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Saturday, June 28, 2008

Fake Fabergé Easter Egg

Maev Kennedy writes about a Fabergé fans nightmare: The shatteringly bad news was that it was not the gem of a lifetime's collecting - a genuine Fabergé Easter egg, one of the jewelled toys of the Russian Imperial court and worth up to £10m - but a copy, worth at most £100,000, roughly twice its original price at auction.

Go to http://arts.guardian.co.uk/art/news/story/0,,2288006,00.html for further information.

Diamond Rough Imitations

Jewelry Insurance Issues writes about new trends in prized uncut diamonds in jewelry + 4C's issues + the scams + other viewpoints @ http://jcrs.com/newsletters/2008/2008_05.htm

Useful link:
www.jcrs.com

Random Thoughts

Berkshire has a policy started in 1965, when I became involved, to acquire terrific companies run by terrific people. And then I don't have to do anything. But it's worked. We don't ever sell companies. A lot of private equity firms, they talk about buying something with an exit strategy. Well, we have an entrance strategy, but we have no exit strategy. The idea is to build and build and build, whether it's GEICO, whether it's Dairy Queen, whether it's, you name the company. We have 76 of them now. We trust our managers. They've earned that trust. They've delivered over the years, and we let them run their businesses. I take no credit for any of their successes, and I take no blame for any of their failures.

- Warren Buffett

Friday, June 27, 2008

Montreal Jazz Festival

The 29th annual festival, from June 26 - July 6, 2008, features 11 days of non-stop entertainment, from noon to midnight, right in the heart of downtown Montreal. It’s the summer celebration par excellence for people of all ages and origins, a cultural breath of fresh air, and a place for incredible musical discoveries with influence such as Jass, Blues, Latin-Jazz, Brazilian, Cuban, African, Reggae, Contemporary, Electronica ... It's the best in the world. You don't want to miss it!

Useful link:

Spore Creature Creator

Electronic Arts has released the so-called Spore Creature Creator, which allows players to generate infinitely varied 3D critters and interact with them. It's fun.

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Enhancing The Industry’s Capital Base

Chaim Even Zohar writes about the world's first listed polished diamond fund (approximately 60 percent of white diamonds + 40 percent of rare colored diamonds) + the impact + other viewpoints @ http://www.idexonline.com/portal_FullEditorial.asp

Useful links:
www.diapasoncm.com
www.ubs.com

If the business is successful, expect to see more copycats.

WALL-E

WALL-E is a 2008 computer animated science fiction film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. WALL-E is an acronym for Waste Allocation Load Lifter-Earth Class. The film, which follows the romance between two robots in the future, is directed by Andrew Stanton, whose previous film, Finding Nemo, won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

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The creators at Pixar are indeed masters of their craft. Not only are they masters of the technology, they are masters of telling a story. Get up from your chair and go see the movie.

Living Flowers

Living Flowers: Ikebana and Contemporary Art exhibition (June 15, 2008–September 7, 2008) at the Japanese American National Museum (JANM) in Los Angeles, features arrangements from three Los Angeles ikebana schools with international cutting-edge works of art. A must-visit. The flower arrangements are beautiful.

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