Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Gold Getting Crossed Off Gift Lists
Lauren Villagran writes about the sharp run-up in precious metals prices on world markets over the past few months + jeweler/consumer concerns + the impact + other viewpoints @ http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8SV0UD80.htm
Reinventing The Landscape
Hilarie M. Sheets writes about landscape paintings + the icons + other viewpoints @ http://www.artnews.com/issues/article.asp?art_id=875
I Break Three Times Into Diamonds
Louis Kornitzer's book, Gem Trader, is partly autobiographical and partly woven round the lore of pearls. It's educational + explains the distribution chain of gems, as they pass from hand to hand, from miner to cutter, from merchant to millionaire, from courtesan to receiver of stolen goods, shaping human lives as they go + the unique characters in the industry.
(via Gem Trader) Louis Kornitzer writes:
Anyone can peddle shoelaces, but it will be obvious to any layman that there must be considerable amount of cash in hand before one can hope to be a diamond merchant. On the face of it it looks like one of those mysterious occupations that you cannot work up to. There are no correspondence courses for learning to be a president or a diamond merchant, and no ‘assisted passages’.
Nevertheless, you do not need much money, despite appearances, to be a diamond merchant—provided you have the necessary credit. Ever since the first struggling days when I first established myself I have enjoyed two vital things: good health and good credit. Nevertheless, it was not through any effort on my part that I first handled diamonds. It was in the days when I was still handling amethysts, peridots, opals, sapphires, anything, in fact, that came along, but was already deep in my lifelong attachment to pearls. A man named Brodnik came to see me.
I knew him by name. He was a dabbler in many things, considered a well-to-do man. This would-be diamond merchant was a short stocky figure with waxed moustache and a fund of good stories. He said to me at once: ‘I have watched you for a long time. I believe you are the man for me. Money talks. I am prepared to trust you. I want you to buy diamonds with my money and split profits fifty-fifty.’
Well, it was not all quite so simple as all that, but in the end I agreed to some such arrangement. I wanted the money put into my own bank, but he insisted on a bank in the City where he had certain discounting facilities. After all, it was his money, I thought, and so what he said went. Unfortunately, after I had bought a few parcels of diamonds and sold them at a good profit, and was beginning to think that the word ‘diamond’ had a musical sound, the unforseen happened.
One day Brodnik turned up at the office looking worried. ‘Trouble for you,’ he said sadly.
‘What trouble?’ said I.
‘Your bank has closed its doors this morning.’ He mentioned the establishment where he had deposited my diamond working capital.
‘Your bank, you mean,’ I corrected him.
‘Not mine,’ he said even more sadly. ‘My account there don’t matter a peapod. I’m overdrawn at that bank for forty pounds. Don’t you worry about me. Well, what are you going to do about it? I’m looking to you for my money.’
Brodnik was my old man of the sea for some time, until I was lucky enough to get out of his clutches. I did not touch diamond again for years.
My second venture into the brilliants market came when I was associated with a prominent French pearl dealer for the purpose of tapping new sources of pearl supplies in the South Seas. Wherever I went on that trip I was asked whether I had anything to offer in diamonds. I accordingly and optimistically drew my Paris associate’s attention to the possibilities of increasing our profit, and asked him to ship some diamonds of the right sort.
He had a first class brain, had my friend Jacques. Nevertheless, he envisaged my South Seas customers as a series of native rajahs and dusky chiefs, and he shipped to me as his first consignment a golden elephant with turquoise eyes and diamond-spattered trunk. The next week he sent me an ivory cane carved at the top into the semblance of an Indian god with diamonds set in eyes, nostrils and ears. There was no third consignment, or he might have sent me a meerschaum studded with brilliants or something even more hopeless than he did send. I gave diamonds a wide berth for another eight years.
Then one day in New York I was introduced to a prominent Antwerp diamond cutter who had risen from poverty to possession of the biggest diamond factory in Belgium and had unlimited credit. This man again broached diamonds to me. ‘I’m surprised that you should be content with pearls when you could, with your connections, build up a diamond business in the Far East second to none.’
I told him dryly of my first two experiences with diamonds. He laughed. ‘Third time lucky,’ he said. ‘This time you are going to hit the sky.’ But that is a story I must reserve for a later chapter.
(via Gem Trader) Louis Kornitzer writes:
Anyone can peddle shoelaces, but it will be obvious to any layman that there must be considerable amount of cash in hand before one can hope to be a diamond merchant. On the face of it it looks like one of those mysterious occupations that you cannot work up to. There are no correspondence courses for learning to be a president or a diamond merchant, and no ‘assisted passages’.
Nevertheless, you do not need much money, despite appearances, to be a diamond merchant—provided you have the necessary credit. Ever since the first struggling days when I first established myself I have enjoyed two vital things: good health and good credit. Nevertheless, it was not through any effort on my part that I first handled diamonds. It was in the days when I was still handling amethysts, peridots, opals, sapphires, anything, in fact, that came along, but was already deep in my lifelong attachment to pearls. A man named Brodnik came to see me.
I knew him by name. He was a dabbler in many things, considered a well-to-do man. This would-be diamond merchant was a short stocky figure with waxed moustache and a fund of good stories. He said to me at once: ‘I have watched you for a long time. I believe you are the man for me. Money talks. I am prepared to trust you. I want you to buy diamonds with my money and split profits fifty-fifty.’
Well, it was not all quite so simple as all that, but in the end I agreed to some such arrangement. I wanted the money put into my own bank, but he insisted on a bank in the City where he had certain discounting facilities. After all, it was his money, I thought, and so what he said went. Unfortunately, after I had bought a few parcels of diamonds and sold them at a good profit, and was beginning to think that the word ‘diamond’ had a musical sound, the unforseen happened.
One day Brodnik turned up at the office looking worried. ‘Trouble for you,’ he said sadly.
‘What trouble?’ said I.
‘Your bank has closed its doors this morning.’ He mentioned the establishment where he had deposited my diamond working capital.
‘Your bank, you mean,’ I corrected him.
‘Not mine,’ he said even more sadly. ‘My account there don’t matter a peapod. I’m overdrawn at that bank for forty pounds. Don’t you worry about me. Well, what are you going to do about it? I’m looking to you for my money.’
Brodnik was my old man of the sea for some time, until I was lucky enough to get out of his clutches. I did not touch diamond again for years.
My second venture into the brilliants market came when I was associated with a prominent French pearl dealer for the purpose of tapping new sources of pearl supplies in the South Seas. Wherever I went on that trip I was asked whether I had anything to offer in diamonds. I accordingly and optimistically drew my Paris associate’s attention to the possibilities of increasing our profit, and asked him to ship some diamonds of the right sort.
He had a first class brain, had my friend Jacques. Nevertheless, he envisaged my South Seas customers as a series of native rajahs and dusky chiefs, and he shipped to me as his first consignment a golden elephant with turquoise eyes and diamond-spattered trunk. The next week he sent me an ivory cane carved at the top into the semblance of an Indian god with diamonds set in eyes, nostrils and ears. There was no third consignment, or he might have sent me a meerschaum studded with brilliants or something even more hopeless than he did send. I gave diamonds a wide berth for another eight years.
Then one day in New York I was introduced to a prominent Antwerp diamond cutter who had risen from poverty to possession of the biggest diamond factory in Belgium and had unlimited credit. This man again broached diamonds to me. ‘I’m surprised that you should be content with pearls when you could, with your connections, build up a diamond business in the Far East second to none.’
I told him dryly of my first two experiences with diamonds. He laughed. ‘Third time lucky,’ he said. ‘This time you are going to hit the sky.’ But that is a story I must reserve for a later chapter.
The Invention Of Oil Painting
(via The Outline of Art) William Orpen writes:
4
Tradition relates that Quinten Massys, the ‘smith of Antwerp’ became a painter only because his sweetheart would not marry a smith. The swinging brushwork and broad handling which he substituted for the small detailed touches of the earlier painters well accord with the vigor demanded by the work of a smithy. His handling of color is also new, for instead of placing unbroken blues, reds, yellows, etc., in immediate juxtaposition, he marshals his hues into a uniform color scheme. Disliking smallness in all things, he painted figures almost life-size; and when the size of his picture forbade the full length, he contended himself with half figures rather than reduce his scale to miniature proportions. ‘The Banker and his Wife’ at Louvre is a fine example of this innovation.
With the death of Quinten Massys in 1530 the first period of Flemish painting comes to an end. The next generation of Flemings either practised their art in Italy or, like Jan Gossart, called Mabuse (c. 1472-1535), imported Italian fashions in painting.
Mabuse, who took his name from the town of Maubeuge, where he was born about 1472, was a Fleming before he naturalized his art. This we may see by studying the magnificent example of his first manner at the National Gallery. ‘The Adoration of the Magi’, bought for the nation from the Countess of Carlisle in 1911, was painted by Mabuse before he visited Italy. In the architectural background we get a hint of the influence of Roger van der Weyden; the thirty figures in their rather pompous costumes are stolid and almost stony in comparison with the grace of his later works.
Some ten years later Mabuse visited Italy in the train of the Duke of Burgundy, and in Florence Mabuse came under the influence of Leonardo da Vinci. That his first contact with the new naturalism did not have altogether happy results we know by the commonplace realism of his ‘Adam and Eve’ at Hampton Court. Soon, however, the warm air of Italy won him to gentleness, and in his Italianised works it is as a portrait-painter that Mabuse excels. Of his many portraits of ‘Margaret Tudor’ (the elder sister of Henry VIII), which now hangs in the Scottish National Gallery at Edinburgh.
4
Tradition relates that Quinten Massys, the ‘smith of Antwerp’ became a painter only because his sweetheart would not marry a smith. The swinging brushwork and broad handling which he substituted for the small detailed touches of the earlier painters well accord with the vigor demanded by the work of a smithy. His handling of color is also new, for instead of placing unbroken blues, reds, yellows, etc., in immediate juxtaposition, he marshals his hues into a uniform color scheme. Disliking smallness in all things, he painted figures almost life-size; and when the size of his picture forbade the full length, he contended himself with half figures rather than reduce his scale to miniature proportions. ‘The Banker and his Wife’ at Louvre is a fine example of this innovation.
With the death of Quinten Massys in 1530 the first period of Flemish painting comes to an end. The next generation of Flemings either practised their art in Italy or, like Jan Gossart, called Mabuse (c. 1472-1535), imported Italian fashions in painting.
Mabuse, who took his name from the town of Maubeuge, where he was born about 1472, was a Fleming before he naturalized his art. This we may see by studying the magnificent example of his first manner at the National Gallery. ‘The Adoration of the Magi’, bought for the nation from the Countess of Carlisle in 1911, was painted by Mabuse before he visited Italy. In the architectural background we get a hint of the influence of Roger van der Weyden; the thirty figures in their rather pompous costumes are stolid and almost stony in comparison with the grace of his later works.
Some ten years later Mabuse visited Italy in the train of the Duke of Burgundy, and in Florence Mabuse came under the influence of Leonardo da Vinci. That his first contact with the new naturalism did not have altogether happy results we know by the commonplace realism of his ‘Adam and Eve’ at Hampton Court. Soon, however, the warm air of Italy won him to gentleness, and in his Italianised works it is as a portrait-painter that Mabuse excels. Of his many portraits of ‘Margaret Tudor’ (the elder sister of Henry VIII), which now hangs in the Scottish National Gallery at Edinburgh.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Here is a fact sheet on irradiated gemstones via NRC’s 'Fact Sheets & Brochures' page.
More info @ U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
More info @ U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Why Are We Repeatedly Misled By Market Forecasts That Are Consistently Wrong?
I think we are brought up to be insecure, and we look to others for the sources and solutions to our problems, rather than looking to ourselves.
The Awful Truth
The Awful Truth (1937)
Directed by: Leo McCarey
Screenplay: Viña Delmar, Arthur Richman (play)
Cast: Irene Dunne, Cary Grant, Ralph Bellamy
(via YouTube): The Awful Truth
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kooj5oyujd4
A unique romantic comedy for all seasons + I enjoyed it.
Directed by: Leo McCarey
Screenplay: Viña Delmar, Arthur Richman (play)
Cast: Irene Dunne, Cary Grant, Ralph Bellamy
(via YouTube): The Awful Truth
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kooj5oyujd4
A unique romantic comedy for all seasons + I enjoyed it.
Charitable Magic
Economist writes about Harry Potter and the hugely profitable sketches by J.K.Rowling + other viewpoints @ http://www.economist.com/daily/columns/marketview/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10170822
Where Rube Goldberg Meets Kafka
Robin Cembalest writes about Havana Bienal + the curious mix of capitalism and communism + other viewpoints @ http://www.artnews.com/issues/article.asp?art_id=862
The Invention Of Oil Painting
(via The Outline of Art) William Orpen writes:
3
The first great figure in Flemish painting who appears to owe little to either of the Van Eycks is Hans Memlinc (c. 1430-94), who probably studied at Cologne before he settled in Bruges about 1467. His paintings in the Hospital of St. John’s at Bruges are world famous, and round them has been woven a pretty legend.
Young Memlinc, the story goes, while fighting as a soldier of Charles the Bold, was desperately wounded and dragged himself to the Hospital of St. John at Bruges, where he was kindly received and his wounds tended. When cured, out of gratitude for no fee, he painted the picture still to be seen in the Hospital.
Unfortunately, historical research has demolished the legend and reveals Memlinc as no soldier of fortune but a prosperous citizen and house-owner in Bruges. Yet the legend well accords with the character of Memlinc’s paintings, which have been likened to ‘the visions of a sick man in convalescence’.
Just as the name of Michael Angelo is indissolubly linked to the Sistine Chapel in Rome, so is that of Memlinc to the Hospital of St. John at Bruges. But while we are awed by the heroic figures and magnitude of the Italian’s paintings at Rome, in Bruges we are fascinated and bewitched by the bijou qualities of the Fleming’s art. Memlinc’s large triptych in the Hospital, ‘The Virgin and Child Enthroned’ with panels on either side of ‘St. John the Baptist’ and of ‘St. John the Evangelist at Patmos,’ is not the work that takes our breath away: it is the ‘Shrine of St. Ursula,’ a wonderfully painted casket—made to hold relics of the saint. Though only 3 feet long and less than 3 feet high, this casket is covered with eight panel paintings, and six medallions on the roof slopes.
Looking at these poetical pictures of a romantic story, it seems ungracious to recall that the legend of St. Ursula, according to modern science, rests on no surer foundation than the discovery in medieval times of an old Roman burial ground. From these unknown remains, it is now said, the tale of Ursula and her 11000 virgins was constructed. Many versions of the legend are in existence; but none nearer than five or six centuries to the date when the events were supposed to have happened. This is the version followed by Memlinc.
Ursula, daughter of a King of Brittany or Cornwall, either to delay marriage with a pagan prince, or alternately to escape the persecution of the British Emperor Maximian, was enjoined to go on a pilgrimage and make 11000 virgins her companion. The company sailed up the Rhine via Cologne to Basle, and thence went by foot to Rome, where they were received by the Pope with every honor and attention. Returning, they sailed up the Rhine from Basle, with papal benedictions, but on arriving at Cologne, they were slaughtered by the Huns. After the martyrdom, their relics were piously collected and buried.
That is the story, and it will be noted that Memlinc, to show how absolutely the Pope was in sympathy with St. Ursula, actually makes him embark with her at the start of the return journey. Incidentally these miniature paintings show that Memlinc knew Cologne well, for in all the scenes which take place in the city he was effectively introduced the Cathedral and other of its principal buildings.
The spirituality of Memlic’s portraiture, his power to paint the soul as well as the surface, is beautifully exemplified in ‘The Duke of Cleves’. His romanticism, a new note which Memlinc definitely contributed to painting, is bewitchingly exhaled from his ‘Betrothal of St. Catherine’ and the ‘Legend of St. Ursula,’ both of which are touching in their simplicity, their freshness, and miniature daintiness.
Already the city, so wealthy in the days of the Van Eycks, had become in the time of Memlinc Bruges-la-Morte. Something of its sad poetic solitude pervades his pictures. The great house of the Medici had collapsed, the rich merchants had gone elsewhere, and the next great Flemish painter, Quinten Massys (1466-1530), was domiciled in Antwerp.
3
The first great figure in Flemish painting who appears to owe little to either of the Van Eycks is Hans Memlinc (c. 1430-94), who probably studied at Cologne before he settled in Bruges about 1467. His paintings in the Hospital of St. John’s at Bruges are world famous, and round them has been woven a pretty legend.
Young Memlinc, the story goes, while fighting as a soldier of Charles the Bold, was desperately wounded and dragged himself to the Hospital of St. John at Bruges, where he was kindly received and his wounds tended. When cured, out of gratitude for no fee, he painted the picture still to be seen in the Hospital.
Unfortunately, historical research has demolished the legend and reveals Memlinc as no soldier of fortune but a prosperous citizen and house-owner in Bruges. Yet the legend well accords with the character of Memlinc’s paintings, which have been likened to ‘the visions of a sick man in convalescence’.
Just as the name of Michael Angelo is indissolubly linked to the Sistine Chapel in Rome, so is that of Memlinc to the Hospital of St. John at Bruges. But while we are awed by the heroic figures and magnitude of the Italian’s paintings at Rome, in Bruges we are fascinated and bewitched by the bijou qualities of the Fleming’s art. Memlinc’s large triptych in the Hospital, ‘The Virgin and Child Enthroned’ with panels on either side of ‘St. John the Baptist’ and of ‘St. John the Evangelist at Patmos,’ is not the work that takes our breath away: it is the ‘Shrine of St. Ursula,’ a wonderfully painted casket—made to hold relics of the saint. Though only 3 feet long and less than 3 feet high, this casket is covered with eight panel paintings, and six medallions on the roof slopes.
Looking at these poetical pictures of a romantic story, it seems ungracious to recall that the legend of St. Ursula, according to modern science, rests on no surer foundation than the discovery in medieval times of an old Roman burial ground. From these unknown remains, it is now said, the tale of Ursula and her 11000 virgins was constructed. Many versions of the legend are in existence; but none nearer than five or six centuries to the date when the events were supposed to have happened. This is the version followed by Memlinc.
Ursula, daughter of a King of Brittany or Cornwall, either to delay marriage with a pagan prince, or alternately to escape the persecution of the British Emperor Maximian, was enjoined to go on a pilgrimage and make 11000 virgins her companion. The company sailed up the Rhine via Cologne to Basle, and thence went by foot to Rome, where they were received by the Pope with every honor and attention. Returning, they sailed up the Rhine from Basle, with papal benedictions, but on arriving at Cologne, they were slaughtered by the Huns. After the martyrdom, their relics were piously collected and buried.
That is the story, and it will be noted that Memlinc, to show how absolutely the Pope was in sympathy with St. Ursula, actually makes him embark with her at the start of the return journey. Incidentally these miniature paintings show that Memlinc knew Cologne well, for in all the scenes which take place in the city he was effectively introduced the Cathedral and other of its principal buildings.
The spirituality of Memlic’s portraiture, his power to paint the soul as well as the surface, is beautifully exemplified in ‘The Duke of Cleves’. His romanticism, a new note which Memlinc definitely contributed to painting, is bewitchingly exhaled from his ‘Betrothal of St. Catherine’ and the ‘Legend of St. Ursula,’ both of which are touching in their simplicity, their freshness, and miniature daintiness.
Already the city, so wealthy in the days of the Van Eycks, had become in the time of Memlinc Bruges-la-Morte. Something of its sad poetic solitude pervades his pictures. The great house of the Medici had collapsed, the rich merchants had gone elsewhere, and the next great Flemish painter, Quinten Massys (1466-1530), was domiciled in Antwerp.
Blue Diamond
A 6.04 carat, internally flawless, emerald-cut (square in shape) fancy vivid blue diamond, set in a ring was sold by Sotheyby’s (Hong Kong) on October 8, 2007 to Alisa Moussaieff (Moussaieff Jewellers) for US$7,981,835 (US$1,321,590/carat + buyer’s premium).
Design For All
Good designs:(via The New Yorker) I liked the designs. It's simple + functional.
- Sonia Kashuk
‘Beauty is in the eye of the beholder’ takes on a new meaning with Sonia Kashuk’s ergonomic makeup brushes. Designed for perfect finger placement, they’re made to handle hours of making up, or a quick kiss of color.
- Sustainability
It’s hard not to get hung up on the state of the environment. By designing an innovative reuse system for hangers, Target keeps millions out of landfills, putting them back on racks and refashioning broken ones into other plastic goods.
- LED Tealight
Does a candle without fire burn any less brightly? GE’s battery-powered LED tealights glow and even blow out just like a real candle. And best of all, your batteries may burn low but you’ll never get burned.
- Thomas O’Brien
Designer Thomas O’Brien likes to shed light on classic design elements. Take his lamp that brings modern embellishments to a tried-and-true-silhouette, uniting the best of old and new design.
- Method Floor Mop
From the ergonomic pole to the compostable corn-based cloths, Method is, well, methodical about smart, sustainable design. It’s nontoxic and naturally derived to protect your home sweet home (and everyone in it).
- Universal
A great idea that works for everyone, that’s what great design is all about. It’s in little things that help us every day, like easy-to-install energy-saving lightbulbs that fit every home, every hand and everyone’s lifestyle. 15 W.
- Natural
Parabens, pesticides, artificial colorings, SLS’s...that’s no way to start. So Erba Organics created a line of safe, clean and environmentally friendly products for Baby and Mom that take care of you, and the planet.
- Violight
Great design is good for your health. Just take the toothbrush sanitizing Violight for example. It’s sleek, modern exterior (designed by Philippe Starck) hides powerful germ-killing UV technology.
- Wine
Sometimes going against the grain, or the grape, is the right design solution. It worked for the Wine Cube, whose innovative pouring system keeps wine safe from oxygen, and great tasting for weeks after opening. 3L.
- PŪR
Clean drinking water isn’t just a healthy issue, it’s a matter of design. With sleek aesthetics and a space-saving shape, PŪR filters eliminate 99.99% of tap water’s impurities. That’s fresh design to the very last drop.
- Clear RX
It was one life-changing error in her grandparent’s prescriptions that led Deborah Adler to create CleaRx, a pharmacy system that makes taking (and tracking) medications easier, safer and smarter, thanks to design.
- Q-Tips
Inspired by his wife’s toothpick-swaddling ingenuity, Leo Gerstenzang invented ready-to-use cotton swabs in 1923 creating a ‘tipping’ point for portable and hygienic tools that’s still a tip-top design today.
- Yo-Yo
Two equally sized and weighted discs, an axle that joins them and a piece of string. A toy that’s swept every continent and mesmerized children of all ages. Sometimes design is that simple. And that great.
- Dyson
A bagless vacuum that never loses suction? Skeptics scoffed, by Dyson’s intuitive design and patented Root Cyclone technology revolutionized domestic life with a vacuum that expels super-clean air.
- Victoria Hagan
The Victoria Hagan Perfect Pieces end table makes a statement without saying a word. It’s just the right size, height and proportion, and its extra touches ensure that it looks right at home in any room.
- Ergonomic
An intelligent shape can make all the difference. Like a basket designed to curve around the human form—not bump against it, and handles that make your load, well, that much easier to handle.
- Isaac Mizrahi
Thanks to design details by Isaac Mizrahi, the little black dress has been raised from wardrobe option to necessity. Flattering and finessing on any occasion—that’s the look of great design.
- Sonia Kashuk
‘Beauty is in the eye of the beholder’ takes on a new meaning with Sonia Kashuk’s ergonomic makeup brushes. Designed for perfect finger placement, they’re made to handle hours of making up, or a quick kiss of color.
- Sustainability
It’s hard not to get hung up on the state of the environment. By designing an innovative reuse system for hangers, Target keeps millions out of landfills, putting them back on racks and refashioning broken ones into other plastic goods.
- LED Tealight
Does a candle without fire burn any less brightly? GE’s battery-powered LED tealights glow and even blow out just like a real candle. And best of all, your batteries may burn low but you’ll never get burned.
- Thomas O’Brien
Designer Thomas O’Brien likes to shed light on classic design elements. Take his lamp that brings modern embellishments to a tried-and-true-silhouette, uniting the best of old and new design.
- Method Floor Mop
From the ergonomic pole to the compostable corn-based cloths, Method is, well, methodical about smart, sustainable design. It’s nontoxic and naturally derived to protect your home sweet home (and everyone in it).
- Universal
A great idea that works for everyone, that’s what great design is all about. It’s in little things that help us every day, like easy-to-install energy-saving lightbulbs that fit every home, every hand and everyone’s lifestyle. 15 W.
- Natural
Parabens, pesticides, artificial colorings, SLS’s...that’s no way to start. So Erba Organics created a line of safe, clean and environmentally friendly products for Baby and Mom that take care of you, and the planet.
- Violight
Great design is good for your health. Just take the toothbrush sanitizing Violight for example. It’s sleek, modern exterior (designed by Philippe Starck) hides powerful germ-killing UV technology.
- Wine
Sometimes going against the grain, or the grape, is the right design solution. It worked for the Wine Cube, whose innovative pouring system keeps wine safe from oxygen, and great tasting for weeks after opening. 3L.
- PŪR
Clean drinking water isn’t just a healthy issue, it’s a matter of design. With sleek aesthetics and a space-saving shape, PŪR filters eliminate 99.99% of tap water’s impurities. That’s fresh design to the very last drop.
- Clear RX
It was one life-changing error in her grandparent’s prescriptions that led Deborah Adler to create CleaRx, a pharmacy system that makes taking (and tracking) medications easier, safer and smarter, thanks to design.
- Q-Tips
Inspired by his wife’s toothpick-swaddling ingenuity, Leo Gerstenzang invented ready-to-use cotton swabs in 1923 creating a ‘tipping’ point for portable and hygienic tools that’s still a tip-top design today.
- Yo-Yo
Two equally sized and weighted discs, an axle that joins them and a piece of string. A toy that’s swept every continent and mesmerized children of all ages. Sometimes design is that simple. And that great.
- Dyson
A bagless vacuum that never loses suction? Skeptics scoffed, by Dyson’s intuitive design and patented Root Cyclone technology revolutionized domestic life with a vacuum that expels super-clean air.
- Victoria Hagan
The Victoria Hagan Perfect Pieces end table makes a statement without saying a word. It’s just the right size, height and proportion, and its extra touches ensure that it looks right at home in any room.
- Ergonomic
An intelligent shape can make all the difference. Like a basket designed to curve around the human form—not bump against it, and handles that make your load, well, that much easier to handle.
- Isaac Mizrahi
Thanks to design details by Isaac Mizrahi, the little black dress has been raised from wardrobe option to necessity. Flattering and finessing on any occasion—that’s the look of great design.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Namak Mandi
Namak Mandi (translates as Salk Market) is situated in Peshawar in the North-Wesk Frontier Province of Pakistan + it’s a major gemstone market in the region. The 1980 political crisis in Afghanistan brought in refugees + gems to the area + gradually Namak Mandi developed as a gem market. Because of its unique location + convenience, Namak Mandi is becoming one of the largest rough gemstone markets for stones from Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iran, China, and Kashmir (Pakistan).
The more frequently encountered gemstones in Peshawar include Actinolite, Aquamarine, Axinite, Brookite, Emeralds, Epidote, Feldspar/moonstone, Garnet/red + green varieties, Idocrase, Pargasite, Peridot, Quartz, Corundum/ruby + sapphires, Spinel/red + blue, Topaz, Tourmaline, Turquoise, Zircon + Synthetics/Imitations.
The more frequently encountered gemstones in Peshawar include Actinolite, Aquamarine, Axinite, Brookite, Emeralds, Epidote, Feldspar/moonstone, Garnet/red + green varieties, Idocrase, Pargasite, Peridot, Quartz, Corundum/ruby + sapphires, Spinel/red + blue, Topaz, Tourmaline, Turquoise, Zircon + Synthetics/Imitations.
Thanksgiving Feast Under A Microscope
Tom Conlon writes about a typical Turkey Day meal under magnification via Mike Davidson, a biologist and expert photomicrographer at Florida State University's National High Magnetic Field Lab @ http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/magazine/15-11/st_thanksgiving
In my view the images looked very familiar--like the inclusions in mainstream colored gemstones. I enjoyed it.
In my view the images looked very familiar--like the inclusions in mainstream colored gemstones. I enjoyed it.
Bande à part
Bande à part (1964)
Directed by: Jean-Luc Godard
Screenplay: Jean-Luc Godard
Cast: Anna Karina, Danièle Girard
(via YouTube): Nouvelle vague "dance with me" from bande a part
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekQZPozjCX8
Jean-Luc Godard / Bande à part (Band of Outsiders) / Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_K3oHzokvs
It was natural + entertaining.
Directed by: Jean-Luc Godard
Screenplay: Jean-Luc Godard
Cast: Anna Karina, Danièle Girard
(via YouTube): Nouvelle vague "dance with me" from bande a part
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekQZPozjCX8
Jean-Luc Godard / Bande à part (Band of Outsiders) / Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_K3oHzokvs
It was natural + entertaining.
'Secret' Artwork Goes Up For Sale
BBC writes about The Royal College of Art's Secret Postcard event where art lovers are being given the chance to take home an original Tracey Emin or Damien Hirst for just £40 at a sale + other viewpoints @ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/7110679.stm
The Roaches That Came In From The Cold
Blake Eskin writes about Catherine Chalmers + her larger-than-life color photographs of animals doing interesting things + other viewpoints @ http://www.artnews.com/issues/article.asp?art_id=859
The Invention Of Oil Painting
(via The Outline of Art) William Orpen writes:
2
If little is known about the Van Eycks, still less is known concerning their successors. Patient research among municipal records in Flanders, however, has greatly increased our knowledge during recent years. Twenty years ago the very name of the painter of a fine altar-piece in the Abbey of Flemalle, near Liege, was uncertain; he was alluded to vaguely as ‘The Master of Flemalle’. Today it has been established that he was a painter of Tournai, called Robert Campin, who was born about 1375 and lived till 1444. There are two good examples of his art in the National Gallery, and he is important, not only for his own work, but as being the master of Roger van der Weyden.
Among the religious painters Roger van der Weyden (c.1400-64), who was born at Tournai and settled in Brussels, had a considerable influence. Beside the calm solemnity of Hubert van Eyck, his pictures appear exaggerated in their dramatic intensity and fervor. He was essentially a tragic artist, dwelling on the sufferings of the Savior and peopling his pictures with wailing figures, whose emaciated faces stream with tears, whose hands are convulsively clutched in agony or outstretched to heaven. In 1450 he visited Rome and is thought to have had some influence on Ferrarese imbibed something of a new spirit, for towards the end of his life his sentiment became more gentle and refined. Van der Weyden is seen at his best in ‘The Bewailing of the Body of Christ’ in the Berlin Gallery, and in this picture his affinity with the school of Van Eyck is shown in the delicate and gently detailed landscape background.
Roger’s fellow pupil Jacques Daret, who died in 1466, is softer and more conciliatory in his religious themes, and his paintings are peculiarly sweet both in color and temper.
The tragic painting of Van der Weyden was continued by Hugo van der Goes (c.1435-82) of Ghent and Bruges, who is reputed to have begun life as a wild pleasure-lover. Suddenly he withdrew to a monastery near Brussels, and conscious-stricken at his own dissipation he henceforward devoted his talent to sacred subjects, usually accentuating the sorrows of Christ, but always avoiding the wailing and excessive gesticulation which marked the pictures of Van der Weyden. His art is deeper and more quiet, but is certainly not less expressive. The alter-piece with ‘The Adoration of Jesus’ which, under the orders of Portinari, agent for the Medici in Bruges, he painted for Santa Maria Nuova in Florence, is generally accepted as the supreme masterpiece of Hugo van der Goes. We see the continuation of the Van Eyck tradition in the glimpse of landscape, in which light-green branches are boldly contrasted with the deep-blue sky, in the naturalism of the fire-red lily in the foreground, and in the realism of the rough, weatherbeaten shepherds who on one side balance the sturdy figure of St Joseph, who stands praying, on the other. When this picture arrived in Florence, it created a great sensation, and it has been thought that many famous Italian artists, among them Pierro di Cosimo, Ghirlandaio, Piero Pollaiuolo, were influenced to the extent of changing their style after they had seen this masterpiece by Hugo van der Goes.
2
If little is known about the Van Eycks, still less is known concerning their successors. Patient research among municipal records in Flanders, however, has greatly increased our knowledge during recent years. Twenty years ago the very name of the painter of a fine altar-piece in the Abbey of Flemalle, near Liege, was uncertain; he was alluded to vaguely as ‘The Master of Flemalle’. Today it has been established that he was a painter of Tournai, called Robert Campin, who was born about 1375 and lived till 1444. There are two good examples of his art in the National Gallery, and he is important, not only for his own work, but as being the master of Roger van der Weyden.
Among the religious painters Roger van der Weyden (c.1400-64), who was born at Tournai and settled in Brussels, had a considerable influence. Beside the calm solemnity of Hubert van Eyck, his pictures appear exaggerated in their dramatic intensity and fervor. He was essentially a tragic artist, dwelling on the sufferings of the Savior and peopling his pictures with wailing figures, whose emaciated faces stream with tears, whose hands are convulsively clutched in agony or outstretched to heaven. In 1450 he visited Rome and is thought to have had some influence on Ferrarese imbibed something of a new spirit, for towards the end of his life his sentiment became more gentle and refined. Van der Weyden is seen at his best in ‘The Bewailing of the Body of Christ’ in the Berlin Gallery, and in this picture his affinity with the school of Van Eyck is shown in the delicate and gently detailed landscape background.
Roger’s fellow pupil Jacques Daret, who died in 1466, is softer and more conciliatory in his religious themes, and his paintings are peculiarly sweet both in color and temper.
The tragic painting of Van der Weyden was continued by Hugo van der Goes (c.1435-82) of Ghent and Bruges, who is reputed to have begun life as a wild pleasure-lover. Suddenly he withdrew to a monastery near Brussels, and conscious-stricken at his own dissipation he henceforward devoted his talent to sacred subjects, usually accentuating the sorrows of Christ, but always avoiding the wailing and excessive gesticulation which marked the pictures of Van der Weyden. His art is deeper and more quiet, but is certainly not less expressive. The alter-piece with ‘The Adoration of Jesus’ which, under the orders of Portinari, agent for the Medici in Bruges, he painted for Santa Maria Nuova in Florence, is generally accepted as the supreme masterpiece of Hugo van der Goes. We see the continuation of the Van Eyck tradition in the glimpse of landscape, in which light-green branches are boldly contrasted with the deep-blue sky, in the naturalism of the fire-red lily in the foreground, and in the realism of the rough, weatherbeaten shepherds who on one side balance the sturdy figure of St Joseph, who stands praying, on the other. When this picture arrived in Florence, it created a great sensation, and it has been thought that many famous Italian artists, among them Pierro di Cosimo, Ghirlandaio, Piero Pollaiuolo, were influenced to the extent of changing their style after they had seen this masterpiece by Hugo van der Goes.
Design For All
Good designs:(via The New Yorker) I liked the designs. It's simple + functional.
- Bialetti
Italian Alfonso Bialetti proved the power of design with his creation of the first stovetop espresso maker. Compact and stylish, it delivers coffeehouse-style espresso without the pressure of leaving home.
- C9 By Champion
We go to great lengths to sweat, contort and brave elements, and great design keeps pace. From watches that measure heart rates to Duo Dry fabrics designed to wick sweat away and to keep you cool.
- Firefly
Who says smart design is lost on the little ones? Firefly's day-glo 'no adults allowed' phone is pint-sized (even the buttons) for small hands and keeps dialing options basic like Mom, Dad, and 911 assistance.
- Graves
People love walking up with Michael Graves Design. Starting with a hot cup of tea is one thing, having it announced by a cheery chirp and poured from a designed-to-feel-good-in-the-hand kettle is another.
- Joy
Does your fork make you happy? Life may be serious, but design can instill a sense of personality and humor in the most unexpected places. Think whimsical corkscrews or pink, kitty-shaped humidifiers.
- Radio
Forget the fancy knobs and complicated devices. Tivoli's legendary designer, Henry Kloss proved that less is more with a clean, simple interface and crystal-clear sound that picks up even the faintest signal.
Design For All (continued)
- Bialetti
Italian Alfonso Bialetti proved the power of design with his creation of the first stovetop espresso maker. Compact and stylish, it delivers coffeehouse-style espresso without the pressure of leaving home.
- C9 By Champion
We go to great lengths to sweat, contort and brave elements, and great design keeps pace. From watches that measure heart rates to Duo Dry fabrics designed to wick sweat away and to keep you cool.
- Firefly
Who says smart design is lost on the little ones? Firefly's day-glo 'no adults allowed' phone is pint-sized (even the buttons) for small hands and keeps dialing options basic like Mom, Dad, and 911 assistance.
- Graves
People love walking up with Michael Graves Design. Starting with a hot cup of tea is one thing, having it announced by a cheery chirp and poured from a designed-to-feel-good-in-the-hand kettle is another.
- Joy
Does your fork make you happy? Life may be serious, but design can instill a sense of personality and humor in the most unexpected places. Think whimsical corkscrews or pink, kitty-shaped humidifiers.
- Radio
Forget the fancy knobs and complicated devices. Tivoli's legendary designer, Henry Kloss proved that less is more with a clean, simple interface and crystal-clear sound that picks up even the faintest signal.
Design For All (continued)
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Three Inclusions
I think I have identified three inclusions that sell best to the masses:
- Envy
- Greed
- Fear
And it works.
- Envy
- Greed
- Fear
And it works.
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