Two American Music Icons

Two Men With The Blues by Willie Nelson/Wynton Marsalis, two of contemporary American music's greatest icons, is a great album with great music. You will love it.

Useful links:

www.wyntonmarsalis.org

www.willienelson.com

A Green New Deal

According to the New Economics Foundation, a unique new group of specialists in finance, energy and environment, a Green New Deal will deliver a comprehensive solution to the triple crunches of the credit crisis, high energy prices and climate change. In order to achieve positive results many countries will have to learn the art of rapid transition (economic + political + behavioural). The Green New Deal group's inspiration comes from President Roosevelt's response to the 1929 Wall Street financial crash. A Green New Deal Report can be downloaded from the New Economic Foundation's website @ www.neweconomics.org

Geometric Informatics

The video of Radiohead's 'House Of Cards' by director James Frost using 3-D and radar technologies was brilliant. I liked it.

Useful links:
www.geometricinformatics.com
www.radiohead.com

I liked the idea of making a video of human beings and real life and time without using any cameras, just lasers, so there are just mathematical points - and how strangely emotional it ended up being.
- Thom Yorke

Jamie Hewlett

Jamie Hewlett is an English comic book artist and designer. He is best known for being the co-creator of the comic strip Tank Girl and co-creator of the band Gorillaz. He is a major creator in the comics industry, and one of the few to break into mainstream media. I am a huge fan of Jamie Hewlett.

Useful links:
www.gorillaz.com
www.monkeyjourneytothewest.com

The World's Most Sought-after Champagnes

I found Vidya Ram's article on highest-quality Champagnes @ http://www.forbes.com/lifestyle/2008/07/18/champagne-prices-rising-forbeslife-cx_vr_0718wine.html interesting. I think demand is definitely outstripping supply, really.

Useful links:
www.liv-ex.com
www.wamllp.com

Champagne is what is drunk in the casinos of the world, on the yachts of Russian oligarchs and by footballers' wives, so there is an element of flash money about it.
- Justin Gibbs

An Interesting Gem Dispute

David K Li writes about a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against Harry Winston company + the 733-carat sapphire connection @ http://www.nypost.com/seven/07162008/news/nationalnews/heavyweight_gem_cuffle_120112.htm

The New Museum

The New Museum has announced plans for a triennial exhibition devoted to emerging global artists, slated to open in the spring of 2009. Go to www.newmuseum.org for further information.

Random Thoughts

I like to wait for the noise in the brain to recede and to have a better relation to the unconscious. Anyone who spends time with young people knows that you can’t fake play. There’s real play, and then there’s fake play, and when young people are fake playing you see it immediately. I’m deeply suspicious of the craft in which I have expertise, because I grew up in a dictatorship. Whether it was the shadow of the dictatorship of Trujillo, or was my father who was part of the military apparatus of the dictatorship, I always knew the dangers of authoring, and authority, and storytelling.

- Junot Díaz
www.junotdiaz.com