a winner and may feel humbled by the latest distinction.

William Scott

Economist writes about William Scott's art works + other viewpoints @ http://www.economist.com/daily/columns/artview/displayStory.cfm?story_id=11478453

Useful link:
www.williamscott.org

Don't be an art critic. Paint. There lies salvation.
- Paul Cézanne

I liked it.

The Nature Of Diamonds

The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) will be presenting 'The Nature of Diamonds', the most wide-ranging exhibition ever developed on the allure of diamonds. From Saturday, October 25, 2008 until Sunday, March 22, 2009, visitors to the ROM’s Garfield Weston Exhibition Hall on level B2 in the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal will be dazzled by the exhibition’s spectacular jewellery and stunning gemstones.

Useful links:
www.rom.on.ca
www.amnh.org
www.hmns.org

A must-visit.

Art In Moscow

Sonia Kishkovsky writes about Moscow's new trend: art-related parties + pre-auction previews (by big auction houses) for the Moscow’s elite + other viewpoints @
http://blogs.iht.com/tribtalk/travel/globespotters/?p=426

Useful links:
www.moscow-faf.com
www.aidan-gallery
www.janekahan.com
www.rusmuseum.ru
www.sothebys.com
www.christies.com

Ockham's Razor

Ockham's Razor is the principle proposed by William of Ockham in the fourteenth century: 'Pluralitas non est ponenda sine neccesitate', which translates as 'entities should not be multiplied unnecessarily' or 'keep it simple'.

He was spot on.

Great Wines From Argentina

Robert Parker is the world's most influential wine critic. He writes about malbecs @ http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/may2008/bw20080529_268512.htm

Useful link:
www.eRobertParker.com

Marketing Ideas For New Generation

I found the Steve Stoute talks with Kelefa Sanneh about marketing to a new generation of consumers @ http://www.newyorker.com/online/video/conference/2008/stoute educational and inspiring. It was brilliant.

Useful links:
www.soundslam.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Stoute

Random Thoughts

The jungle has the greatest biodiversity with thousands of species each occupying a specific niche. The only direct conflicts we saw were between two spiders, and two monkeys fighting over the same niche. The forest had three main levels, first at the ground to 15 meters, 15-35 m and the canopy above 35 m. Some market ideas from the learning experience involve the separation of the levels and the specialization within each level of the forest. The occupants and action at the bottom of the forest are much different than those in the middle or top. As in markets different techniques are needed at tops, middles, and bottoms. It is hard for one species of trader to hope to avoid death at all the levels. It is very hard to start on the bottom of a market and survive to the top. Extreme specialization is the rule in the jungle. There is no reason that same type of specialization would not be required in the market jungle. However in many ways, current markets lack real diversity. The correlation among markets has been a result of this lack of diversity. Too many in the same niche or trade. The lack of diversity causes inability to absorb market shocks. In the jungle, when a large 800 years old kapok tree falls, a huge gap is created. Many species rush in to fill the gap, but due to the rush, the vegetation is weak. Similar action may occur in market gaps when a shock hits. The initial occupiers of the gap are weak holders.

- Jim Sogi

How true!

Tanzanite Mining

Matt Brown writes about tanzanite mining in Tanzania + other viewpoints @ http://www.thenational.ae/article/20080526/FOREIGN/69281946/1017/SPORT&Profile=1017

Vicor Mushi of World Vision, the only aid organisation in town, estimated that 30 to 40 per cent of the population is HIV positive. Other diseases, including cholera, stem from a lack of clean drinking water.

Shocking, really!

101.27 carat Diamond

A 101.27 carat diamond, the size of a ping pong ball, has been sold by Christies at auction in Hong Kong for more than $6m (£3m). http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7423194.stm

Useful link:
www.christies.com

This Gaming Life

This Gaming Life: Travels in Three Cities by Jim Rossignol is an inspiring book + Jim provides excellent insights into gaming history and culture + the impact.

Useful link:
http://rossignol.cream.org

BPP And Paying Bus Drivers in HK

Chaim Even Zohar writes about the guilty verdict against Tse Sui-luen, founder of the listed Tse Sui Luen Jewellery (TSL) empire, and four others, for paying illegal commissions to travel agencies, bus drivers and tour guides to ensure a flow of customers to the company's showrooms + DTC's Best Practice Principles (BPP)/pros and cons + other viewpoints @ http://www.idexonline.com/portal_FullEditorial.asp

I think Chaim Even Zohar was spot on.

Philips + Swarovski Designs

Philips + Swarovski = USB memory keys + Earphones = Multifunctional (designed by women, for women).

Useful links:
www.active-crystals.com
www.consumer.philips.com
www.swarovskisparkles.com

Beautiful designs. I liked it.

Color Specialist + Trend Predictor

Leatrice Eiseman is a color specialist + trend predictor who has been called America’s color guru. She is the author of Colors For Your Every Mood + Pantone Guide to Communicating With Color + More Alive With Color + Color Answer Book.

Useful link:
www.colorexpert.com

Carbon Footprints

(via Wired) The Brookings Institute has released a new 80-page report detailing the carbon footprints of the residents of the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the United States.

Useful link:
www.brookings.edu

I think the findings by the Brookings Institute was informative, educational and insightful. My view is as we gain better access to data and models, local and state governments worldwide should make decisions that will build the cleanest, most livable, most energy efficient cities.

Heard On The Street

The world I’m looking at is filled with inconveniences, and inconsistency about prices. People should be looking at diamond prices and questioning them. We are at the beginning of a real roller-coaster ride. If Rapaport’s increase of 25% is frightening, I’m sorry but that is the world we are living in. If gold can go to $1,000, then hit $880, the same thing can happen to diamond prices. That’s why I’m asking people: Please, don’t speculate. The prices on the Rapaport list are the opinon of Martin Rapaport.

- Martin Rapaport

The Winelands Of Britain

The Winelands of Britain: Past, Present and Prospective by Richard C. Selley is an interesting book on the potential of vineyards in Britain, today and in the future.

Useful links:
www.winelandsofbritain.co.uk
http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/climatechange

Gustav Klimt

(via Wiki) Gustav Klimt was an Austrian Symbolist painter and one of the most prominent members of the Vienna Art Nouveau (Vienna Secession) movement. His major works include paintings, murals, sketches, and other art objects, many of which are on display in the Vienna Secession gallery. Klimt's primary subject was the female body, and his works are marked by a frank eroticism--nowhere is this more apparent than in his numerous drawings in pencil.

Gustav Klimt's art works will be exhibited at Tate Liverpool, May 30-August 31, 2008.
www.tate.org.uk/liverpool

Useful links:
www.expo-klimt.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustav_Klimt

Alternate-Reality Gaming

(via Wiki) Jane McGonigal is a noted game designer and games researcher, specializing in pervasive gaming and alternate reality games. She worked with alternate reality game design company 42 Entertainment from 2004 to 2006, on projects including I Love Bees (2004) as Community Lead/Puzzle Designer, and Last Call Poker (2005) as Live Events Lead. Additionally, she has collaborated on commissioned games for the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. In recent years, McGonigal has grown especially interested in the way that massively multiplayer online gaming generates collective intelligence, and interested in the way that the collective intelligences thus generated can be utilized as a means of improving the world, either by improving the quality of human life or by working towards the solution of social ills. She has expressed a desire that gaming should be moving 'towards Nobel Prizes.' These ideas informed her collaboration in World Without Oil (2007), a simulation designed to brainstorm (and potentially avert) the challenges of a post-peak oil future. Most recently, she has served as the director for The Lost Rin, an alternate reality game sponsored by McDonald's and designed as a tie-in to the 2008 Summer Olympics. She received her PhD in Performance Studies from the University of California, Berkeley in August 2006, and currently teaches at the San Francisco Art Institute and the University of California, Berkeley. She is also a Research Affiliate to the Institute for the Future.

Jane McGonigal's talk at the 2008 New Yorker Conference, 'Stories from the Near Future' was inspiring and educational. http://www.newyorker.com/online/video/conference/2008/mcgonigal

Useful links:
www.avantgame.com
www.iftf.org

The Power Of Imaginative Mind

Sir Ken Robinson's remarks on April 10, 2008, at the Apple Education Leadership Summit, was brilliant. Robinson is the author of Out of Our Minds: Learning to Be Creative.

Useful links:
www.edutopia.org
www.sirkenrobinson.com

Work/Life Integration Project

Stewart Friedman, founding director of Wharton's Leadership Program + the Work/Life Integration Project describes the four domains of people's lives -- work, home, community and self -- and what individuals can do to integrate these domains and improve their leadership skills at any stage in their careers @ http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/1970.cfm

Useful link:
www.totalleadership.org

Brilliant!

Interactive Marketing

Ad:tech is the #1 source for interactive marketing. Rajesh Jain has written an interesting note on the complex landscape of online advertising @ http://emergic.org

Useful link:
www.ad-tech.com

Random Thoughts

There is no such thing as the perfect business idea. There are good ideas that reward effort. There are ideas that attract interest and inspire support. There are beautiful ideas that change our perception of what is possible and what is desirable. People invest hope, time, and money in attempting to make beautiful ideas real.

- Max Mckeown

Earthmine

Founded in 2006 by John Ristevski and Anthony Fassero, the start-up is hoping to take mapping to a new level -- the street level + the business model is B2B: subscription service with customers like construction firms, architects, emergency services, and partners that will develop applications for consumers. http://www.fastcompany.com/articles/2008/05/interview-earthmine-3D-map.html

Useful links:
www.earthmine.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BscB1771nZs

Brilliant!

Coffee Society

Describing coffee flavors are subjective, yet interesting. I think a deeper understanding comes only with frequent practice of coffee tasting.

Useful links:
www.coffeeinstitute.org
www.ico.org
http://danielhumphries.typepad.com
http://meetthepresspot.blogspot.com

Beryl Cook

(via Wiki) Beryl Cook who was best known for comical paintings of people has died aged 81.

Useful links:
www.berylcook.org
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7424366.stm

Her paintings were unique for one reason: ordinariness.

Rapaport Diamond Report Update

According to Rapaport, the significantly higher prices in this week's Rapaport Price List do not reflect any sudden change in diamond prices but rather adjustments made to reflect the level of premiums in the trading markets. The trade is cautioned that current high price levels for top quality diamonds reflect volatile external economic forces and may not be sustainable. There is also significant risk that prices for commercial quality diamonds may decline due to unfavorable conditions in the U.S. and other consumer markets. At their current high levels diamond prices are subject to significantly greater volatility and downside risk exposure.

Useful links:
www.diamonds.net
www.rapaportdiamondreport.com

The problem is there are various interpretations on the new prices on the list + I think the markets are confused worldwide and no one knows what will happen next because traders may hold on to their goods in anticipation of another price increase.

Romanov Emeralds

According to Christies, a pair of Romanov emeralds was sold to an Asian private collector for $2,409,241 setting a price-per-carat record for emeralds sold at auction.

Useful links:
www.christies.com
www.royal-magazin.de

Chinese Jewelry Update

According to Research and Markets, world's largest and most respected market research resource, Chinese jewelry industry sales have increased by approximately CNY20 billion ($2.88 billion) since 2005 + they have reached CNY180 billion ($25.92 billion) in 2007 + the jewelry industry has so far become the third largest in the country, preceded only by real estate and automobiles.
Source: Gems & Jewelry Trade Association of China + China Gold Association + Shanghai Diamond Exchange + Ministry of Commerce + National Bureaus of Statistics and statistics bureaus at provincial or municipal level + financial statements of some key jewelry enterprises.

Useful link:
www.researchandmarkets.com

New Ways Of Tackling Climate Change

According to Kurt Volker, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs, there is a huge second wave of investment in green technology. The first one was in the 1980s, which produced a certain level of technology development. That wave ebbed after some time. Now a second wave of massive investment into newer, cleaner technologies. And this wave is proving larger and more immediately profitable than the first one........
View Video (courtesy of ACUS)

Useful links:
www.grestech.com
http://cms.iucn.org
www.climos.com
www.atmocean.com
www.planktos.com

I think the new startup companies who are embarking on clean technology projects may have a huge impact on our world.

American Nerd

American Nerd: The Story of My People by Benjamin Nugent is a fascinating book. I liked it.

Useful link:
www.americannerdbook.com

Sustainable Designs

I have been always intrigued by our limited understanding of where our materials come from or where they go + I believe most people will do the right thing if they were given accurate information, proper training and simple tools + I also think the fashion industry have played a unique role via creativity, innovation and connections to promote green initiatives worldwide.

Useful links:
www.permacouture.org
www.trustforconservationinnovation.org
www.earthpledge.org

Age + Business

The article What's Age Got to Do with It? @ http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_22/b4086098742993.htm was really inspiring.

Age also needs to be accompanied by a willingness, and even eagerness, to change. We recently heard Andrea Jung, the CEO of Avon, suggest that leaders (informally) fire and rehire themselves from time to time in order to freshen their mind-sets. Now, at 48, Andrea is still plenty young, but her approach to reinvention is actually the hallmark of the most effective 'older' folks we know. Case in point is K.P. Singh, the Indian real estate developer who, at age 76, has just expanded his business into, of all things, an international cricket league—because, he says, it will teach him 'all sorts of new things.' Or take Rupert Murdoch. At 77, his passion for traditional media opportunities remains unabated, so too his interest in what's next. Chris DeWolfe, CEO of social-networking site MySpace, recently told us that Murdoch has his sleeves rolled up at his new purchase, always asking questions, always pushing to learn more.
- Jack & Suzy Welch

How true! Thanks, Jack.

Useful link:
www.welchway.com

The Fifties In Paintings And Words

Peter Schjeldahl's article Action Figures @ http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/artworld/2008/05/26/080526craw_artworld_schjeldahl was brilliant.

Remembering Sydney Pollack

(via Wiki) Sydney Pollack was an Academy Award-winning Russian-American film director, producer and actor. He directed more than 21 films and 10 television shows, acted in over 30 films or shows, and produced over 44 films. Pollack is best known for directing films Out of Africa (1985), Tootsie (1982), Three Days of the Condor (1975), The Yakuza (1975), The Way We Were and Jeremiah Johnson (1972), along with newer films The Interpreter (2005), Sabrina (1995), The Firm (1993) and Havana (1990). He appeared in over 15 films, including The Interpreter (2005), Eyes Wide Shut (1999), Husbands and Wives (1992), The Player (1992), and The Electric Horseman (1979). In 2007, he appeared opposite George Clooney in Michael Clayton, a film which he also co-produced.

Concerns about Pollack's health had surfaced in 2007 when suddenly he stepped out of directing HBO's television film Recount. The film aired on May 25, 2008. Pollack died the next day of cancer at the age of 73 at his home in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, California surrounded by family.

Useful links:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001628
http://www.dga.org/news/v25_4/feat_Pollack.php3
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/film/2008/05/sydney_pollack_on_youtube.html

I think Sydney Pollack was an intelligent, versatile and a brilliant film-maker.

Clean Gold

According to Communities and Small-Scale Mining, an advocacy group affiliated with the World Bank, at least 13 million people worldwide, from more than 30 developing countries, engage in artisanal and small-scale mining. These are subsistence miners, collecting particles of gold out of streambeds, in many cases making barely enough to live. They don’t use cyanide; instead, they use mercury, and, unlike industrial miners, they are releasing all their byproducts directly into the environment. This is taking place all over the world, in Africa, South America, Asia and Central Europe. Mercury is toxic. Exposure to mercury can cause damage to the brain and kidneys, and it’s especially harmful to children. Released into waterways, mercury accumulates in the bodies of fish, rendering them inedible.

Here comes technology + workshops via Cleangold. Their technology is not only brilliant but also environment-friendly.

Useful links:
www.cleangold.com
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4375612020784552233
www.artisanalmining.org
www.artminers.org
www.aceer.org

WildlifeDirect

(via Wiki) WildlifeDirect is a Kenya, US and UK registered charitable organization founded and chaired by African conservationist Richard Leakey, who is credited with putting an end to the elephant slaughter in Kenya in the 1980s. Its main office is located in Nairobi, Kenya. WildlifeDirect was established in 2006 to provide support to conservationists in Africa directly on the ground via the use of blogs, which enables anybody, anywhere to play a direct and interactive role in the survival of some of the world’s most precious species. WildlifeDirect takes no administration fee for the funds that are transferred through their website so that the financial support can go to where it was intended in its entirety. Their core costs are provided for separately through grants, primarily from the European Union.

Useful links:
http://wildlifedirect.org
www.maraconservancy.com
www.leakey.com

I have huge respect for what he's achieved.

Art Prices

I found the interview (Freakonomics Blog + Olav Velthuis + David Galenson) about the price paid for Lucian Freud's 'Benefits Supervisor Sleeping' interesting/insightful.
http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/23/what-does-336-million-mean-in-the-art-world/

'To put it mildly, it is striking that art still fetches these record prices. I had expected the art market to collapse even before the financial crisis started. Of course, what’s difficult about prices for art is that they have no 'fundamental value,' unlike, for instance, real estate prices or stocks.'
- Olav Velthuis

How true!

Eye Network

Eye Network arranges videoconferencing facilities for customers. The services are great because flying less reduces our carbon footprint, and overall the concept is good for the environment.

Dries Van Noten

(via Wiki) Dries van Noten is a Belgian fashion designer. His work is characterised by a creative use of prints (often ethnic), colours, original fabrics and layering. He has a passionate and faithful following despite the fact he does not advertise. Dries Van Noten works and lives in Antwerp. He has several shops, the first one being 'Het Modepaleis' which opened in Antwerp in 1989, followed by shops in Hong Kong and Tokyo. He sells to around 500 shops around the world; his company is entirely self-financed. In 2008, van Noten won the prestigious International Award of the Council of Fashion Designers of America.

Useful links:
www.driesvannoten.be
www.cfda.com
www.antwerp-fashion.be

I think he is one of very few designers with a sense of style and aesthetics + he has a feel for color that is so subtle, which I believe is unique.

Whole Earth Catalog

(via Wiki) The Whole Earth Catalog was a sizable catalog published twice a year from 1968 to 1972, and occasionally thereafter, until 1998. Its purpose was to provide education and 'access to tools' so a reader could 'find his own inspiration, shape his own environment, and share his adventure with whoever is interested.' Apple Inc. founder and entrepreneur Steve Jobs has described the Catalog as a conceptual forerunner of Web search engines. The Catalog's development and marketing were driven by an energetic group of founders, primarily Stewart Brand, whose family was also involved with the project. Its outsize pages measured 11x14 inches (28x36 cm). Later editions were more than an inch thick. The early editions were published by the Portola Institute, headed by Richard Raymond. In 1972, the catalog won the National Book Award, the first time a catalog had ever won such an award. Brand's publishing efforts were suffused with an awareness of the importance of ecology, both as a field of study and as an influence upon the future of humankind and emerging human awareness. The catalogs disseminated many ideas now associated with the 1960s and 1970s, particularly those of the counterculture and the environmental movements. Later editions and related publications edited by Brand popularized many innovative ideas during the 1970s-1990s.

Original Whole Earth Catalog, Special 30th Anniversary Issue by Peter Warshall + Stewart Brand is a great book, full of practical and inspiring solutions for people like you and me.

Useful link:
http://sb.longnow.org

Shopping, Seduction And Mr Selfridge

Shopping, Seduction and Mr Selfridge by Lindy Woodhead is a fascinating book (the roller-coaster life of the maverick American retail tycoon Harry Gordon Selfridge) on social history, marketing and shopping. It's eye opener and I liked it.

World Oil Reserves

Here is an interesting/informative update on world oil reserves @ http://www.wired.com/special_multimedia/2008/oilreserves

Useful link:
www.ogj.com

Who would have thought Canada would be No.2! Amazing!

Business Of Theatre

I found www.ebroadwayplays.com interesting (theatrical investment + philanthrophy), in fact, I liked it.

The Phoenix Lander

The animation of the Phoenix lander @ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7400375.stm was brilliant.

Useful links:
http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu
NASA - Phoenix

Will Self

William Self is an English novelist, reviewer and columnist. His latest novel, The Butt, won the 2008 Wodehouse prize for comic fiction.

Useful links:
www.will-self.com
www.hayfestival.com

Shigeru Miyamoto

(via Wiki) Shigeru Miyamoto is a Japanese video game designer. He is the creator of the Mario, Donkey Kong, The Legend of Zelda, Star Fox, Pikmin and F-Zero franchises for Nintendo game systems. He has also supervised many titles published by Nintendo on behalf of other developers, including Metroid Prime and Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games. Miyamoto is a world-renowned game designer, and is often called the 'father of modern video gaming'. Video games designed by him typically feature refined control-mechanics, intuitive gameplay, simplistic story lines, and imaginative worlds in which the players are encouraged to discover things for themselves.

Useful links:
www.miyamotoshrine.com
www.nintendo.com
www.gameinformer.com

I am huge fan!

Dima Bilan

(via Wiki) Dima Bilan is a Russian pop artist of Karachay descent. Dima represented Russia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with 'Never Let You Go', finishing second, and he won the contest in 2008, with the song 'Believe'.

Useful links:
www.eurovision.tv
http://bilandima.ru/enghtm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDJxR0fsbN8

Entre Les Murs (The Class)

(via Wiki) Entre les murs is a work of contemporary fiction by French writer François Bégaudeau. It is a semi-autobiographical account of Bégaudeau's experiences as a literature teacher in an inner city middle school in Paris. Published in 2006, it won the Prix France Culture/Télérama. In 2008, it was made into a movie by Laurent Cantet, also called 'Entre les murs', this film received the 2008 Palme d'Or at the Cannes film festival, making it the first French film in 21 years to do so.

Useful links:
Festival de Cannes : Film details 2008
Entre les murs (2008)
Festival de Cannes

New Tanzanite Treatment

According to the American Gem Trade Association Gemological Testing Center (AGTA-GTC) + American Gemological Laboratories (AGL), a color-enhancing coating on tanzanite containing cobalt have been detected in faceted samples of tanzanites provided by their clients. Obviously the purpose of the treatement have been to improve the overall appearance of the stones, but with standard gemological testing + advanced analytical tools like X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, the treatments are identifiable. Coatings are not considered permanent.

Useful links:
www.agta.org
www.agta-gtc.org
www.aglgemlab.com
www.ftc.gov

Mobile U.S Dollar + The Diamond Industry

The diamond/jewelry industry are concerned because every level of the pipeline in the industry are being affected by the U.S. dollar’s weakness + calculating diamond/gold prices in the mobile U.S. dollar has become unprofitable for many diamond/jewelry companies worldwide.

Are there any stable currencies in the world? Swiss franc? Who knows!

ArtTactic Update

(via livemint) ArtTactic’s latest survey of the Indian art market shows a 13 percentage point dip in its Indian Art Market Confidence Index, a measure based on the responses of 80 experts to questions on the current and future prospects of the economy and the primary and secondary markets for art. The sample of 80 respondents included a mix of collectors, gallery owners, auction houses, dealers and advisers. It included no artists.

Useful link:
www.arttactic.com

There might be a slowdown in external factors, but Indians still have the money to buy.
- Ganieve Grewal, Christies India

How true!

Jim Collins

Jim Collins has served as a teacher to senior executives and CEOs at over a hundred corporations. He is a well-known author + his work has been featured in Fortune, The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Harvard Business Review, and Fast Company.

Useful link:
www.jimcollins.com

Cat On A Hot Tin Roof

(via Wiki) Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is a Tony-nominated play by Tennessee Williams. The play won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1955. The big-screen version of the play was made in 1958 by MGM, and starred Paul Newman, Elizabeth Taylor, Judith Anderson, Jack Carson.

Useful links:
www.cat2008onbroadway.com
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)

It's a great movie.

African Contemporary Art

I found the article on African contemporary art @ http://www.economist.com/opinion/displayStory.cfm?story_id=11436150 interesting, because I think African art works are wonderfully vibrant and evocative, it will be a matter of time that collectors will be chasing the artists with impressive prices.

Useful links:
www.caacart.com
www.chrisspring.co.uk