Random Thoughts

There are times, as they say, when you worry about the return on your capital, and there are times when you worry about the return of your capital. These days you should worry about the return of your capital.

- Mohamed El-Erian

How true!

Gilberto Gil

Gilberto Gil is one of Brazil's most beloved and respected artists + he is known for his exploration of Afro-centric culture in his music + his Brazilian 'roots music' revolution helped 're-Africanize' Bahian music that lead to one of the country's most successful and popular periods.

Useful link:
www.gilbertogil.com.br

Lively

Lively is Google’s 3D social network, a series of chat rooms that can be embedded directly into pages on the Web + it's a mash up of instant message, chat room, virtual world, and Web page. I liked it.

Useful link:
www.lively.com

Green Technologies

Knowledge@Wharton shares a proactive approach by two companies, DuPont and NetJets, and their green story @ Two Companies, Two Different Blueprints for Reducing Global Warming

Useful link:
http://emertech.wharton.upenn.edu

Remembrance Diamonds

Patrick Baert writes about Algordanza, a company in the eastern Swiss canton of Graubuenden, which offers a service to turn ashes into precious stones for a fee + other viewpoints @ http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080707/lf_afp/lifestyleswitzerlanddeathoffbeat_080707043441

Useful link:
www.algordanza.org

Nelson Mandela's Lessons On Leadership

Richard Stengel's article on Mandela: His 8 Lessons of Leadership @ http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1821467,00.html was brilliant. I guess one could apply the lessons in business as well.

- Courage is not the absence of fear — it's inspiring others to move beyond it.
- Lead from the front — but don't leave your base behind.
- Lead from the back — and let others believe they are in front.
- Know your enemy — and learn about his favorite sport.
- Keep your friends close — and your rivals even closer.
- Appearances matter — and remember to smile.
- Nothing is black or white.
- Quitting is leading too.

World Bank Report On Biofuels

The contents of the World Bank's draft internal report on the link between biofuels and food prices have been widely reported in newspapers, blog and media. According to the report the drive for biofuels by American and European governments has pushed up food prices by 75% + crop-derived fuels have been the ultimate cause of food riots, starvation and high prices around the world.

(via Guardian) PDF of World Bank biofuels report.

Useful link:
www.worldbank.org

Midnights Children

Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie has been judged the best ever winner of the Booker prize, on the 40th anniversary of the prestigious literary prize.

Useful link:
www.themanbookerprize.com

I have read the book. It's brilliant.

Art Auction Update

Souren Melikian writes about an extraordinary auction conducted by Henry Wyndham, chairman of Sotheby's Europe + the high quality pictures + other viewpoints @ http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/07/11/arts/melik11.4-300831.php

Temporary South African Pain Relief

Chaim Even Zohar writes about Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) equity partner issues + the regulatory mess + other viewpoints @ http://www.idexonline.com/portal_FullEditorial.asp

World's Best City Award

Bangkok, the vibrant capital of Thailand, has been voted by Travel + Leisure as the world's best city for 2008.

Useful link:
www.travelandleisure.com

Very delighted!

Framing A Century

Framing a Century -- Master Photographers (1840–1940): The exhibition (June 3–September 1, 2008) tells the story of photography's first 100 years through the work of key figures who helped shape the aesthetic and expressive course of the medium: Gustave Le Gray, Roger Fenton, Carleton Watkins, William Henry Fox Talbot, Julia Margaret Cameron, Nadar, Édouard Baldus, Charles Marville, Eugène Atget, Walker Evans, Man Ray, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and Brassaï. The presentation of 10 to 12 iconic works by each of these artists conveys a broad sense of their contributions to photography. Many of the works are drawn from the Museum's 2005 acquisition of the Gilman Collection.

Useful link:
www.metmuseum.org

A must-visit.

Gems Club

Dubai Multi Commodities Centre + Thai Gem & Jewelry Traders Association have signed an agreement making TGJTA the first affiliate member of the Dubai Gems Club, a strategic initiative of the Colored Stones and Pearls Division at DMCC.

Useful links:
www.dgc.ae
www.dmcc.ae
www.thaigemjewelry.or.th

I hope the affiliation will provide trade opportunities for Dubai + Thailand, both fast-emerging markets for colored stones.

Random Thoughts

Sustainability is a cultural problem, embedded in unsustainable lifestyles. The radical restart has to begin with each one of us.

- Wilfried Wang

Limits To Growth

Limits to Growth: The 30-Year Update by Donella H. Meadows + Jorgen Randers + Dennis L. Meadows is a scientific account of what mankind is doing ecologically to the planet. This book explains about the earth's resources and how we are overusing them. Great read.

T. Boone Pickens Plan

T. Boone Pickens, a Texas billionaire who’s made his fortune in the oil industry, is promoting wind and solar power on his web site and in ads. He has built a unique social network right into his site, and he’s calling the network Push.PickensPlan.com. It's a new style. At the end of the day, I think he is a consummate businessman.

Useful link:
www.pickensplan.org

Frank Gehry + The Serpentine Gallery

Maev Kennedy writes about Frank Gehry + his first building in England, the temporary summer pavilion for the Serpentine gallery + other viewpoints @ http://arts.guardian.co.uk/art/news/story/0,,2289845,00.html

Useful links:
www.serpentinegallery.org
www.foga.com

Contemporary Chinese Art

Donald Morrison writes about 798 Dashanzi Art District + other viewpoints @ http://blogs.iht.com/tribtalk/travel/globespotters/?p=470

Useful link:
www.798space.com

Green Lights

Find the correct CFL (compact fluorescent light bulbs) for specific applications and save the environment. Go to http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=cfls.pr_cfls for further information.

Useful link:
www.energystar.gov

Francisco de Goya Drawings

Three drawings by Spain's Francisco de Goya, presumed lost for 130 years, have fetched more than £4m at Christie's auction in London.

Useful links:
www.christies.com
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7496947.stm

The art market comes to the fore when there’s a lot of discretionary spending. Collectors are competing with each other. The prices of art accelerate. The age of the most expensive artists drops. There’s a great flowering. Schadenfreude starts building up. And then it crumbles erratically.
- Marc Glimcher

Correction. Contraction. Crash.

This market is fueled by collectors who have never been through a correction. The generations who did are watching this with disbelief. It’s like teenagers who have unprotected sex thinking they’ll never get pregnant. And then, whoops . . . look what happened!
- Darlene Lutz

How true!