Gift catalogs help the more fortunate

Robb Report offers a 144-carat diamond necklace at $10-million, the new $350,000 Daimler-Chrysler Maybach 62 sedan, a $1.6-million Formula One Ferrari, a residence in London's fabled Regent's Park for $29.9-million and a $1.25-million America's Cup vacation. Too expensive? How about an original copy of Ian Fleming's You Only Live Twice, signed by the author, for $75,000?

Astoria Times does an article with Anna Berger of the Upper West Side, who plays the mother of mobster Paulie Walnuts in the Sopranos.

BBC NEWS: Callas letters sold to mystery buyer

Private letters revealing opera star Maria Callas' desire for revenge after she was jilted by billionaire Aristotle Onassis have sold at auction in Rome. The letters fetched more than £4,000 at a Christie's auction on Wednesday, selling to a mystery bidder.

Eleven lots of the opera singer's letters and photographs sold for £13,000, much more than was expected before the sale.

Days after Onassis wed the widow of assassinated US President John F Kennedy in October 1969, Callas wrote: "It's cruel, it isn't true - both should pay and both will pay, you'll see."

Callas died alone, depressed and unfulfilled, in Paris in September 1977. She was 53.
Onassis, who had once given her a $1m diamond ring, died in March 1975.
Written as her nine-year affair with Onassis was collapsing, Callas' letters also touched on the disillusion she felt and her battle to lose weight.

The Macomb Daily has a cool proposal story...

Hidden beneath the surface: Authenticity

In another tagging method, minute mixes of metals are sprayed on goods and then examined using X-rays, Barron said. A South African diamond supplier uses the method to mark gems, and a copper supplier uses it in overhead high-voltage wires, which are often stolen and resold as scrap in poor countries.

Former Miss America to Become a Mrs.

Ebner proposed about three weeks ago, on one knee, a diamond ring waiting on his Bible and red roses scattered around the house.

"When I saw it, I was blown away," Harman said of the ring that Ebner had made for her in secret. "It was better than I imagined."

Maureen Dowd wrote an article in the NY Times: A Golden Couple Chasing Away a Black Cloud, that's being widely discussed on the net these days...

Thanks to 2 Tigers Online: Tools for Nuclear and Radiation Emergencies by Two Tigers Radiological for the banner. If you ever want to know the warning status of our HomeLand Security, simply click on the permalink for this entry. Today the warning level is:

Asia Times: India's Little Gems

China, though, is nibbling away at the diamond processing pie that India controls, with increasing numbers of diamond processors from Israel and Belgium, and even India, setting up bases in China, for a variety of reasons:

The labor force is cheap and disciplined.

China's economic growth is continuing, and the number of wealthier consumers within the country rising, while India has to rely almost solely on exports.

De Beers, the world's largest supplier of rough diamonds, is increasingly favoring China in order to reduce its dependence on India.

The quality of Chinese workmanship is steadily improving.

Policies such as single window clearance largely favor foreign businessmen.

This argument will probably not receive much sympathy. How about if they work together with the anti-pop-up software to help ensure that people who don't like popups won't visit their sites ;) ?

When the doors do open -- the plan now is for a Dec. 3 debut, 10 days late but still in time for the main holiday shopping rush -- the store will offer diamond items ranging from US$750 trinkets to -- theoretically at least -- the 203-carat De Beers Millennium Star, which was the object of a failed November 2000 robbery at London's Millennium Dome. Lorenzo said the stone was worth "several dozens of millions of dollars" and is not kept at the store. The London store is meant to be the forerunner of a chain that would include a New York store on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 55th Street, which the company hopes to open in 2004. The US accounts for half the world's US$60 billion in sales of cut and polished diamonds, but it is also problematic for the parent company, De Beers, because of a variety of antitrust investigations that preclude it from openly doing business there.

Or remember any of these?:

Sword of Justice with Dack Rambo of Dallas, as Jack Cole handing out those 3 of spades... Larry Hagman was in the pilot and Belinda Montgomery was in the second episode.

Remember Man From Atlantis with Patrick Duffy and the webbed hands and feet? Belinda Montgomery was in that one too. As was Victor Buono. Victor Buono was a great villain for the fun original Wild Wild West against Ross Martin and Robert "I dare you to knock this battery off my shoulder" Conrad.

Or the original TV version of Mission Impossible.

Anyone recognize this guy from SWAT?

Or any of the versions The Paper Chase with the brilliant John "We make money the old-fashioned way, we Eeeeeaaaarrrrnnn it" Houseman? The movie version starred Lindsey "Bionic Woman" Wagner....

Also fun was The Six Million Dollar Man, I still remember the original song before the show was repackaged and redone...there was later a reunion show with Sandra Bullock.

The Greatest American Hero was fun and finally, before the current Saturday Night Live, anyone remember the variety show Saturday Night Live? If I recall correctly, it starred Howard Cosell....

The internet answers all questions. Today's episode: What time is it?

A 5 minutes preview of Star Trek Nemesis is now online at iFilm.

Would you like a Belgian chocolate?

Science Toys looks like a really cool site...offering science toys you can make with your kids.

Well I'm surprised to see that Yahoo! has responded.

If MyWay gets much better, it will definitely eat into Yahoo...but I've said this before...

A Rolex wristwatch that belonged to the former emperor of Vietnam sold for a record $235,000, the auctioneers said Tuesday.

Lydia Diamond founders receive trading bans over misuse of company funds

The husband-and-wife founders of Lydia Diamond Exploration Ltd. plan to appeal an order by the country's largest stock regulator that forces them to sever formal ties to the company for misusing funds and improperly selling millions of shares to the public. A panel of the Ontario Securities Commission also ordered Tuesday that Jurgen von Anhalt and Emilia von Anhalt - who claim royal titles of prince and princess from Saxony, a former German principality - must resign as directors and officers of the company and can't attend directors meetings.

Charles sees Marines in Bond-style spectacular before 007 screening

Before the film, the Prince, wearing the uniform of a vice admiral, watched intently as actors and servicemen played out an 007 scenario. The plot centred around the kidnapping of a TV reporter who has uncovered a diamond smuggling racket.

Buffalo Reflex has a report about State Commemorative Coins.

"Illinois will feature Abraham Lincoln; Alabama plans to honor Helen Keller. Maine will feature a lighthouse on the coast and a ship at sea. The Arkansas quarter, which will follow Missouri's, will showcase the state's natural resources, showing a stalk of rice, a duck in flight and a cut diamond."

Instapundit points to USA Today and Mitch Berg, who suggest George Will as a replacement for Stephanopoulos on This Week, which is tanking.

It was so obvious to everyone except for the lunatics who were behind the decision to put Steph there that it would fail. I never knew Brinkley's politics, but always looked forward to his witty little comment at the end of the show. He never made too much talk about his feelings on how the political game is played in Washington. His face said it all. The way he moved the show along as politician after politician would dodge questions like the pros they are and deliver their talking points despite Donaldson's tenacity, was poetic.

I'm not too sure that Will will ever take over, nor do I know if it would play to his strengths....

I remember reading years ago during speculation about Brinkley retiring one day, that Will would never consider taking over the hosting chair nor would ABC News let him due to his independent yet paid status on ABC News. Maybe someone can find the reference or knows how the hierarchy works at ABC News...

Although perhaps one day they will find someone who can make This Week successful again, it will never be the same. It will be like The Tonight with Jay Leno is Vs. what The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson was.

Salon.com reports: Political spam: Get used to it

Now I'm furious....Political SPAM??? Not only aren't they doing anything about spam but now they are sending it to us? What else can politicians do to make us trust them less? This is so ridiculous.

Speaking of Salon.com, they have a new gimmick.

"Salon.com has introduced an unusual advertising program that waives subscription fees for readers willing to wade through an interactive commercial."

Sorry, I just don't think it will work. I think the direction of ads in the future will be like what I read the latest James Bond movie's nickname is: "Buy Another Day". Product placement is the future of ads. Which makes it a big problem for content sites like Salon.com. Good content is not like good entertainment...product placement hurts the quality of the content far more than it hurts entertainment. When you watch a TV show, who cares if the actors drink Coke or Pepsi? Basically only Coke or Pepsi care... even if it affects our purchasing habits, personally I still couldn't care less. I'd gladly trade in commercials for product placement...but not in written content.

What people are not understanding is that the Internet has made it cheap enough to create quality content that ad driven content is not that huge a moneymaker.

There are 500,000 blogs out there. Take the cream of the crop and you will find some awesome content including up to date news and articles for free. Why wade through an excessive Mercedes Benz commercial just to read Salon? A few clicks on the net and you'll find plenty of value to read...

It's not that I don't sympathize with Salon. I appreciate quality writing and would be happy if the average person placed more value on it. But reality is reality and they will probably never be as big a business as they or their investors wish them to be.... and dancing ads may help them a tiny bit, but not enough to keep them afloat...

Jackson dangles child off balcony.

Unfortunately, Michael Jackson made the news again today. I hope what I will say doesn't come off the wrong way...

It's sad to see the direction he's taken... I do hope he gets some help, because it's clear that he is unbalanced.... I saw the video... I don't know what is considered to be dangerous to children but I don't think what he did was appropriate at all. It's easy to judge people when you don't have a camera on you 24/7, sometimes people do stupid things...but based on what I've seen lately, it does seem like he could use some counseling... if not for himself, then for his kids..

Ora Coren of the newspaper Ha'Aretz reports Dozens of diamond merchants to lose preferred De Beers Status.

The European Commission's Antitrust Authority has approved global diamond monopoly De Beers' new strategic plan. Israeli diamond merchants noted that implementation of the plan was expected to cause a revolution in the global diamond trade. They said it was slated to halve the company's regular customer list of about 120 site owners, including about 35 in Israel.

The global industry is expected to go from basing its relationships on per-month contracts to six-month to two-year contracts, which will require restructuring in the finance, production and marketing areas.

The De Beers strategic plan is based on two-year contracts in which diamond merchants will prepare marketing plans for periods no shorter than six months, on the basis of which they will ask for rough diamonds from De Beers. De Beers will attempt to meet those demands in order to maintain its status as their central supplier.

TheStar reports:

Canada's growing diamond industry could see its first northern jewelry manufacturer as a result of an agreement northern aboriginals signed with renowned U.S. jeweller Tiffany & Co. The memorandum of understanding, signed last week between Tiffany's and Kitikmeot Corp., commits the parties to look for new ways to exploit the North's rich diamond deposits.

In the matter of Lydia Diamond Exploration of Canada Ltd., Jurgen von Anhalt and Emilia von Anhalt

The decision of the panel in the matter of Lydia Diamond Exploration of Canada Ltd., Jurgen von Anhalt and Emilia von Anhalt will be released on November 19, 2002. The hearing originally scheduled for Tuesday, November 19, 2002 at 9:00 a.m. will not be convened.

George Lazenby made an appearance at the most recent grand opening of Die Another Day, the latest James Bond movie. Although you can argue about his performance as Bond, if you actually watched the movie, it was perhaps the best Bond Film from all of them. Although Goldfinger was great, and Spy Who Loved Me was the best of Roger Moore, Her Majesty's Secret Service was fun as a Bond Flick but was actually good as a Spy Flick too... it's worth renting for sure...

I've been saying this about Spam for a long time and have been surprised at how slow the pace has been for this to happen... We'll see if it does eventually get there...

So, sophisticated Internet users are turning to a new approach. Instead of trying to block spam while allowing everything else, these users employ software that blocks everything except messages from already known, accepted senders. These systems, called "whitelists," change e-mail from an open system to a closed one. Whitelist applications available today include MailFrontier, ChoiceMail from DigiPortal, Vanquish, and the freeware Tagged Message Delivery Agent. There's also a whitelist option built into Hotmail, known as the "exclusive" setting. Though it's hidden in the preferences menu (click "Options," then "Junk Mail Filter"), more than 10 percent of Hotmail users reportedly invoke it. Before long, expect all e-mail applications to offer this function.

If you have $150,000 to spare this diamond ring given to Princess Diana may interest you.

Royal Memorabilia has lots of items for sale. You can learn more about the topic in this Mirror article.

Joi Ito points to this cartoon by Invisible Shoebox. Cool.

Adbusters is sponsoring the Buy Nothing Day...

Joe Pantoliano is gone for good from Sopranos, but you will be able to catch him in Ben Affleck's turn as DareDevil. I liked this comic book when I was younger. Some talented people worked on it, including Frank Miller if memory serves...

Some other movies coming soon:

Gigli during the filming of which Affleck met and finally proposed to Jennifer Lopez..

Star Trek Nemesis without blogger Wil Wheaton who announced on his blog that his scene was cut...

Dumb and Dumberer a prequel without Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels ...

Batman Year 1, screenplay by Frank Miller which is a good sign...

Once upon a time in Mexico, the third in the trilogy of El Mariachi & Desperado, this film will have an all-star cast including Antonio Banderas, Pedro Armenduriz, Ruben Blades, Willem Dafoe, Johnny Depp, Salma Hayek, Enrique Iglesias, Marco Leonardi, Cheech Marin, Eva Mendes, Mickey Rour