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.