Saturday, July 31, 2010
David W. Streets Beverly Hills Fine Art Appraiser and Art Advisor
It is such a wonderful feeling when you know that you've been given the name of a reputable person to appraise your fine art and celebrity memorabilia - just when you need it. You would want to hire someone who actually practices old fashion values - honesty, reliability, integrity and longevity. The man that fits the bill, and is most knowledgeable as a Fine Art Appraiser in the City of Beverly Hills - David W. Streets.
New Orleans, LA was David's home until 2005, when the catastrophic Hurricane Katrina devastated his Art Gallery.
Quite naturally, the City of Beverly Hills welcomed David with open arms.
Having been in the Fine Art appraisal business for 25 years, David W. Streets earned his stripes in the field as a leading appraiser of all genres of Fine Art.
Over the years, I remember greeting David on several occasions when he attended the EDC Meetings (Economic Development Council) at the fabulous Spago Beverly Hills.As an active member in the community, he has an impeccable reputation as a consummate professional, being featured on CBS, CNN, NBC, thus giving him a global presence. If you need the best Fine Art Appraiser for an item or two, who are you going to call?
David W. Streets, but of course!
Just ask Rick Norsigian. When Rick Norsigian, a Fresno, CA., school district painter and collector, discovered 65 glass negatives of Ansel Adams work at a garage sale in Fresno, CA., well, he got in contact with - you guessed it - David W. Streets!
David W. Streets appraised the Ansel Adams glass negatives and they are valued at $200 million dollars. According to Patrick Alt, a large format photographer with over 40 years of experience, meticulously refuted each of the questions raised and confirmed the authenticity of the negatives.
Robert Moeller, the former Curator of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts concluded: "After more than six months of close study, it is my opinion, within a high degree of probability, that the images under consideration were produced by Ansel Adams."
Beverly Hills is very fortunate to have businessman David W. Streets in the community, and The Honorable Jimmy Delshad even proclaimed May 15, 2010, David W. Streets Day - Yay!
Smooches,
C
David W. Streets Beverly Hills
Fine Art, Appraisals, Contemporary Art & Photography
9407 S. Santa Monica Blvd
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
310.275.3464
Open Tues-Sat 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. or by appointment
~Public parking: 439 N. Canon & 438 N. Beverly~
All photos are the sole ownership of David W. Streets Beverly Hills
Friday, July 30, 2010
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Project RUNWAY - Season 8 Premieres Thursday, July 29th @ 9pm e/pt
Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn. Need I say more, Darling?
There are 17 Designers competing in an arena where many audition but few are chosen - Project Runway - Season 8.
The Judges will be Heidi Klum, Nina Garcia and Michael Kors. Tim Gunn is the Mentor.
Over the next few weeks, we will see who has what it takes to be the best. The competition will take place in New York -
Don't you just love it!
All 17 Designers are bringing on the heat. To mention a few -
Michael Costello is a Fashion designer from Palm Springs, CA - Just look at his sketches - Very, very complimentary. Work it, Michael Costello!
Kristin Haskin-Simms -
An Apparel designer, Freelance Graphic Designer, Hails from Philadelphia, PA.
Watch out New York - Ms. Haskin-Simms can make work/play look good!
Andy South is a Freelance designer that hails from Waianae, HI.
This Diva can sketch and bring all of your womanly curves to the surface,
bringing Old Hollywood Elegance back.
You simply must look at his designs - just watch magic happen tomorrow night on Lifetime! (Snap! Snap!)
This season of Fashion Runway will be like no other. Enjoy the show!
In the words of Ms. Heidi Klum,
"Auf Wiedersehen"
C
All photos are the sole property of Lifetime Project Runway
There are 17 Designers competing in an arena where many audition but few are chosen - Project Runway - Season 8.
The Judges will be Heidi Klum, Nina Garcia and Michael Kors. Tim Gunn is the Mentor.
Over the next few weeks, we will see who has what it takes to be the best. The competition will take place in New York -
Don't you just love it!
All 17 Designers are bringing on the heat. To mention a few -
Michael Costello is a Fashion designer from Palm Springs, CA - Just look at his sketches - Very, very complimentary. Work it, Michael Costello!
Kristin Haskin-Simms -
An Apparel designer, Freelance Graphic Designer, Hails from Philadelphia, PA.Watch out New York - Ms. Haskin-Simms can make work/play look good!
Andy South is a Freelance designer that hails from Waianae, HI.
This Diva can sketch and bring all of your womanly curves to the surface,bringing Old Hollywood Elegance back.
You simply must look at his designs - just watch magic happen tomorrow night on Lifetime! (Snap! Snap!)
This season of Fashion Runway will be like no other. Enjoy the show!
In the words of Ms. Heidi Klum,
"Auf Wiedersehen"
C
All photos are the sole property of Lifetime Project Runway
Thursday, July 22, 2010
An Evening at The Hollywood Museum - WHERE Magazine Style
Thanks to WHERE Magazine, last evening, a group of us got together over at The Hollywood Museum for drinks and a nosh and it was so much fun!Once inside, you feel like you have stepped into Max Factor's Makeup Studio during the early 1900's, and it is still very elegant and glamorous.
In Max Factor's world, there was no time for ugly. Whatever you had was enhanced because in Hollywood, we all know how vitally important it is to step out of your house looking camera ready - right? Some of Max Factor's clientele included Mary Pickford, Gloria Swanson, Claudette Colbert,
Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Judy Garland and Clara Bow.
Just when you think you've seen everything,
huge black doors open and you are whisked off into another world!
The next step? You get on the lift that is physically operated by a strong arm. It takes you away to the roaring 1920's. What a great cover up and segway to one of the most controversial periods of time in the USA - Oh yeah...
Knock on the door and tell them, "Joe Sent Me."
Historical Perspective on Prohibition of Alcohol in the USA
Dec 18, 1917 - The House of Representatives passed the 18th Amendment and The Volstead Act(1919) which was a piece of legislation to enforce the 18th Amendment. It was certified as ratified on 16 Jan 1919, after being approved by 36 states. However, it did not go into effect until 17 Jan 1920. Keep in mind that the 18th Amendment did not ban the consumption of alcohol, oh no, it only made it very difficult to obtain it legally. As a result, there came to be quite a demand for Speakeasy clubs all across America.
During the 1920's Speakeasies in Hollywood went hand in hand with entertainment and were all the rage. Celebrities would sneak on over to what used to be a Speakeasy, but is now known as The Hollywood Museum, which had a bowling alley and 4 floors for which a freight elevator could easily transport the automobiles of those with the proper funds from floor to floor, offering all the gin, scotch, wine and beer that could be consumed - Ain't life grand?
The hidden lift is still active to this very day. I must tell you that one can rent The Hollywood Museum out for parties.
Why not stop in for a lift, won't you?
Smooches,
C
Photo # 1 Rodeodrivelifestyles.blogspot.com
Photo # 2: Bettman\Corbis
Hollywood Museum - 323.464.7776 1660 N. Highland Ave., Hollywood, CA 323.464.7776
Where Magazine
Friday, July 16, 2010
What I would have told the BBC about the Apple iPhone antenna, if they'd actually wanted to hear it
I got an email this morning from BBC World Service radio, asking if I'd like to participate in a debate to "discuss whether the Apple bandwagon is grinding to a halt" in the wake of the iPhone antenna problem. I said sure, and they asked a couple of questions about my views.
Unfortunately, when they saw my reply, they decided that my opinions were too similar to those of Computerworld columnist Mitch Wagner (link), who was also appearing on the program. It wouldn't lead to a good debate. They were very polite about it, and there are no hard feelings on my part.
(By the way, Mitch pointed out the most interesting line I've seen so far on the antenna issue -- Microsoft COO Kevin Turner compared the iPhone 4 to Windows Vista. "It looks like the iPhone 4 might be their Vista, and I'm okay with that." (link) That single sentence summarizes so much of what's wrong with Microsoft today: grasping at straws, in denial, not focused on what they must do to win, and a tin ear to what their comments sound like in public. The scariest thing is, I think they might actually believe the stuff they say.)
Anyway, back to Apple. I thought it would be good to share my thoughts that were too boring for the BBC. If they'd put me on the air, it would have gone something like this:
Q. On a scale of 1 to 10, how bad is this for Apple?
A. About a 1.5, with 1 being utterly meaningless in the long term. Unless there is some huge, hidden problem that Apple still isn't telling us about, the story is now over.
Q. One newspaper headline here goes 'Apple has lost its touch.' Is that fair?
A. It goes beyond unfair, it's utterly ludicrous. Apple just shipped the iPad, a major new category device, and it's selling far better than most people (including me) expected. For comparison, the Apple Macintosh, which we all cite as a huge success today, sold about 70,000 units in its first hundred days of availability (link). The iPad sold 70,000 units in the first four hours (link).
Most companies would kill to lose their touch that way.
If you want to look at a company that has lost its touch, check out BP. Or Toyota. Or Dell, which allegedly shipped twelve million computers that it knew were destined to fail (link). But even that sort of huge mistake isn't usually enough to kill a company. Remember when Intel knowingly shipped millions of Pentium processors that couldn't do math properly (link)? No, you don't remember? I rest my case.
If you want to know what Apple would look like if it lost its way, go back in time and look at the company in about 1997.
But Apple today? They made a mistake, and they handled it poorly. Hopefully they've learned from it. Giving everyone a free case is a reasonable solution. The cost of the cases is less than the cost of the accumulated bad PR (not to mention the cost of the class action lawsuits, which were the next step).
The average customer pays almost no attention to this sort of inside-the-beltway news. A company has to screw up repeatedly over a long period of time, or do something flagrant like killing people, in order to really damage its image. As long as there isn't any other big problem hidden in Apple's products, I think this story will be forgotten in a few months.
That's not to say everything is going great for Apple...
-Google Android is gaining momentum.
-Many mobile developers would love to have a better alternative to the App Store.
-Various governments might decide its walled garden approach to computing violates the law.
-At some point, I still believe the web is going to make proprietary platforms like Apple's less relevant.
-Apple is getting so big that I wonder how long it can continue to grow at the same rate.
And maybe most importantly, Apple is gradually learning that the rules of behavior for a successful industry leader are different than the rules for a scrappy upstart. Aggressiveness that's cute in a five-year-old kid will get a 25-year-old football player arrested.
Compounding Apple's challenge, its very effective marketing and design has set a higher standard for its products than the one applied to most other companies. Apple needs to learn that standing in the spotlight shows off your scars as well as your beauty marks.
One step in that process if for Apple to be humbler and more open. I think that's a lesson they started to learn this week.
(PS: I listened to BBC World's coverage of the iPhone this evening (link). One report called the antenna "the biggest PR disaster in Apple's history," which shows that BBC reporters have very short memories. As for what Mitch said, yeah it would have been a boring debate.)
Unfortunately, when they saw my reply, they decided that my opinions were too similar to those of Computerworld columnist Mitch Wagner (link), who was also appearing on the program. It wouldn't lead to a good debate. They were very polite about it, and there are no hard feelings on my part.
(By the way, Mitch pointed out the most interesting line I've seen so far on the antenna issue -- Microsoft COO Kevin Turner compared the iPhone 4 to Windows Vista. "It looks like the iPhone 4 might be their Vista, and I'm okay with that." (link) That single sentence summarizes so much of what's wrong with Microsoft today: grasping at straws, in denial, not focused on what they must do to win, and a tin ear to what their comments sound like in public. The scariest thing is, I think they might actually believe the stuff they say.)
Anyway, back to Apple. I thought it would be good to share my thoughts that were too boring for the BBC. If they'd put me on the air, it would have gone something like this:
Q. On a scale of 1 to 10, how bad is this for Apple?
A. About a 1.5, with 1 being utterly meaningless in the long term. Unless there is some huge, hidden problem that Apple still isn't telling us about, the story is now over.
Q. One newspaper headline here goes 'Apple has lost its touch.' Is that fair?
A. It goes beyond unfair, it's utterly ludicrous. Apple just shipped the iPad, a major new category device, and it's selling far better than most people (including me) expected. For comparison, the Apple Macintosh, which we all cite as a huge success today, sold about 70,000 units in its first hundred days of availability (link). The iPad sold 70,000 units in the first four hours (link).
Most companies would kill to lose their touch that way.
If you want to look at a company that has lost its touch, check out BP. Or Toyota. Or Dell, which allegedly shipped twelve million computers that it knew were destined to fail (link). But even that sort of huge mistake isn't usually enough to kill a company. Remember when Intel knowingly shipped millions of Pentium processors that couldn't do math properly (link)? No, you don't remember? I rest my case.
If you want to know what Apple would look like if it lost its way, go back in time and look at the company in about 1997.
But Apple today? They made a mistake, and they handled it poorly. Hopefully they've learned from it. Giving everyone a free case is a reasonable solution. The cost of the cases is less than the cost of the accumulated bad PR (not to mention the cost of the class action lawsuits, which were the next step).
The average customer pays almost no attention to this sort of inside-the-beltway news. A company has to screw up repeatedly over a long period of time, or do something flagrant like killing people, in order to really damage its image. As long as there isn't any other big problem hidden in Apple's products, I think this story will be forgotten in a few months.
That's not to say everything is going great for Apple...
-Google Android is gaining momentum.
-Many mobile developers would love to have a better alternative to the App Store.
-Various governments might decide its walled garden approach to computing violates the law.
-At some point, I still believe the web is going to make proprietary platforms like Apple's less relevant.
-Apple is getting so big that I wonder how long it can continue to grow at the same rate.
And maybe most importantly, Apple is gradually learning that the rules of behavior for a successful industry leader are different than the rules for a scrappy upstart. Aggressiveness that's cute in a five-year-old kid will get a 25-year-old football player arrested.
Compounding Apple's challenge, its very effective marketing and design has set a higher standard for its products than the one applied to most other companies. Apple needs to learn that standing in the spotlight shows off your scars as well as your beauty marks.
One step in that process if for Apple to be humbler and more open. I think that's a lesson they started to learn this week.
(PS: I listened to BBC World's coverage of the iPhone this evening (link). One report called the antenna "the biggest PR disaster in Apple's history," which shows that BBC reporters have very short memories. As for what Mitch said, yeah it would have been a boring debate.)
Summers in Beverly Hills
The weather in Beverly Hills is a scorching 88 degrees and everyone is enjoying every minute of it by finding somewhere nice and cool to saunter into.May I suggest that you grab your swimwear - or go on over to Saks and pick one up, why don't you? - And head for the majestic Montage Beverly Hills where they have several fabulous get away packages. Two of my favorites? The Bed & Breakfast package, and I love the Starry, Starry Night package - both packages offer you the Über luxurious treatment that you deserve and both are surprisingly jus·ti·fi·a·ble...
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