Monaco, French Riviera – A couple of months ago on Saturday, June 8th, artworld history was made during the prestigious auction “L’Astarossa” organized by Monaco Car Auction at the Grimaldi Forum.
A photographic work by artist Philippe Shangti reached a new peak.
The photograph, a unique piece titled “Luxury Pollution Car, Signature Masterpiece,” was sold for the hammer price of €290,000 / $435,000 CAD, a world record- making Philippe Shangti the highest valued contemporary French photographer.
The event “L’Astarossa” was primarily dedicated to Ferrari collector cars but also featured artworks related to the Ferrari theme.
The centerpiece of this artistic sale, “Luxury Pollution Car,” is a composition featuring the La Ferrari car with models in Shangti’s inimitable style. The print, called “Signature Masterpiece” by the artist, is printed on museum certified paper and traced with a hologram, signed, and numbered 1/1 on the back by Shangti himself. It measures 259 x 110 cm, and 267 x 128.5 cm with its baroque wood frame and molding.
This record comes just a few months after Shangti had already broken his own record.
Indeed, on March 8th, one of his photographs titled “Luxury Fifth Dinner,” a print numbered in an edition of 7, sold for €54,000 / $81,000 CAD at Drouot Paris. The auction of the photograph “Luxury Pollution Car” marks a historic milestone, being the highest ever recorded for a living French photographer, held before by Gerard Rancinan. This recognition strengthens Philippe Shangti’s position on the international art scene and highlights the growing appeal of his works among collectors and art enthusiasts.
Life sometimes can seem off kilter as responsibilities mount and people plow all their physical and mental resources into what seems to be the most pressing crisis of the moment.
But Lumbie Mlambo says that’s a good time to take a step back. Everyone has the potential to shine in life’s darkest moments, but the key to achieving goals and an overall better existence is to maintain a balance so that one aspect of your life isn’t consumed by another.
While some people might say balance in life is an impossible goal, she disagrees and says when each of us find our equilibrium, we become more productive and a greater asset to our communities.
“There’s balance in everything we do, be it walking, talking, eating, sleeping, working or spending time with family,” says Mlambo, editor of Equanimity Magazine, an online publication that features inspiring stories of life and success.
“For example, look at how we try to deal with our work-life situation. We balance our workload so that we can still make room for other activities, to spend more time with our spouses or our children. We do that because we understand how important it is.”
She offers these reasons for why living a balanced life is essential.
• The health factor. Staying balanced is a key to a healthier and successful life. Both mental health and physical health benefit, and as a result, so do our overall lives. “When we’re healthy, we’re able to care for ourselves and others in our community,” Mlambo says.
• The empathy factor. When we find balance in life, we can better understand the importance of helping the underprivileged, says Mlambo, who grew up in a rural area in Zimbabwe. You begin to realize that someday you could be in their situation, which makes you a more empathetic person. “Your economic situation is like your health,” she says. “Nothing is guaranteed.”
• The role-model factor. Sharing our stories – whether it’s a tale of success or even a tale of failure – is important because others can learn from us or be inspired by us as they too strive for a balanced life. “When you tell your story, it empowers, motivates and encourages people to not give up on their dreams and goals,” Mlambo says. “Maybe you think your story is just not that interesting or important. But for someone out there, it may be the spark that ignites them to great things.”
Mlambo always strove to find balance in her life. But she became even more passionate about it after she suffered a stroke in 2001 that left her partially paralyzed. She since has recovered, but says the event had a profound impact on her and she will always consider herself a stroke patient.
“Before the stroke, I thought my life was balanced in a way,” she says. “I mean, I ate healthy foods. I exercised seven days a week. But it was not balanced in the way I wanted. I had been too focused on myself. I realized that life was not just about me, but about others.”
Finding balance in life isn’t just a feel-good concept, Mlambo says. As people achieve balance, they realize they have the potential to rise above their circumstances. They can become more productive in their communities and that is good for everyone.
“Staying proactive and shifting the way we think can even help the economy to grow and can help create more jobs,” she says.
Certainly, maintaining a balanced life may be tougher than ever because technology allows work – emails, text messages, telephone calls – to intrude on people’s “off” hours. But that’s just all the more reason to make a concerted effort to strive for balance, Mlambo says.
She says it’s become popular in some circles to argue that a balanced life is a myth and can’t be achieved. But regardless of their views, she says, most people seem to be trying to bring balance to their lives, even if they don’t think of it that way.
“We eat healthy to stay balanced, we get enough sleep or rest to avoid stress, we juggle our daily activities to stay balanced,” Mlambo says. “To be successful in anything we do, we must have some sort of balance.” For the Silo, Lumbie Mlambo.
Olivia has been the favourite name for girls since 2008, followed by the same
second, third and fourth place names from last year — Emma, Sophia and Ava. Emily joins the ranks to round out the top five. For boys, Ethan, Jacob and Lucas once again took spots two through four, with Benjamin coming in at five.
Ontario gives parents up to one year to register their newborn’s birth online.
Through the easy-to-use 4-in-1 Newborn Bundle<http://www.ontario.ca/government/register-your-newborn-baby>, they can register their child’s birth and apply for their birth certificate, social insurance number and Canada child benefits, including the Ontario child benefit, in one easy step. Birth certificates ordered online are guaranteed to be mailed within 15 business days or they’re free.
Making it easier for families to access important government services when and where they need them is part of the Ontario government’s economic plan to invest in people, build modern infrastructure and support a dynamic and innovative business climate.
QUOTES
“Parents can register their newly named babies online from the comfort of their own homes. By making it more convenient for families to access our services, we are helping new parents focus on what’s really important.”
— John Milloy, Minister of Government Services
QUICK FACTS
§ More than 99.5 per cent of birth certificates ordered online have been delivered on time.
§ The Ontario Registrar General compiles annual lists of given baby names from registered births in the province for the previous year.
§ ServiceOntario’s 4-in-1 Newborn Bundle was the first of its kind in Canada when it launched in 2007. Since then, more than 720,000 newborns have been registered in Ontario using the service.
§ The Ontario child
benefit<http://www.children.gov.on.ca/htdocs/English/topics/financialhelp/ocb/index.aspx>
provides up to $1,210 per child per year for nearly one million children to support Ontario families.
——————-
Olivia et Liam sont les prénoms les plus populaires pour les filles et pour les
garçons nés en Ontario, et ce, pour la deuxième année de suite.
Olivia est le prénom préféré pour les petites filles depuis 2008. En deuxième,
troisième et quatrième place, il est suivi par les mêmes prénoms que l’an dernier,
soit Emma, Sophia et Ava. Emily s’ajoute à ce palmarès et figure en cinquième place.
Pour les garçons, ce sont les prénoms Ethan, Jacob et Lucas qui l’emportent encore
une fois, en deuxième, troisième et quatrième place respectivement. Ils sont suivis
de Benjamin, qui se classe au cinquième rang.
L’Ontario donne jusqu’à un an aux parents pour enregistrer la naissance de leur enfant par Internet. Grâce au Service d’enregistrement des
nouveau-nés<http://www.ontario.ca/fr/gouvernement/enregistrement-de-votre-nouveaune>,
facile à utiliser, ils peuvent enregistrer la naissance de leur enfant, demander un
extrait de naissance, un numéro d’assurance sociale et leurs prestations pour
enfants du gouvernement fédéral, le tout en une seule étape toute simple. Les
extraits de naissance commandés en ligne sont postés dans les 15 jours ouvrables suivant la commande, et le tout est garanti. En cas de retard, l’extrait de naissance est gratuit.
Offrir aux familles un accès plus facile aux services gouvernementaux au moment et à l’endroit où ils en ont besoin fait partie du plan du gouvernement en matière d’économie visant à investir dans la population, à bâtir une infrastructure moderne et à soutenir un climat d’affaires dynamique et innovateur dans l’ensemble de
l’Ontario.
CITATION
« Les parents peuvent enregistrer en ligne leur bébé avec son prénom sans avoir à sortir de la maison. En facilitant l’accès à nos services pour les familles, nous aidons les nouveaux parents à se concentrer sur ce qui compte vraiment. »
– John Milloy, ministre des Services gouvernementaux.
FAITS EN BREF
§ Plus de 99,5 % des extraits de naissance commandés en ligne ont été livrés à temps.
§ Le registraire général de l’Ontario compile des listes annuelles des prénoms à partir des naissances inscrites dans la province au cours de l’année précédente.
§ Le Service d’enregistrement des
nouveau-nés<http://www.ontario.ca/fr/gouvernement/enregistrement-de-votre-nouveaune>
4 en 1 de ServiceOntario a été le premier du genre au Canada lors de son lancement, en 2007. Depuis, plus de 720 000 nouveau-nés ont été enregistrés en Ontario à l’aide de ce service.
§ La Prestation ontarienne pour
enfants<http://www.children.gov.on.ca/htdocs/French/topics/financialhelp/ocb/index.aspx>
verse jusqu’à 1 210 $ par enfant, par année à près d’un million d’enfants pour
soutenir les familles ontariennes.
