一直低调的爱马仕突然大大方方的在上海美术馆做了一次非常高规格的丝巾展览，如果将爱马仕与阿曼尼相比，显然后者的翩翩风采迷倒众多的时尚爱好者，但是之前在美术馆看到过的阿曼尼的展览，和爱马仕的丝巾展览相比，的确感到爱马仕的确不仅仅是爱马的男士或者女士喜欢，而且是全方位的将一种丝印艺术和人类的文化进化联系到一起，尽管这样说有些夸大，但是给你一个犹如艺术大片的丝巾展览，不能不说爱马仕的设计者很伟大。
先是凯文姬所设计的门厅，先声夺人，造就了一股贵气，然后黄豆豆的舞蹈以及4个芭蕾舞姑娘的表演，的的确确感到艺术和时装行业的紧密不可分，完全不是那种随便找个艺术的由头去往里面凑乎的感觉。
Photo by Iadnlins
Every Tuesday is Finance & Family Day at Zen Habits.
I'm only now learning habits that I wish I had when I was entering adulthood. I think I'm not alone here, but if I had these habits when I was young, I'd be pretty well off now.
Because of that, I plan to teach my kids about money, to give them the value of money, to teach them skills and habits that will get them off to a good start, and to have them learn by doing, and from my example.
As I'm late in learning some of these things myself, I'm also starting late in teaching my kids these habits and skills. However, it's better late than never. What follows are some of the things I'm trying or have planned.
Teaching kids about money is a controversial thing — no one argues that you should teach them, but the how is a tougher question. In general, I recommend four guiding principles:
So with those principles to guide you, here are 10 valuable lessons you can teach your kids about money:
1. Give them control of money. If kids don't have control of money before adulthood, they learn that money will always be provided for them, that they don't have to be responsible for their spending or their future. And when they finally get control of their own money, they apply those lessons, by spending liberally and not worrying about the future.
Instead, give your kids control of money. I suggest taking some money that you already have in your budget, and giving them control of it. For example, if you currently spend $200 a month on eating out (to use a random figure), perhaps give your child control over $50 of that. And do the same for clothing and toy spending — don't add to your budget, but allocate portions of your budget to them. Give them complete control over that money.
The result will probably be that they spend too much on frivolous stuff. At first. But when they want other things, they'll have to learn to save for them, and cut back on other areas. Eventually, they'll learn how to make decisions, through trial and error. It could take awhile, but it's better they learn now than when they're adults.
2. Teach them to save for money goals. Once they realize that there's more to money than just spending on whatever their latest impulse is, they'll want to buy something larger than the amount they have on hand. That's when you teach them about savings goals.
"You want to buy an Xbox 360? Well, let's find out how much that costs. Now that's how much you'll need to save. If you take $40 from your monthly budget, you could have that in 5 months. If you take $60 from your monthly budget, you could have it in a little over 3 months. But either way, that will mean cutting back on McDonald's and buying little toys every weekend."
You might also create a chart on the computer, that shows their goal, and little savings milestones along the way. That way they can get excited about watching their savings grow.
3. Teach them that reducing expenses makes goals come faster. This goes hand-in-hand with the above lesson, and if you teach them about savings goals, they'll probably learn this lesson on their own. It's common sense, and kids are smart enough to figure it out: if I want to get to a goal faster, I have to save more ... which means spending less on other stuff.
But it's worth reinforcing with a discussion about spending and saving, and by talking to them about the decision they're making every time they spend money.
4. Teach them how your money can make money. This is the lesson on investing, and it's a lesson many of us can learn. It's one thing to save, where you get perhaps 5% interest. But if your kids are going for short-term goals, they probably won't see much compound interest happening. You'll need them to make a longer-term goal, such as a trip once they graduate, if you have a teen-ager, or a down payment on a car, or even something a little smaller. Whatever the goal, teach them about how they can put their money in certain investments, and how those investments will grow over time.
That growth is their money earning money for them. It's free money, almost, but the cost is not spending on other stuff in the meantime, and getting into the habit of investing the money. And it'll help them get to their goals faster.
5. Teach them about creating a budget. It doesn't have to be a complicated budget, but what you really want to teach them is how to plan their spending, instead of having a big wad of cash that keeps getting smaller with every impulse buy. Something simple, like $30 for savings for a bike, $30 investing for a longer-term goal, $20 for a birthday gift for mom, and $30 for spending. Then teach them how to split the money up and how to keep within those planned amounts.
Make it simple and easy, so they don't grow up thinking that budgets are hard and onerous (like many of us grew up thinking). If they get into the habit now, it'll pay off huge when they grow up.
6. Teach them to pay bills. Does your teen-ager have a cell phone? Who pays the bill? Give them the amount in their monthly budget, and allow them to pay the bill each month. If they're late, the service will be cut off. They'll learn to pay the bill on time. Other bills could include a car (when they're of driving age), cable TV, Internet. If you let them pay any of these bills, you'll probably want to monitor them to make sure they're actually making the bills.
7. Teach them about the dangers of debt. This probably isn't a lesson they can understand when they're 6 years old, but when they're teen-agers, they can grasp the concept. You'll need to discuss things like loans, credit cards and other debts. If you want them to learn by doing, you can have them take out a car loan or get a very limited credit card (that they pay for). They'll soon learn that paying debt payments reduces how much they have to pay for other stuff, and how the debt payments can get to be overwhelming.
8. Teach them that earning more money gets them closer to their goals. If you have a savings goal, you can reduce your expenses to get there faster ... and you can also earn more money. They can start learning this lesson at a young age, by earning extra money (not from chores, as they need to learn to contribute to the household without expecting pay), but from extra projects, such as doing yard work or babysitting for the neighbors, washing people's cars, etc. Later, they can get a part-time job to pay for a car or any other goals.
9. Teach them about advertising and consumerism. This is something that should be taught at home and in the school, because most of us grow up without really being aware of the effects that advertising, marketing and consumerism has on us, and on our spending. This is often the root of our financial problems, whether we're young or old. Teach them about the goal of advertising: to get us to buy their products or services, and to get us to spend our money. And show how advertising affects us, and gets us to do that. And talk about consumerism, and how it hurts us financially, how it's not good for the environment, and how it leads to a cluttered house full of expensive and wasted stuff.
10. Teach them about impulse buying. Closely related to #9 above, of course, impulse buying is the effect of advertising and consumerism. Teach them about pausing before buying, recognizing the signs of impulse buying (increased heart rate, heavy breathing, other similar body signs), using a 30-day list before buying anything that's not completely necessary, avoiding shopping malls and online shopping sites, and reducing your need to keep up with others and buy prestige things (cars, clothes, shoes, gadgets, etc.) to look good in the eyes of others.
Other great articles on this elsewhere:
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See also:
视觉文化的全球性话语__当代日本视觉文化展"美丽新世界"
方振宁/文
在北京最好的季秋正举办的当代日本视觉文化展"美丽新世界"，是自上个世纪70年代以来，首次全面介绍日本的当代艺术展，说是从历史上就有着一衣带水关系的中日两国，在当代艺术方面如此缺少交流，应该说是极其不正常的事情。
中国的艺术家和观众要想了解日本的当代艺术，大都是通过间接或者更为曲折的渠道来获得，然而从这些渠道了解到的艺术当然失真不少。尽管如此，我们还是看到中国更为年轻的一代，对日本的当代文化有着一种狂热的痴迷。
在当代日本视觉文化展"美丽新世界"中，有34位创意人士的作品一同展示，她如同一条美丽的风景线，出现在北京当代艺术最为活跃的地区798。三个空间分别展示三个主题：1）美丽的现实世界，2）新媒体世界，3）世界末日和未来世界。他们都紧扣"美丽新世界"这个大主题。
展览题目"美丽新世界",来自1930年代阿道斯.赫胥黎(Aldous Huxley)的同名科幻小说，也有人把它译成"美妙的新世界"，总之，都和幻想之美有关。然而故事讲述的则是一个高度发达的机械文明，却制造出一个反乌托邦式的社会。这是人类借助科幻小说这种形式表达对未来世界的担忧，和想逃离现实世界的欲望。那么艺术家天生的浪漫情怀，则是在考虑究竟如何才能让世界变得更加美丽？
我们注意到这个展览远离两个通常的概念，那就是不使用"当代艺术"这个词，而是说"当代文化"，另外就是不称呼创作者为"艺术家"，而是叫"创意人士"，它实际上是减弱了艺术的行业特征，而把艺术融入更为广意的文化世界中去。把艺术家称为"创意人士"，也让艺术家失去了光环，而回到一个职人的身份。但是当你了解了这些作品的纯度，或者他领导了一种跨越国家、地域与文化疆界的全球性话语时，那么你或许为这种静悄悄的变革和强大的渗透力而感到吃惊，这正是90年代以来日本当代文化的重要特征。
由三位日本策展人共同推出的，涵盖媒体艺术、建筑、时装、漫画、动漫以及当代艺术诸多领域的这个大型展览。注重多层面的视觉表达，那种表现手法的独创性，使日本的当代艺术在世界上获得了非常重要的地位。为什么选择范围在90年代之后?这是一个后泡沫经济时代，当追求物质的时代过去之后，那么文化将是怎样一种状态？90年代以来的日本文化或许是一个很好的参照。
用"美"这个词，已经无法对日本当代文化进行评论，那是因为已经派生出许多新的价值，"可爱文化"和"独自玩耍"(hitori asobi)都是一种个性化现象和新的价值观，那么在"美丽的现实世界" 这一部分中就有相当多的呈现。
第二部分的"新媒体世界"中，池田亮司(Ryoji Ikeda )、押井守(Oshii Mamoru )和日本科学未来馆特别值得关注。
池田亮司被誉为试验数码音乐的著名艺术家，他已经于展览一周前，在艺术北京博览会的开幕式上首次亮相，凡是有过那场音乐会体验的人，都很难在短时间里，从那种由于声音压力的波动带来的冲击波中解脱出来。池田亮司是操作声波的高手，他仔细选择从极高到低频声音自身变化的音色，然而音乐成为一个不同声音的音调与节拍构成的组合。这不是一般的节拍，是将观众的知觉解构之后，将他带入到虚拟的节奏中去.
押井守是一位在国际上享有很高声誉的数码电影导演，自从他1984年开始独立制作动画电影以来，每一部作品都值得期待，都是经典。在这里只想强调押井守在2003年监制的一部航拍短片《东京扫描仪》（Tokyo Scanner），实际上这是一部为了森美术馆的开幕展----"世界都市"（The Global City）展----的开幕式而特别制作的宣传短片。这可不是一部普通的宣传片，短片中大量使用了游戏镜头，那种真实与虚拟相互交替的画面，以及用猛烈的镜头推移交待东京的速度和尺度，从而创造出前所未有的风格。
日本科学未来馆带来了机器人，日本在创造机器人方面具有领先地位，所谓领先，不只是指技术的含量，而是通过开发机器人，来观察在设计中如何定义与人类共存的关系。我们把将机器人认同为"他者"(the "other")，这样也刺激着开发者的创造性本能。日本有着开发机器人的持续热情，那是由于受到漫画和动画里所描绘的机器人所诱发的艺术想象力的结果，现在的开发者大都是在少年时代就读看漫画和动画的世代。
横山裕一(Yokoyama Yuichi )的无字漫画最近受到关注，实际上先关注他的是欧洲的出版商。横山在漫画中对细节有着高度的控制，它不会在所限定的图像框架中填满大量细节，这些特征，使他在漫画大国中脱颖而出。
第三部分"世界末日和未来世界"触及到日本社会与文化中根深蒂固的终末论（apocalyptic）世界观.宫岛达男(Miyajima Tatsuo)的创作似乎和终末论无关,而他关注的是永远持续的时间和空间，宫岛用1至0的数字变化来表达这种永恒。他的作品语言和材料非常单纯,都是运用LED数字编号,自从1988年威尼斯双年展上展出《时间的海洋》作品以来,就奠定了他在国际艺术界的地位。然而宫岛达男最近的作品在体积上更小、更凝炼、更迷人.
Exonemo（艾克索內墨） 是1996年成立的一个二人的艺术团体。Exonemo在日本的年轻人当中非常受欢迎，他们的活动主要基于www.exonemo.com网站。那么很多试验性计划大部分都可以从网上看到，他们的目的是在距离和动态上挖掘新的维度。我所看过的空间装置和现场表演，像一个用废物利用的形式组成的打击乐。Exonemo在《去编码器》（2000）这个作品中是通过操纵计算机装置建立一台设备，并向HTML代码里编写矛盾语句，目前他们被视为是在网络技术领域中的先锋艺术家。
在这次参展的艺术家中最年长的要算是草間彌生 (Kusama Yayoi)，1929年出生的草間彌生被认为是日本当代艺术领域的一位重要艺术家，1958年她搬到美国居住后，一直以艺术家的身份进行活动，在那里她逐渐与许多美国先锋艺术家相识，但是如果不是她在90年代回到日本之后，草間彌生或许没有今天的名声。当她的母国日本认识到她得艺术的重要性之后，草間成为日本当代艺术艺术家之一。由于草間彌生小时候经历的虐待和幻觉，在她的作品中始终有性和死亡的阴影，然而她惯用的一些符号也是对生命繁殖的迷恋。目前住在东京的草間彌生，已经自愿住进精神病院，但这并没有影响到她继续从事艺术创作，而她的作品更加返朴归真，即回到儿童的世界。
Like CEOs, marketers, engineers, entrepreneurs, and venture capitalists, lawyers tell their own specialized tales. Most of my experience is with lawyers who do work for tech entrepreneurs, so this is my focus.
"I'm really excited about what you are doing and will give your company my personal attention." Once someone gets to the partner level, making it "rain" is as important as doing "work." This is part of a standard sales pitch, so don't let it go to your head.
"Our firm is really excited about what you're doing, so we'd like to invest in your company too." Also part of the standard sales pitch. Most firms invest in most of their startup clients—it's simply the law of big numbers: Invest in enough dumb ideas, and one will turn out to be a Google.
"We can work on the billing so that you pay us when you get financed." The final flattery in a good sales pitch. As with the others, don't think you're special. This is a common offer.
"I'll have that to you by the end of the day." The important question for you to ask when you hear this is, "End of exactly which day?" Because every day has an end. And you should find out how your lawyer defines the end of the day: 6:00 pm or 11:59 pm (thanks, zakstar).
"Don't worry about the date on that option grant; it's not a big deal." Unless you enjoy getting indicted, you should run from a lawyer who utters such stupidity.
"The bill would be lower if it weren't for the lawyers on the other side." You do realize that the lawyers on the other side are saying this about your lawyers too, right?
"I thought you were more interested in getting it right rather than saving a few dollars." In other words, the legal bill for your series A funding may exceed the amount of capital raised.
"Your case is much stronger than theirs; I'm sure we can convince them." If your position is so strong, you don't need lawyers. It's when your position is weak that you need them. Also, your opponent is hearing the same thing about their case.
"We have relationships at the highest level in Shanghai/Munich/Mumbai/New York/LA." In other words, someone from the firm once flew in first class to Shanghai/Munich/Mumbai/New York/LA with the vice premier's uncle's sister's nephew.
"We'd much rather be on the company side than on the investor side." Let me get this straight: Your lawyer would rather be on the side of two guys/gals in garage who are raising $500,000 than a venture capital fund managing $500 million whose partners play golf at the same country club?
"We usually don't bill the full retainer; it only happens if there are unforeseen issues that come up." One of two things is happening: either you've been sandbagged with an artificially high estimate or your lawyer just passed the bar.
"Sure we're busy, but I'll make sure you don't get handed off to a green associate." Translation: Your main contact passed the bar a year ago.
"I've done work with Google/Microsoft/Apple, so I know how to structure deals with them." Translation: "My favorite search engine is Google which I use on my Windows laptop while I'm listening to my iPod."
"We think you will have a very strong patent." If you hear this, ask this question: "So if Microsoft infringes on it, we'd win?"
"We know the opposing attorneys, so we'll be able to work out something quickly and cheaply." This is like asking the hotel concierge what restaurant he recommends. There is usually no such thing as quickly and cheaply. There's only "good and expensive," "quick and lousy," and "cheap and lousy." Pick one.
"I can call several venture capitalists to help you secure funding." Actually, you should select your lawyer as much for his/her connections to the venture capital community as much as legal expertise. However, take this very literally: He/she "can" call—this is different from "will" call.
My buddy Mathew Johnson suggested this topic, so if you're a lawyer, and this posting upsets you, blame him.
Alan Shore是美国电视剧《波士顿法律》中的男主角，是一个非常厉害的律师。
他的一些台词令人印象深刻。我摘录几句。
1.
当他同某个邪恶的律师会谈结束，离开的时候他说：
You know we have a little saying in Massachusetts. Maybe someday you'll get horribly sick and die. Until then I wish you continued health and happiness in the future.
我们马萨诸塞州有一句俗语，也许将来某一天，你会病入膏肓、一命呜呼，但是在此之前，我祝你健康和幸福。
2.
当他对某人表示钦佩的时候，他说：
Jerry, you know I have a tremendous affection for my own intelligence, and even I think you are smarter than me.
你知道我自视甚高，但是连我都认为，你比我聪明。
3.
对方律师开出了优厚的和解条件，但是被他拒绝。对方说你一定是在开玩笑吧，他说：
No, I'm much funnier when I'm kidding.
我开玩笑的时候，比现在风趣多了。
4.
发生了一起不幸的事故。对方律师认为被告没有责任，法庭不会判被告败诉，因为生活中每天都在发生类似的悲剧，所以你们闹上法庭是毫无意义的。Alan Shore马上对那个律师说：
you're about to experience one firsthand.See you in court.
你很快就将亲身体验一回悲剧。法庭上见。
5.
被告傲慢地说，我已经被起诉过好几次了，全部是我胜诉，所以我不怕你起诉我。Alan Shore说：
You know what they say, You never forget your first time.
俗话说得好，第一次最难忘。
（完）
