cornerstone

lol ! I found this - not at all relevant, but it insults Posh Spice, and that can't be a bad thing: Posh Spice is a slapper, She wear's a big fat jewel, And when she's shagging Beckham, She thinks of Harry Kewell.

URGENT: NEED A NEW CHANT FOR TODAY'S AUSTRALIA GAME Right, didn't want to hijack the football thread, but Australia has a problem: our chants are absolutely abysmal. So basically: any ideas out there for some decent Australian chants for today's game? Whinge alert! Here are the existing chants so you can get a feel for what I'm talking about. Australia basically has two chants. And since Australia is brilliant at basically every sport (no surprise, about 4% of GDP is spent on persuading good athletes from other countries to become Australian!) these two chants are spread pretty thin. I've also noticed that every TV advert has been using them ad nauseum since the World Cup began. CHANT ONE: Come on Aussie, let's go. CLAP. CLAP. Come on Aussie, let's go. CLAP CLAP. That's it. Repeat until opposition fall asleep. It's like a metronome. CHANT TWO: Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi Repeat. This one shits me to tears - but I think you have to have lived in the UK in the 1970's to understand why. As an Australian chant, it kind of makes sense - Aussie, Oi. But it isn't an Australian chant - it started out with feckin' Max Boyce as "Oggy, Oggy, Oggy" at Welsh rugby matches and spread from there. In case you don't remember Max - you might remember his face and think "oh, that twat!": The thing that's annoying is that "Oggy" means nothing. Oh, sure some person somewhere reckons it mean 'Cornish Pasty' but in terms of a rugby international, sixty thousand Welsh people screaming for a Cornish Pasty, Oi , Oi, Oi is not clever. And, of course, it ended up everywhere. I seem to recall all the spectators screaming it out on It's A Knockout for absolutely no reason. Oggy is an ugly word, fat kids in Adidas tracksuits singing it doesn't make it any more endearing. It then became "Ozzie, Ozzie, Ozzie" because of the English footballer, Peter Osgood. Inevitably it spread to infect Australia. SO, ANY IDEAS FOR A BETTER CHANT FOR TONIGHT?! I might have to whisper it (baby and all!) but give us something good! (BTW: thinking of chants rather than songs (Walzing Matilda, I know, I know))

Yup - this is typical Paypal. One chargeback (which they fee the seller for), then they suspend the account (and take a minimum of six months to release funds, if at all), and no real chance for the seller to prove that they sent it (they don't care). Paypal is easy for buyers, but hopefully people that take the time to research reps can take the time to work out Moneybookers or whatever...

Oh, that's deep! The fate of two nations and the hopes and dreams of seventy million people rests on your fantasy league team....you're the Blofeld of the World Cup, sitting in your lair, stroking your pussy

My thoughts entirely! What I will miss in life experience, I will gain in warmth and easy access to refridgerated Tim Tams (and beer, but I'll have to draw a line under that way before kick-off to get up in the morning) Plus if Australia lose, I can go straight to bed...hey, I've picked up some practical hints following Scotland all these years.

It's going to be an interesting night in Leichhardt if Italy win... I kind of fancy heading down there - but cold, parking, getting home....brrrrr

Of course criminals launder money - and if it's clean it can be invested in anything without the recipient being any the wiser. But there's a massive gap between that and "the formula for turning out films for the Scorcese organization is "three for them (the Mob), one for us."" Since the money for Scorcese films comes from the same pot as the majority of major Hollywood films (even the big studios borrow the money to make the films) you could say the same about just about any director. And it's a normal merchant bank arrangement - they earn interest. I'm kicking the idea about, not your head you understand!

Good man I'm just praying it's over in 90 minutes - must...have...sleep!! Absolutely shattered. I can't see this one going Australia's way, much as I'd like it too. And all the diving by the Italians is going to drive me nuts - I'm convinced that the whole country will want to punch Totti by the time the game is over. Still, Guus knocked Italy out last time....

Okay, fair enough. Loops occur in places where people gather - Washington and Canberra for politics, for example. I was meaning writers in general, who normally work on their own and the only loop they're in is between them and their dog! But in a place like NY I can see them escaping from behind the laptop. Clearly the writer you spoke with was credible. But one of the problems with loops though is 'loops of what?' Unsubstantiated gossip? What's interesting about this particular story is that it must be the product of someone somewhere wanting it to be true. Mob bragging? The possibilities are intriguing. The sad fact though - and I feel slightly boring to say it - is that where the funding comes from is clear as day. The epicentre of film deal making is Los Angeles, not New York. Scorsese gets his funding from IEG, which is run by a Brit, and owned by a German company IM Internationalmedia. Previously, and I believe still, they have funded films through a revolving line of credit from JP Morgan (who provide 80% of this kind of funding to Hollywood).

I almost wish it was that exciting... ...however I fear that the biggest input into global cultural output actually comes from the lads at Pricewaterhouse Coopers, etc Since when were writers kept in the loop anyway?

Enjoy!! You in London for this one?

Sven seems to have gone loopy - any thoughts on England v Ecuador? [Must confess a slight leaning towards Ecuador]

You're right - it's crazy. But people will pay what they think it's worth. What is couture fashion worth? Of course, they have to make their money from a very small run, but still that says nothing for the buyer. People that buy that (couture fashion) are mental, and frankly I'm tight!

Wow - I was going to say the same thing. I thought that you must have the labels mixed up - how come the rubber strap reflects like that? But given you've got it right - the rep looks off the chart better!

Thanks for sharing that - it's greatly appreciated!! EDIT: forgot to say that the diamond.info website seems to have an excellent search engine for diamonds from different dealers (presumably they get some kind of affiliate commission, but still, it seems quite good)

For sure. Multiple pictures help too with wallets (for me anyway) - like with the pictures of the Gucci wallet you posted. You want to know that it can fit all your cards, etc. I suppose the real market research question is whether you can shift enough of them every week to make it worth the effort. Plus you would have to be scrutinised to determine whether you are a suitable candidate to be a dealer on this forum!!! lol!

Seems I haven't drunk all the brain cells away quite yet - it's coming back to me slowly! Blue Nile diamonds Also look around for some of the diamond forums: diamond.info seems to have a decent one. Cheers!

Here we go - this is not a bad place to start Excel Diamonds Might give you a good guide to prices you can get out of the stores. Presumably robertinaustin knows more (prepared to share the knowledge?! )

Obviously take this up, but just to add to the mix there are some reputable diamond wholesalers out there. Unfortunately I can't remember the names, which isn't much use. Maybe they will come to me later! It's a much better idea the way you are doing it rather than buying retail (obviously you have already determined this - just supporting the idea!). More than saving money you will end up with a much better diamond (by spending the amount you would in a store). I was quite surprised that places like Tiffanys can sell some yellow lower grade diamonds, and as for other stores some of the diamonds were down at brown. The thing that irks me is that as carats, colour and clarity improve, the retailers also mark up the ring - even though it's the same ring, same amount of work, same overheads. You can see comparing the 'wholesale' (i.e. not high street retail) prices for various carats and comparing them to their Tiffany equivalent finished rings. Best of luck!

Cheers! She's picked out the watch she wants - it's the FM for sure. I thought the P24 was going to be the way to go, but I was way off - glad I'm not the sort of person to impress her on the spur of the moment with a gen - lol! By the 2600 movement do you mean the ETA 2671-2 (= the FM 2600??), or is there a better rep movement that I should investigate?

This is genius! Looks like you've got a 100% positive rating on this so far! Ever considered politics? [bitchin] better trade mark pizzanooo while you still can! [/bitchin] (I joke!)

On the Conquistador ETA front.... The genuine movement in the Ladies FM Conquistador is called the FM 2600: it has, I believe, 28,800 vph and a 38 hour reserve with 20 jewels and a platinum rotor. Sounds plausible that it is a finished ETA 2671: this has 28,800 vph, (is the same size obviously, fitting a ladies watch), and has a 38 hour reserve. There is a possible discrepancy with the number of jewels - the original ETA 2671 had 21 jewels, but the new ones have 25 jewels and a ball-bearing rotor (this would be the ETA 2671-2 reference I presume). It's possible that he gen 20 jewels information is wrong too (I only found one source for it) Any thoughts? Or am I way off? I think I may have talked her around to the Conquistador, even though it's more expensive you're getting more 'watch' for your money. Perhaps, I dunno. At least I know I can get it from a dealer here.

I actually spent ages looking into the P24 - I thought it was perfect. I was wrong! "Too square" was what I was told. She doesn't like "too round" either... I think the Franck Muller Sunset is available as a rep (looks easy to rep) but our dealers might not carry it because it's just a quartz. Means it might be worth asking them to source it... I found these reps: Quite a lot of ladies ones there. I also found this being sold as a rep (can't be sure that it's a photo of the actual one for sale, but doesn't look quite like gen): Failing these - there's the ETA based Conquistador that the dealers carry. Does anyone know if the genuine uses the ETA 2671 or a different movement? And what's the relevance of the ETA 2671-2 - is that different from just a plain 2671?

Rolex.... Reps, reps, wherefore art though?