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Tuesday, February 01, 2011

Legatum Prosperity Index

The 2010 Prosperity Index Table Rankings. http://www.prosperity.com

Random Thoughts

I want very sophisticated passport pictures. Without any window dressing. No palm trees....You can't really copy what I do because I don't do anything....When I say I have no, I don't have any style, I do but I don't want it, I don't want the style to - My style is nothing.

- David Bailey

Spot on.

Jacob Jensen Design

Eye-grabbing designs. I loved it. http://www.jacobjensendesign.com

Teruhiro Yanagihara

Work of art. http://teruhiroyanagihara.jp

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Timothy Allen

Timothy Allen's Human Planet photography blog.

Useful link:
http://timothyallen.blogs.bbcearth.com

Images Of Nature

Brilliant art collection. http://www.nhm.ac.uk

World Economic Forum 2011

Mark your calendar. January 26 - 30, 2011. http://www.weforum.org

The Gamification Summit 2011

Top thought leaders share game mechanics and engagement science. I wish I had been there, really.

Karin Chien

China's Indies. All the best. http://dgeneratefilms.com

Atelier Minyon

Bold. Imaginative. Different. The jewelry rock video was brilliant. I loved it.

Useful links:
http://www.atelierminyon.com
http://www.youtube.com/user/AtelierMinyon

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Discovering Design

A brilliant interactive online exhibit from the archives of Herman Miller. I loved it. http://www2.hermanmiller.com/discoveringdesign

Wine Market Update

I think the future of wine making will depend on disease-resistant grape varieties. It's hard to believe that merlot, chardonnay, semillon, riesling and the rest have mainly been developed from one one species, Vitis vinifera vinifera. I hope there will be good news from wine experts.

Useful links:
http://www.pnas.org
http://www.igd.cornell.edu

Monday, January 24, 2011

Pearl

An interesting book on pearls by Hubert Bari + David Lam.

Useful links:
http://www.skira.net
http://www.nordskip.com
http://www.qma.com.qa
http://www.balam.eu
http://www.giathai.net

Tucson Gem Show Guide 2011

One-stop information source. http://www.xpopress.com

Warby Parker

A new startup. Take a look. http://www.warbyparker.com

Map Kibera

I thought it was a brilliant feat of technology. http://mapkibera.org

Art Market Update

Interesting viewpoint on art market (s) in China.

Useful links:
http://www.christies.com
http://www.polypm.com.cn

Dakar Rally 2011

High drama. http://www.dakar.com

Billy Walters

Billy Walters story. The 60 minutes interview on CBS News was interesting.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

100 Things To Watch 2011

Wonderful presentation. Insightful trends. http://www.jwt.com

Art Market Update

Souren Melikian viewpoint. http://www.estorickcollection.com

Random Thoughts

Unlike most forgers, he does not seem to be in it for the money, but for a kind of satisfaction at seeing his works accepted as authentic. He takes nothing more in return for them than an occasional lunch or a few tchotchkes from the gift shop. He turns down tax write-off forms, and it’s unclear whether he has broken any laws. But his activities have nonetheless cost museums, which have had to pay for analysis of the works, for research to figure out if more of his fakes are hiding in their collections and for legal advice.

- Randy Kennedy

Old habits die hard.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

The Eric Carle Museum Of Picture Book Art

I loved it. Definitely a must see. http://www.carlemuseum.org

JFK Library

JFK Library online. http://www.jfklibrary.org

Jeff Sheng Photography

Inspiring. Educational. Take a look. http://www.jeffsheng.com

Mary Anna Pomonis

Diamond paintings. http://www.maryannapomonis.com

Damien Hirst Update

Take a look at Damien Hirst's latest artwork, a diamond-encrusted baby skull cast in platinum + 8000 diamonds. Judge for yourself.

Useful links:
http://www.gagosian.com/artists/damien-hirst
http://www.damienhirst.com

State Of The World Report

Worldwatch Institute report. http://www.worldwatch.org

Thomas Leeser Effect

Immersive. Dramatic innovation in architecture and technology. I loved it.

Useful links:
http://www.leeser.com
http://www.movingimage.us

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Coil Festival

Annie Dorsen's Hello Hi There. Brilliant. Inspiring. Philosophical. Take a look. http://www.ps122.org/performances/hello_hi_there.html

Skate’s

A Sergey Skaterschikov art venture. I hope Skate's research team will initiate transparency/authenticity to the art world, which is usually translucent to opaque and secretive. The real art world needs good sparkle, really.

Useful links:
http://skatesartinvestment.com
http://artmeetslaw.blogspot.com

VeriChannel

Voorhees/Boyajian venture. http://www.verichannel.com

Eames Studio

Brilliant designs. A big fan of Charles and Ray Eames.

Useful links:
http://www.eamesgallery.com
http://www.eamesoffice.com
http://eamesfoundation.org

Syyn Labs

Art + Technology. http://syynlabs.com

Quayola

Baroque art. I liked it. http://www.quayola.com

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

National Society Of Film Critics Award

Winners list. http://www.nationalsocietyoffilmcritics.com

Art Market Update

The Economist Report on Cezanne's Card Players.

Useful links:
http://www.courtauld.ac.uk
http://www.metmuseum.org

Gemstone Treatment: Jeff Watson Viewpoint

Back in the mid 80s, I was a co-owner of a small emerald mine in Colombia. The stones were plentiful, but the quality was mediocre, very dull. My onsite partner used to gather all the emeralds, clean them up, wrap them in gauze, soak them in mineral oil, then put the whole gauze wrapped package over a 100 watt light bulb for a few weeks to 'treat' the emerald with heat. After being treated, the emerald also acted differently under fluorescent and UV light. We would wholesale the stones to buyers who came onsite, and we never dealt with the jewelry trade. The buyers all knew the stones were treated, and didn't care as they were mainly concerned with size and color and weight. I brought a treated stone back to the states and had a local jeweler look at it proclaiming it to be the best stone he ever saw. I showed him the equal stone but untreated and he couldn't believe the difference. Deception really does work in the gem trade with everything from obvious phony stones, to treated stones, to cut stones made to look bigger, and a whole other bag of tricks. One lesson I learned is that 90% of the emeralds sold in the USA have been 'treated' in one way or another, with only the untreated high end stones, going to Winston, Tiffany, Stern, etc.

Spot on.

The One-Minute Pitch

A lot to learn.

Useful links:
http://www.npowerpeg.com
https://jornostore.com
http://sonamba.com

Sunday, January 09, 2011

Personal Communication

Brilliant post. Great many thanks to MP Mueller for sharing the info.

Useful links:
http://www.dn3austin.com
http://www.knowledgeadvocate.com

De Beers Ad

I think the DeBeers ad A Diamond is Forever has changed Western/Eastern culture forever.