The year 2015 will keep us in suspense as far as natural stone trade fairs are concerned: Verona’s Marmomacc will be turning 50, and in Izmir the Marble Trade Fair (in its 21st year) will be moving from the Kültürpark to its new venue near the Airport. Carrara’s Marmotec, it its 32nd biannual edition, the senior of these events, will take place this year occasioned by the Milan’s Expo World Exhibition. Brazil’s Vitória barely misses the jubilee what with its 39th edition. And Xiamen? – Xiamen in its 15th year is currently expanding its exhibit area and is growing.

TexasStone Quarries Company, based in Texas’ Garden City, is the first Company to attain US-Certification of sustainability in natural stone products and production as reported by the Natural Stone Council. We reported at length on the seal under the title „ANSI/NSC-373“ (1, 2).

Pathways and paving in stone can be viewed on a page by Pinterest.

Thirteen angles of a stone from Inca times a remarkably perfect fit in the surrounding stone wall was recently discovered in Peru. To date only 12-angled-stones from Cusco were known.

Using a sharp stone a Russian tourist had just carved the first letter of his surname in a wall of Rome’s Coliseum as he was caught red-handed by a video camera. He was fined 20,000 €. As reported by the daily Il Messaggero, similar misdeeds had involved Australians, Canadians and Brazilians in 2014 (Italian).

Video of the Month: a current look out of the ISS Space Station in on offer by NASA in a live-stream. However: during nighttime or when the sky is covered in thick clouds, there is not much to see. Under the live-stream one can follow the current path of the ISS (1, 2, 3).

(04.01.2015, USA: 01.04.2015)