Travel Updates

I found Schmap with local listings + zoomable city maps interesting + the guides were useful for planning out a day's itinerary + I would also recommend Trip It.

Useful links:
www.schmap.com
www.tripit.com

Battle At Kruger

Watching the Battle At Kruger video (what a lucky shot) is amazing + it's the difference in speed and resolve of predator vs prey + it all happens in the blink of an eye + there is a lesson for all.

Useful links:
Battle At Kruger: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU8DDYz68kM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_at_Kruger

Barbarians At The Gate

Barbarians At The Gate: The Fall Of RJR Nabisco by Bryan Burrough + John Helyar covers the management buy out of RJR and all the financial moves that took place to get it done + secret deals + stock market manipulation + flouting of laws + surprise plot twists + all of it almost unbelievable, but all of it true + it's well worth your time, effort, and energy.

Here is what the description of Barbarians At The Gate says (via Amazon):

Over six months on the New York Times bestseller list, Barbarians at the Gate is the definitive account of the largest takeover in Wall Street history. Bryan Burrough and John Helyar's gripping record of the frenzy that overtook Wall Street in October and November of 1988 is the story of deal makers and pulicity flaks, of strategy meetings and society dinners, of boardrooms and bedrooms, giving us not only an unprecedentedly detailed look at how financial operations at the highest levels are conducted but also a richly textured social history of wealth at the twilight of the Reagan era. As compelling as a novel, Barbarians at the Gate is must reading for everyone interested in the way today's world really works.

Color Association Of The United States

The Color Association of the United States (CAUS) is an independent color trend forecasting and color consulting service to the business community.

Useful links:
www.colorassociation.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Color_Association_of_the_United_States

Coskata

According to the company officials, Coskata uses existing gasification technology to convert almost any organic material into synthesis gas + rather than fermenting that gas or using thermo-chemical catalysts to produce ethanol, Coskata pumps it into a reactor containing bacteria that consume the gas and excrete ethanol + the process yields 99.7 percent pure ethanol + Coskata's method generates more ethanol per ton of feedstock than corn-based ethanol + requires far less water, heat and pressure + those cost savings allow it to turn, say, two bales of hay into five gallons of ethanol for less than $1 a gallon + I think with proper distribution infrastructure + luck the business venture should succeed.

Useful links:
www.coskataenergy.com
www.ucsusa.org
www.nrdc.org
www.ethanolrfa.org
www.anl.gov

R E M

R E M is an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by Michael Stipe (lead vocals) + Peter Buck (guitar) + Mike Mills (bass guitar) + Bill Berry (drums and percussion) + their music is mid-tempo + enigmatic + semi-folk-rock-balladish + experimental + especially, Michael Stipe's distinctive metallic/vitreous voice + they were pivotal in the creation and development of the alternative rock genre + its members have sought to highlight social and political issues + I enjoy their music.

Useful links:
www.remhq.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R.E.M._(band)

The Garibaldi Panorama

Brown University is bringing the 19th-century artwork, painted on a 136-foot paper canvas, fragile and large, into the 21st century, putting the painting online so that the Internet-viewing public can view it with a simple mouse click + the project allows historians and others access to a unique art form that was once used to convey current events to the public + according to the experts the watercolor panorama was painted on both sides of the 41/2 foot-tall canvas, and spans 273 feet + painted in either 1860 or 1861 + it chronicles the life of Giuseppe Garibaldi, a patriot regarded as one of modern Italy's founding fathers + at the time, panoramas were a popular art form, particularly in Europe + The Garibaldi Panorama is perceived as a 'moving' artwork.

Useful links:
http://dl.lib.brown.edu/garibaldi
Digital Initiatives: http://dl.lib.brown.edu
http://www.brown.edu/Administration/News_Bureau/2007-08/07-038.html

Lifting Sightholder Suspensions In The Best Interest Of All

Chaim Even Zohar writes about DTC Sightholder issues + DTC's past/present practices + the impact + the importance of good governance + other viewpoints @ http://www.idexonline.com/portal_FullEditorial.asp