A Little Diamond Smuggling

When you are in Tanzania, everyone has a gemstone story. There is no easy way of knowing who is real/fake. You will have to figure out how to identify a genuine trader/gemstone fast. Traders are everywhere. Then there are issues concerning authenticity, quality and value. Always do the right thing. http://www.usaid.gov/stories/madagascar/ss_md_gems.html

Maira Kalman Viewpoint

Time Wastes Too Fast
http://kalman.blogs.nytimes.com

Useful link:
www.mairakalman.com

A great storyteller, really. Thanks Maira.

China's Art Market

According to Hurun’s latest China rich list, there were about 51,000 people in China who had 100 million yuan or more; of these, 1,050 were in Shanxi, a class of new rich, dubbed 'Coal Bosses'. Probably it could be much larger, but interestingly the rich are investing in Chinese art. Shanxi’s new rich have a reputation for brashness and ostentatious spending, and a lot of China’s finest treasures are in the hands of Shanxi collectors. According to Christies, Americans are its biggest clients in this category of art, but Shanxi buyers are catching up. Let's go to Shanxi, really.

Useful links:
www.chaks.com.hk
http://en.artron.net
www.tefaf.com
www.intl-risk.com
www.berwald-oriental.com
www.hurun.net
www.chinamuseums.com

Firsthand Experience

Firsthand Experience and The Subsequent Role of Reflected Knowledge in Cultivating Trust in Global Collaboration by Mark Mortensen (MIT Sloan School of Management) + Tsedal Beyene (Harvard Business School) explains the benefits of face-to-face meetings vs video conferences + e-mails. I couldn't agree more. When you travel to meet distant colleagues and customers, you gain valuable insights not only into those cultures you're visiting, but also into your own business + such knowledge is relevant to relationship building. Hats off to Mark + Tsedal! http://www.hbs.edu/news/pdf/TsedalBeyeneonFirstHandExperience.pdf

James Ensor

He knew all the right art-world people but hated most of them and was sure they hated him. He was an aggrieved traditionalist with a pop-culture itch, equally entertained by Rubens and tabloid cartoons. He was a sophisticated artist who helped shape early Modernism, not in a Paris studio but in an attic room over a novelty shop in a resort town on the North Sea.......

Useful link:
www.moma.org

Nandan Nilekani

Nandan Nilekani, the co-chairman of Infosys Technologies has been named the new head of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIAI), a post that carries the rank of cabinet minister. He was hand-picked by the prime minister to head the ambitious project to provide every citizen with a unique national ID by 2011. Good luck!

Useful link:

http://imaginingindia.com

The Accidental Billionaires

The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal by Ben Mezrich is an interesting tale of intrigue and suspicion that follows Facebook's young founder on his ruthless rise to prominence in Silicon Valley. A must read.

Useful link:

http://benmezrich.com

Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson has died at the age of 50. It's just unimaginable that Michael Jackson is no more, it's just unbelievable. He was one of my favourite artist. My thoughts go out to his children and the rest of his family. RIP Mr Jackson.

Useful link:

www.michaeljackson.com