Copenhagen Consensus Conference

I found the dispatch from the 2008 Copenhagen Consensus Conference interesting and insightful. I think the experts views should be discussed and challenged. Since we live in a world of scarce resources, how can we do the most good?

Useful link:
www.copenhagenconsensus.com

Royal Game Of Ur

(via Wiki) The Royal Game of Ur refers to two game boards found in Royal Tombs of Ur by Sir Leonard Woolley in the 1920s. The two boards date from the First Dynasty of Ur, before 2600 BC, thus making the Royal Game of Ur probably the oldest set of board gaming equipment ever found. One of the two boards is exhibited in the collections of the British Museum in London. A board game known with some certainty to be older than The Royal Game of Ur is the ancient Egyptian game Senet, the existence of which possibly dates as early as the 33rd century BC. Also, recent excavations of a sixty piece set in the "Burnt City" located in Iran has shown that a very similar board game existed five thousand years ago, slightly edging out the age of the Ur set. The Royal Game of Ur was played with two sets (one black and one white) of seven markers and three pyramidal dice. The rules of the game as it was played in Mesopotamia are not known but there is a reliable reconstruction of gameplay based on a cuneiform tablet of Babylonian origin dating from 177–176 BC. It is universally agreed that the Royal Game of Ur, like Senet, is a race game. Both games may be predecessors to the present-day backgammon. A grafitto version of the game was recently discovered scratched by Assyrian guards onto one of the human-headed winged bull gate sentinels from the palace of Sargon II (721 - 705 BC) in the city of Khorsabad, now in the British Museum in London. Similar games have since been discovered on other sculptures in other museums.

Useful links:
Irving Finkel: http://www.britishmuseum.org/the_museum/about_us/staff/middle_east/irving_finkel.aspx
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1815665,00.html

Iving Finkel is the world's foremost expert on the game.

Team Of Rivals

Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin is a multiple biography of the entire team of personal and political competitors that Abraham Lincoln put together to lead America through its greatest crisis. A great read.

Useful link:
www.doriskearnsgoodwin.com

Vietnam Diamond Market

I found the article on the state of the diamond industry in Vietnam @ http://english.vietnamnet.vn/biz/2008/06/789254 interesting.

Making and trading diamond jewellery proves to be profitable business. However, the fat profit made by companies is not mentioned, because this is always considered a ‘sensitive’ issue. The diamonds on sale in Vietnam come from different sources, and a big proportion of the diamonds come through unofficial channels.
How true!

Diamond Empowerment For Africa's Future

I think the new public service announcement by Russell Simmons' Diamond Empowerment Fund (DEF), titled 'Diamond Empowerment for Africa's Future', is an excellent medium to educate consumers understand that diamonds do help Africans.

Useful links:
www.diamondempowerment.org
www.simmonsjewelryco.com
www.russellsimmons.com

First Stop In The New World

First Stop in the New World by David Lida is an in-depth study of Mexico city, from the high arts to the sex industry; from the dense jungle of urban politics to the interactions of everyday commerce; from one end of this five-hundred-square-mile city to the other.

Useful link:
http://davidlida.com

I think Mexico city is truly one of the world's greatest and misunderstood city on earth.

Graphic Novel Update

Rebecca Winters Keegan writes about Hollywood's insatiable appetite for comics-fueled materials + other viewpoints @ http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1816487,00.html

Museum Of The Orient

The Museu do Oriente (Museum of the Orient) was opened in May by Portuguese President Aníbal Cavaco Silva and Prime Minister José Sócrates. In planning for nearly two decades, the $46.6 million facility was set up by the Fundação Oriente (Orient Foundation) — a Portuguese cultural organization established in the former colony of Macau in 1988 — and showcases a vast array of Asian artifacts on five floors in a magnificent Art Deco building along the Lisbon waterfront at Alcãntara. Among the Museu do Oriente's collections are many prominent pieces that have never been publicly exhibited, including rare crucifixes, snuff bottles, screens, ornaments, paintings and antiques from as far afield as East Timor, Japan, Goa, Korea and Macau (the latter meriting a section of its own). There is also a special exhibition devoted to Hindu, Buddhist, Taoist and Shinto religious objects. But art experts and historians are most excited about the reappearance of a well-known collection that has not been shown publicly for many years...... http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1815982,00.html

Useful link:
www.foriente.pt

Definitely a must-visit.

Club4Climate

Club4Climate has teamed up with the world leaders in environmentally sustainable dance clubs, Rotterdam’s Enviu/Doll and Sustainable Dance Club. Working on the basis that a club should be self sufficient and not a drain on the environment, the organisation has come up with the varied and interesting ways to be eco-friendly.

Useful links:
www.club4climate.com
www.sustainabledanceclub.com

Must be an interesting place to visit.

The Public Gallery

The Public, one of Britain’s largest and most ambitious cultural building projects, will open its doors on 28th + 29th June, 2008. A must-visit.

Useful links:
www.alsoparchitects.com
www.thepublic.com

Random Thoughts

Swarovski produces glass, but sells it as if it were diamonds. We produce diamonds, but sell it as if it were glass.

- Sergei Vybornov
President, Alrosa

The Three Industry Wild Cards

Chaim Even Zohar writes about Nicky Oppenheimer, Sergei Vybornov and Ian Khama + other viewpoints @ http://www.idexonline.com/portal_FullEditorial.asp

Useful links:
www.debeersgroup.com
http://eng.alrosa.ru
www.debswana.com
www.monitor.com
www.bedia.co.bw

How true!

Random Thoughts

I always feel pressure. If you don't feel nervous, that means you don't care about how you play. I care about how I perform. I've always said the day I'm not nervous playing is the day I quit.

- Tiger Woods
www.tigerwoods.com

He was spot on.

Rembrandt's Laughing Portrait

According to William Noortman (Noortman Master Paintings), who specializes in Dutch and Flemish masters, 'Rembrandt Laughing' — bought for a bargain price of $4.5 million at an English auction house in October — a self-portrait by the Dutch master himself, depicted with his head tilted back in easygoing laughter, could be worth $30 million to $40 million.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080619/ap_en_ot/art_rembrandt_laughing

Useful links:
www.noortman.com
www.rembrandthuis.nl

If it's real, then it's a rare opportunity.

Gemlab Update

I found the latest research newsletter from GemLab @ http://www.gemlab.net/website/gemlab/fileadmin/user_upload/Research/Gemlab-Newsletter-06-2008.pdf educational and interesting.

Useful link:
www.gemlab.net

Managing Price Increases

John Quelch offers tips on how marketers can cope with inflation and consumer sticker shock @ http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/5957.html

Useful link:
Marketing Know: How

Brilliant!

Coral Reefs + Economic Value

The World Resources Institute, in collaboration with government and NGO partners in St. Lucia, Tobago and Belize, has developed an economic valuation methodology to quantify the value of coral reefs in the Caribbean more accurately. The methodology supports the evaluation of trade-offs, thereby highlighting the management and development paths which protect coral reefs, and maximize the economic contribution of coral reefs to the economy.

Useful link:
www.wri.org

Knowledge + sustainable planning = Long-term economic potential

Jewelry Camp

The Antique Jewelry and Art Conference will be held on July 11 - 13, 2008, at Hofstra University in Long Island, New York. Speakers include Diana Singer, Christie Romero, Michael Goldstein, Gus Davis, Ben Macklowe, Tom Burstein of Harry Winston, Joyce Jonas to name a few. Don't miss it.

Useful links:
www.jewelrycamp.org
www.appraisers.org

Recession Proof Shoppers

I found the article on research-proof shoppers @ http://www.brandweek.com/bw/news/apparelretail/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003813502 intriguing. What drives women to buy expensive goods? I guess it must be quality, designs, service, prestige, success and confidence.

Useful links:
www.elle.com
www.brandweek.com
www.surveysampling.com

Cyd Charisse

Cyd Charisse, a former co-star of Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly, has died in Los Angeles aged 87. She sang and danced with legends Gene Kelly in Singin' in the Rain, and Fred Astaire in Silk Stockings.

Useful links:
www.humorinthenews.com/cyd
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001998

Fred Astaire described Cyd Charisse as beautiful dynamite. I think he was spot on. She will be dearly missed.