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