Designed For Pleasure

Designed for Pleasure: The World of Edo Japan in Prints and Paintings, 1680-1860 is @ Asia Society and Museum, 725 Park Avenue, at 70th Street, New York, U.S.A, Part 1, through March 30, 2008; Part 2, April 4 to May 4, 2008.


Useful links:
www.asiasociety.org
www.takashimurakami.com

Wood Chips Into Ethanol

I found the concept of turning wood chips (a type of bacteria that helps termites digest wood could be key to making ethanol cheaply from wood and grass) into fuel intriguing + the startup ZeaChem believes they have developed a unique biorefinery technology using combinations of biochemical and thermochemical processing to produce ethanol more efficiently.


Useful link:
www.zeachem.com

R.E.M Update

R.E.M fans will now be able to get free access to download their latest album through the social-networking application iLike, starting on March 24, 2008.

Useful links:
www.remhq.com
www.ilike.com

Cassandra's Dream

Cassandra's Dream is a suspense film directed by Woody Allen, starring Ewan McGregor and Colin Farrell + it's about two brothers with serious financial woes, in the end they lose everything in strange ways + I've been a Woody Allen fan for a long time, and his movies are always driven by characters, which I like.

Useful links:
www.cassandrasdreammovie.com
www.woodyallen.com

Diamond Price Speculation

The world-record high prices on quality diamonds is rather interesting because this has happened before + the dealers tend to have short memories or they may be going through momentary autism, or they may never learn from past mistakes, or is it pump and dump, I really don't know, but I found the article @ http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL126151820080312 educational + insightful + now on the dangers of speculative pricing by dealers -- you be the judge!

Cultured Pearl Association Of America

Check out the videos of 5th Annual Tahitian Pearl Trophy Ceremony at New York City's Rockefeller Center Hotel Club Quarters @ Cultured Pearl Association of America

Useful link:
www.cpaa.org

The Panic Of 1907

The book The Panic of 1907: Lessons Learned from the Market's Perfect Storm by Robert F. Bruner + Sean D. Carr is a great read and timely + it's a unique study in human behavior + it's easy-to-read and insightful + gem & jewelry & art dealers should read it.

Door-to-Door Sales: The Forgotten Channel

Door-to-Door Sales: The Forgotten Channel by Dylan Bolden and Tom Lutz suggest two ways to sell even more: squeezing salespeople more efficiently, by creating denser sales territories, closer to their homes; and putting more 'feet on the street', either by contracting out or by building a robust in-house recruitment, retention and training system.

Useful link:
www.bcg.com

I think it is vital to get the incentive structure right; who knows, the concept could be applicable in the gem & jewelry sector.