Nanotechnology Art Gallery

Small is big. Now a handful of artists are going smaller still, often applying the tools of nanotechnology to control matter at a molecular level. It's beautiful. Really.

Useful links:
www.nanotech-now.com/nanotechnology-art-gallery.htm
www.willard-wigan.com
www.crisorfescu.com

The 48 Hour Film Project

(via Wiki) The 48 Hour Film Project is a contest in which teams of filmmakers are assigned a genre, a character, a prop, and a line of dialogue, and have 48 hours to create a short film containing those elements. The winning film will go up against films from around the world.

Useful link:
www.48hourfilm.com

Innovation Tournament

Check out Wipro Technologies + Knowledge @ Wharton's global Innovation Tournament. The tournament is open to participants worldwide. The winners will be selected through a process of elimination and honored in early 2010. The deadline to submit entries is November 6, 2009.

Burma JADE Act Report 2009

This report examines: 1) the key characteristics of the trade of Burmese-origin jadeite and rubies; (2) the progress U.S. agencies have made to restrict imports of Burmese jadeite, rubies, and related jewelry into the U.S. market; and (3) the progress U.S. agencies have made in pursuing international actions, including (a) seeking a World Trade Organization (WTO) waiver of U.S. WTO obligations regarding import restrictions of the JADE Act; (b) securing a United Nations (UN) resolution that expresses the need to address trade in Burmese-origin jadeite, rubies, and related jewelry and calls for a workable certification scheme to prevent such trade; and (c) working to negotiate an international arrangement--similar to the Kimberley Process (which certifies the origins of rough diamonds)--to prevent such trade. Our work incorporated views from U.S. government officials, U.S. and foreign jewelry industry representatives, foreign government officials, and academics with a range of expertise on Burma's economy and political situation.

Highlights of the report include:
-The Burmese jadeite and ruby trades are very different from one another and significantly involve China and Thailand.
-U.S. agencies have taken some steps but have not shown that they are effectively restricting imports of Burmese-origin rubies, jadeite, and related jewelry while allowing imports of non-Burmese-origin goods.
-U.S. agencies have made no discernible progress in gaining international support to prevent global trade in Burmese-origin rubies, jadeite, and related jewelry.
-Agency officials said there are serious impediments to achieving this objective, such as lack of international support and the inherent difficulty in identifying the country of origin for rubies and ruby jewelry. http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-09-987

Moscow Biennale Of Contemporary Art 2009

Jean-Hubert Martin's latest project, Against Exclusion, opened in Moscow, introducing Anish Kapoor and Spencer Tunick, to be joined by underappreciated Russians such as Valery Koshlyakov and Alexandr Brodsky, as well as artists from African villages, aboriginal tribal chieftans, and Afghan carpet weavers. www.3rd.moscowbiennale.ru

Reverse Graffiti

According to British artist Paul Curtis (aka Moose), the world is a mess. His signature technique is cleaning. www.reversegraffitiproject.com

Project H Design

Check out Emily Pilloton's Design Revolution: 100 Products that Empower People, a unique tool that delivers efficient design solutions.

Useful link:
http://projecthdesign.org

Cambridge 800

Quentin Blake's 70-foot-long work celebrating the 800th anniversary of Cambridge University was brilliant.

Useful link:
www.quentinblake.com