Link roundup

1. "Infographic: Mega Shark vs Crocosaurus."

2. "In China, where a growing demand for organ transplants coupled with a dramatic shortage of donors has fuelled a rampant black market trade, selling your organs for cash is a mouse click away." Via.

3. Guidance (but not instructions) on how to knit the Companion Cube sweater that was featured on various sites last week.

Link roundup

1. China is such a large market that its tastes will become more dominant in consumer items:

When Mercedes-Benz set out to design a new S-Class luxury saloon, to hit showrooms in 2014, Daimler flew 100 Chinese consumers to customer clinics in Germany and the US to ensure they had input in the car’s design.

But the Chinese car boom is shaping the look of some mass-market cars too.

When General Motors designed its LaCrosse saloon, the brand, which is popular in China, devised a roomy and plush rear seat of the kind that Chinese owners – many of whom have chauffeurs – prefer.

2. From a post about the upcoming tv show about Pan Am:

My mother often shared stories with my sisters and me about her training at an “Air Career School,” where students (all women) lived together in dormitories and learned how to become Stewardesses. It was when she exclaimed “And I always was able to eat the pecan pie!” that I understood how times have changed. Each Stewardess-In-Training was weighed every week, and if they gained any weight over the last week, they weren’t allowed to have any of the desserts that they prominently displayed at every meal.

3. Top mp3s are now only 69 cents (and come with free cloud storage) in Amazon's store.

Link roundup

1. Great, long article about Stephon Marbury's continuing adventures in China. Via.

2. Serious Eats: Passover Recipes We Love.

3. "Which HBO pilot has more nudity: True Blood or Game of Thrones?" A detailed analysis by io9.

Link roundup

1. Remember this the next time you see the iPad or iPhone prominently displayed:

Try finding the Xoom in Best Buy. It’s not on an endcap and it’s not in the new tablet section located in the mobile department. There are no signs pointing it out. It’s just stuck in with the netbooks, sitting there like an under-appreciated tween in gym class. And they wonder why no one is buying it. There is nothing calling consumers away from the blindingly white iPad display . . .

The bean counters could be to blame for poor placement. Of course this is just me speculating based on six years of Circuit City experience, but profitable products are generally given more visible shelf space than low margin products. For instance people that buy iPads tend to buy accessories. And there are a lot of iPad accessories. Plus, Apple is the king of keeping manufacturing costs low, which often results in higher profit margins that are generally passed on to retailers. The Xoom likely doesn’t have a cushy profitability level, which makes it take a backseat to those products that actually make money.

2. "Comedian Mark Malkoff sets out to prove that getting around in New York City via Big Wheel is more efficient than riding an MTA bus by racing against the M42 across 42nd street."

3. Land is becoming so expensive in China that people can't afford a decent grave:

In Beijing and Guangzhou, where the average per sq m price of a burial plot now exceeds that of houses, some Chinese call themselves fen nu (grave slaves). This label is derived from fang nu (housing slaves) - those burdened with huge housing mortgages.

Via.

*Buy iPads at eBay.

EVELYN H. JEWELRY

Located in the southeastern province of Sichuan in China are the magnificent Dazu Rock Carvings of Dazu County. These expertly carved out statues reflect a combination of Buddhist, Taoist, and Confucianist influences. China is also the ancestral home of featured jewelry designer Evelyn Huang.

Huang is not one to rely on gimmicks or leans heavily on the latest trends to cultivate her lithe and delicate fine jewelry collections.

The California native and graduate of the Gemological Institute of America (G.I.A.) enjoys the challenge of developing fresh design concepts for her beautiful luxury and custom jewelry.

The daughter of a L.A. jewelry business owner, Huang’s connection to the industry began early as she was exposed to the precious wares of numerous jewelry artisans.

“During summer and winter vacations—during school breaks—I would help my father by running errands. My father’s business is where I learned about the importance of customer care and service. It was here I realized that I had a natural instinct for discerning quality jewelry.”

After completing her studies at G.I.A. and the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, Huang accepted the Brand Ambassador position with the Beverly Hills-based DeBeers Diamond Jewelers. Though she found her position with the company highly educational, she felt creatively stifled. In 2006, she triumphantly established her own company evelynH. Jewelry.

Huang’s assortment of gemstone rings, bridal jewelry, gold earrings, and men’s rings is a masterful expression of detailed minimalism.

The engraved surface designs of her Platinum 900 Sakura Ring; the burst of color from the dome-like setting of her Carousel Cocktail Ring; and the unconventional whimsy of her men’s cufflinks Original Sin (one cufflink is in the form of an apple; the other in the form of a serpent) are exquisite in their design and execution.

“I don’t want to hold myself to a particular style,” she says. “Trends come and go and in jewelry design there is such a broad spectrum of concepts. I am always open to new ideas and I love trying new things. Coco Chanel is someone I find truly inspiring because she was willing to push certain boundaries.”

In 2009, Huang put her creative skills to the test when she submitted an 18-karat white gold, tear drop, diamond and emerald earring design, named Africa’s Hope, to the Women’s Jewelry Association in the DIVA Design Red Carpet category.

The winning design would be auctioned off during the November 2009 Dallas Rocks Diamond Dinner and After Party, and then donated to the Diamond Empowerment Fund (D.E.F.). Huang’s Africa’s Hope Earrings won the award, and hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons purchased the ethereal white gold earrings.

“The D.E.F. is a non-profit organization that works to raise money to support education initiatives that develop and empower economically disadvantaged people in African nations,” she explains. “I wanted the design to be the shape of a tear drop with strands of diamonds stretching from the top towards the bottom suggesting an angel’s harp.

I wanted the design to have meaning and the materials to be symbolic as well.

The design represents the dedication and perseverance of the individuals that work to make a difference in the world and the hope that exists because there are people who care.”

EVELYN H. JEWELRY

Located in the southeastern province of Sichuan in China are the magnificent Dazu Rock Carvings of Dazu County. These expertly carved out statues reflect a combination of Buddhist, Taoist, and Confucianist influences. China is also the ancestral home of featured jewelry designer Evelyn Huang.

Huang is not one to rely on gimmicks or leans heavily on the latest trends to cultivate her lithe and delicate fine jewelry collections.

The California native and graduate of the Gemological Institute of America (G.I.A.) enjoys the challenge of developing fresh design concepts for her beautiful luxury and custom jewelry.

The daughter of a L.A. jewelry business owner, Huang’s connection to the industry began early as she was exposed to the precious wares of numerous jewelry artisans.

“During summer and winter vacations—during school breaks—I would help my father by running errands. My father’s business is where I learned about the importance of customer care and service. It was here I realized that I had a natural instinct for discerning quality jewelry.”

After completing her studies at G.I.A. and the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, Huang accepted the Brand Ambassador position with the Beverly Hills-based DeBeers Diamond Jewelers. Though she found her position with the company highly educational, she felt creatively stifled. In 2006, she triumphantly established her own company evelynH. Jewelry.

Huang’s assortment of gemstone rings, bridal jewelry, gold earrings, and men’s rings is a masterful expression of detailed minimalism.

The engraved surface designs of her Platinum 900 Sakura Ring; the burst of color from the dome-like setting of her Carousel Cocktail Ring; and the unconventional whimsy of her men’s cufflinks Original Sin (one cufflink is in the form of an apple; the other in the form of a serpent) are exquisite in their design and execution.

“I don’t want to hold myself to a particular style,” she says. “Trends come and go and in jewelry design there is such a broad spectrum of concepts. I am always open to new ideas and I love trying new things. Coco Chanel is someone I find truly inspiring because she was willing to push certain boundaries.”

In 2009, Huang put her creative skills to the test when she submitted an 18-karat white gold, tear drop, diamond and emerald earring design, named Africa’s Hope, to the Women’s Jewelry Association in the DIVA Design Red Carpet category.

The winning design would be auctioned off during the November 2009 Dallas Rocks Diamond Dinner and After Party, and then donated to the Diamond Empowerment Fund (D.E.F.). Huang’s Africa’s Hope Earrings won the award, and hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons purchased the ethereal white gold earrings.

“The D.E.F. is a non-profit organization that works to raise money to support education initiatives that develop and empower economically disadvantaged people in African nations,” she explains. “I wanted the design to be the shape of a tear drop with strands of diamonds stretching from the top towards the bottom suggesting an angel’s harp.

I wanted the design to have meaning and the materials to be symbolic as well.

The design represents the dedication and perseverance of the individuals that work to make a difference in the world and the hope that exists because there are people who care.”