Heard On The Street

Q: How do you make money in the market?
A: Nothing could be simpler: buy low, sell high.
Q: How can I learn to do that?
A: Ahhhh…that takes a lifetime.

Takashi Murakami + His Students

Sonia Zjawinski has an interesting update on Takashi Murakami's students: Ai Yamaguchi + Erina Matsui + Chiho Aoshima, and their profiles, styles + other viewpoints @ http://www.wired.com/culture/art/magazine/16-06/pl_arts

Useful links:
www.takashimurakami.com
www.ninyu.com
www.tokyoartbeat.com
http://the-artists.org

We Think

We-think: The Power of Mass Creativity by Charles Leadbeater is a fascinating and thought-provoking book on the pros and cons of growing communities on the web. I liked it.

Useful links:
www.wethinkthebook.net
www.charlesleadbeater.net
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiP79vYsfbo

Money For Nothing

Money for Nothing: One Man's Journey Through the Dark Side of Lottery Millions by Edward Ugel shows how difficult it can be to cope with windfall wealth. A personal memoir of greed and hope.

Useful link:
www.edwardugel.com

Our salespeople were lottery winners — we just never bought tickets. Selling to the winners was like selling to myself.
- Edward Ugel

How true!

Carbon Calculators

I found Carolyn Fry's article Carbon Calculators @ http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/feb/19/carbon.web interesting. As she rightly put it, if enough people begin cutting their carbon footprint now, the CO2 saving will soon stack up, whichever you calculate it. Thanks Carolyn for the excellent info.

Useful links:
www.carbonfootprint.com
http://actonco2.direct.gov.uk
www.resurgence.org
www.climatecare.org
www.carbonneutral.com
www.chooseclimate.org
www.transportdirect.info
www.electricityinfo.org
http://coinet.org.uk

Gao Xingjian's Reflections

An artist must walk his own path, and if there are rules, they should only be rules that he himself has created.
- Gao Xingjian

How true!

Gao Xingjian at the Alisan Fine Arts gallery
http://iht.com/slideshows/2008/05/06/arts/06Seno-Slide.php
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/06/11/arts/seno.php

Green Living

Have a look that the U.S. Department of Energy's PDF guide, which is surprisingly helpful and chockful of suggestions for green living.
http://howto.wired.com/wiki/Plant_Trees_to_Cool_Your_Home_and_the_Planet

I should have started planting trees twenty-five years ago.

Flame Queen Opal

One of the most famous opal in the world, dubbed the Flame Queen, weighing 263.18-cts will be auctioned by Bonhams & Butterfields on June 22, 2008, at the auction house’s San Francisco and Los Angeles locations.

Useful link:
www.bonhams.com

The unusual color pattern in this opal is one of the best, really.