"Dream Cars": Concepts Across Eight Decades on Display

Amazing ideas...

Porsche 918 Spyder 2010 concept car

netcarshow.com

 

 

 

 

 

"Dream Cars": Concepts Across Eight Decades on Display

 

 

Designers' bold ideas for cars of the future across a span of 80 years are being showcased at Atlanta's High Museum of Art running through Sept. 7, Alexandra Wolfe reported Friday on wsj.com.

 

"Dream Cars" features innovative concept cars from 1934 to 2010 that incorporate some amazing ideas.

 

For a slide show of more than a dozen of the stunning cars: http://online.wsj.com/articles/photos-dream-cars-at-atlantas-high-museum-of-art-1403900247?tesla=y&mg=reno64-wsj&url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304457904579644811792751516.html#1

 

 

Musical Moments: As Time Goes By

Classic Casablanca...

 

Dooley Wilson,

filmaffinity.com

 

 

 

Musical Moments: As Time Goes By

 

 

Musical Moments features music and artists I've enjoyed over the years.

 

Here's Dooley Wilson as Sam in Casablanca with the unforgettable As Time Goes By.

 

 Round up the usual suspects and enjoy:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vThuwa5RZU

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Late Sen. Howard Baker

Former White House chief of staff..

 

Howard Baker,

bizjournals.com

 

 

The Late Sen. Howard Baker

 

 

We lost a gentleman and a statesman with the demise of former Sen. Howard Baker last Thursday.

 

He was also a good sport, as you can see from some ribbing he received one evening in Washington:

http://kenallensforum.blogspot.com/2014/05/michael-davis-comedic-juggler.html

 

 

 

 

Darien Home Market Active Heading Into Summer

Busy across the board...

 Photo: Towing out of South Norwalk, CT, 1880s, Christopher Blossom,

jrusselljinishiangallery.com.

(Linda and I had lunch this week with our friend Susan Gurney on the
outdoor deck of a waterfront restaurant in South Norwalk that is

just about even with the bow of the tugboat in Blossom's painting.

 For those who don't live in Connecticut, many of the old brick buildings
 in this painting still stand.  They’ve been renovated and converted into 
restaurants, art galleries and gift shops at street level, with

apartments on the upper floors. )

Darien Home Market Active Heading Into Summer

Darien's residential real estate market saw activity across the board in the week ending today.

Results in major real estate categories, according to the Darien MLS, were:

-- 12 new listings of property for sale;

-- 12 price changes;

-- Seven accepted offers;

-- Eight properties going under deposit, and

-- 13 closings.

For more:  

Apartment Market Shows Staying Power

Rental apartment values up...

 

Apartment market, realestate.com

 

 

 

Apartment Market Shows Staying Power

 

 

The multifamily sales market continues to show strength, much to the relief of many landlords who were worried the market would weaken, Chesley Dulaney reported yesterday on wsj.com.

 

Rental apartment buildings were among the first types of commercial properties to rebound after the recession.

 

But as early as 2011, some analysts were predicting the sector would cool off, fearing competition from improving home prices and the fledgling single-family rental market, Dulaney wrote.

 

However, those thunderclouds passed without a storm. The competition from the sales market has been weaker than expected largely because mortgage lending has continued to be restrictive, Dulaney reported.

 

For more:  http://online.wsj.com/articles/apartment-market-shows-staying-power-1403658316

 

How Clark Little Got His Big Break

Great shots...

Clark Little at work, clarklittlephotography.com

How Clark Little Got His Big Break

Clark Little has a job that's a little different.

He gets tossed around by breaking waves and slammed into the sand in Hawaii on many a day. 

But he wouldn't have it any other way, twistedshifter.com reports.

Little became a professional photographer in 2006, working the North Shore of Oahu, where some of the world's biggest waves and best surfing conditions can be found.

His career path changed lanes when his wife wanted a photograph of some local water for their house.

Putting his knowledge of the ocean and his love for surfing to good use, Little traded in his surf board for a camera and began documenting waves in such a spectacular manner as to draw attention world wide, according to Wikipedia.

For more about Little and his terrific work, take a look at this short and very good video:  http://twistedsifter.com/videos/how-clark-little-got-his-big-break/

Gallup Poll: Social Media Stumbles in Sales

Shift to quality over quantity...

Social media, intrigueme.ca

  Gallup Poll: Social Media Stumbles in Sales

Businesses are taking a more critical look at social media and its influence on the bottom line, a chart in an article by Jeff Elder on wsj.com reported yesterday.

A majority of respondents in a new Gallup survey said that social media had no influence at all on purchasing decisions, according to the chart.

For more on the chart and a report on how some well known businesses are reassessing social media and adjusting their strategies for it:  http://online.wsj.com/articles/companies-alter-social-media-strategies-1403499658?mod=trending_now_3

Ten Most Idyllic U.S. Resorts

Are we there yet?

 

Hotel del Coronado, San Diego, architecturaldigest.com

 

  

 

Ten Most Idyllic U.S. Resorts

 

 

Planning a summer getaway?

 

Architectural Digest's editors have rounded up ten grand, historic resorts across the country for your consideration.

 

For a slide show of some great places:  http://www.architecturaldigest.com/ad/travel/2014/best-summer-resorts-slideshow?title=1

 

Musical Moments: Albinoni -- Adagio in G Minor

Beautiful...

 

Tomaso Albinoni, c 1700, rfdrake.co.uk

 

 

 

Musical Moments:  Albinoni -- Adagio in G Minor

 

 

Musical Moments features music and artists I've enjoyed over the years.

 

Today's feature is Italian composer Tomaso Albinoni's famous Adagio in G Minor, presented with an excellent slide show of Mount Everest.

 

Click here for the presentation:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8TkBM5DeHM

 

 

 

Darien Home Market Has Busy Week

Active market...

Mountain laurel, Linda's garden, K. Allen, June 2014

Darien Home Market Has Busy Week

Darien's residential real estate market finished a busy week today with activity in every major category.

Results in major sectors, according to the Darien MLS, were:

-- 12 new listings of property for sale;
-- 11 price changes;
-- Six accepted offers; 
-- Five properties going under contract, and
-- 12 closings.

For more:  

Awesome Alberta: Really Something to See

Awesome scenery...

 

Maligne Lake, Jasper, Alberta, Christianabend

 

 

 Awesome Alberta: Really Something to See

 

 

Go north of the border and see some of Alberta's beauty in a nicely done video.

 

As the song in the video says, She's Really Something to See.

 

Sit back and enjoy a few relaxing moments in western Canada: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L82_jHs8FgA

 

Thanks to my friend Bob LeWinter for telling me about this very nice production.

 

New Treasure Trove of Met Masterpieces

Absolutely wonderful...

 

Boiserie, Hotel de Varengeville, Paris, c. 1736-52,

Metropolitan Museum of Art

 

 

 

New Treasure Trove of Met Masterpieces

 

 

New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art released a treasure trove of nearly 400,000 hi-resolution, digital images online in May that you can download for free and use for non-commercial purposes.

 

The museum said the number of available images will increase as new digital files are added on a regular basis. The Met is the largest art museum in the United States and one of the 10 largest in the world.

 

Here are 40 outstanding highlights from the Met's collection, presented by twistedsifter.com:  http://twistedsifter.com/2014/06/highlights-from-the-met/


 

 

 

 

Wingsuiting Over Manhattan

Great view...

 

Wingsuits above New York, q8allinone.com

 

 

Wiingsuiting Over Manhattan

 

 

 

It's a bird! It's a plane! 

 

Actually it's five members of the Red Bull Air Force who flew over New York at a 120 mile an hour clip last month, capturing breathtaking views of some of the city's most famous landmarks, Mikaela Rakos reported on dashburst.com.

 

The team jumped from a plane 7,500 feet above the new 1 World Trade Center

and the Statue of Liberty and landed safely on a barge in the Hudson River.

 

Tag along with the team and see Manhattan as you never have before: http://dashburst.com/video/humans-fly-over-new-york-city/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Top 25 Biggest Renovating Mistakes

Oops...

 

Renovation mistakes, hgtv.com

 

 

 

 

Top 25 Biggest Renovating Mistakes

Incorrect measuring, hasty prep work, choosing the wrong materials -- these are just a few of the many mistakes people make when renovating, according to hgtv.com.


For a slide show on how to avoid these mistakes and more when renovating:  http://www.hgtv.com/homekeeping/top-25-biggest-renovating-mistakes/pictures/index.html?affiliate=blocker&omnisource=SEM&c1=Premium_Outbrain&c2=Outbrain&c3=High_PPV&c4=Top-25-Biggest-Renovating-Mistakes
 

Musical Moments: Happy Father's Day

Honoring Dad...

 

Father's Day, Jacquie Lawson

Musical Moments: Happy Father's Day

Musical Moments features music and artists I've enjoyed over the years.

Here's a Jacquie Lawson creation with Beethoven's Symphony No. 6 in F (Pastoral), 1st movement to wish everyone a Happy Father's Day.

 

I hope you'll enjoy it.

You can view your card here.

Darien Real Estate Market Active in Past Week

Dad's in the picture, too...

My Family, Joaquin Sorolla, 1901, paintinggall.com

In honor of Father's Day this coming Sunday.

Darien Real Estate Market Active in Past Week

 

Darien's residential real estate market was active across the board in the week ending today.

Results in major real estate categories, according to the Darien MLS, were:

-- 15 New listings of property for sale;

-- 12 Price changes;

-- 12 Accepted offers;

-- 11 Properties going under contract, and

-- Seven closings.

For more:

Musical Moments: Celine Dion -- All by Myself

Stuck between flights...

Richard Dunn, nuestro.mx

 

 

 

Musical Moments:  Celine Dion -- All by Myself

 

 

Musical Moments features music and artists I've enjoyed over the years.

 

Today, it's a wonderful video by Richard Dunn that has gone viral this week.

 

After being bumped off two consecutive flights, Dunn had a choice:  stay at a nearby hotel for a few measly hours or stay at the airport until his 6 am flight the next morning, according to twistedsifter.

 

Dunn opted for the latter, making the most of his alone time by filming a video with his iPhone to the music of Celine Dion's version of the Eric Carmen classic, All by Myself.

 

For Dunn's fun video and how he produced it:  http://twistedsifter.com/videos/all-by-myself-airport-music-video/

 

Avalanche Inspires Survivor

Turning point...

 

Cory Richards, National Geographic

Avalanche Inspires Survivor
 

Cory Richards, a National Geographic photographer, reflects on his adventures, discomforts and struggles -- and especially on surviving an avalanche in the Himalayas -- in a new video on twistedsifter.com.

Richards, who is an experienced mountaineer, and his partners were descending from the 8,000-meter peak of Gasherbrum II in Pakistan in the winter of 2011 when they were hit by a massive wall of snow and ice.

"Once the avalanche took us, there was no more fear," said Richards, who documented the whole experience. 

"You're dying.  You are trying to swim in the snow, stay on top.  All of a sudden we stopped and my face was on the surface," Richards told Fitz Cahall on nationalgeographic.com.

Richards took the photo of his face above just after realizing he had survived.  It appeared on the cover of the National Geographic. 

And it changed his life..."to tell the story of what it means to hurt, to triumph, to be human," he said.

For the video on Richard's extraordinary experiences and the stories he tells through his excellent photography:  http://twistedsifter.com/videos/the-richness-that-comes-with-struggle-cory-richards/

 

A Time Lapse Collection: A Beautiful Medley

A visual treat...

The Golden Gate Bridge, Francisco Companioi, National Geographic

 

 

A Time Lapse Collection: A Beautiful Medley

 

 

San Francisco and the Bay Area are famous for their fog, which ebbs and flows daily, depending on the season.

 

It's a huge, sea-like phenomena extending for miles, as Simon Christen has shown in his time-lapse films.

 

Here, Christen returns to the subject with a new, short film -- A Time Lapse Collection. 

 

It's a medley of beautiful shots of the Bay Area and Dubai.

 

For more:  https://vimeo.com/94923911

Musical Moments: Victor Borge -- Hands Off!

Wonderful...

Victor Borge, lefthandbrofeld.dk

Musical Moments:  Victor Borge -- Hands Off!

Musical Moments features music and artists I've enjoyed over the years.

This week Victor Borge and opera singer Marilyn Mulvey keep an audience rolling in laughter in Hands Off!

I hope you enjoy it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JQwvfNLfFU

 

Darien Real Estate Activity Surges

Operation Overlord...

U.S. Army troops wade ashore on Omaha Beach in Normandy

on D-Day morning, June 6, 1944 -- 70 years ago today.

Darien Real Estate Activity Surges

Darien saw a surge in residential real estate activity in the week ending today.

Results in major real estate categories, according to the Darien MLS, included:

-- 13 new listings of property for sale;

-- 16 price changes;

-- 12 accepted offers; 

-- Four properties going under contract, and

-- Five closings.

For more about today's historic D-Day anniversary:

In commemoration of those who contributed to D-Day's success and in honor of those who have served and are serving our country, here is the introductory theme to the Band of Brothers: http://kenallensforum.blogspot.com/2014/06/musical-moments-d-day-at-70.html

For details about today's latest weekly update for Darien:

 

Rebounding from Failure to Success

Overcoming adversity...

One of Leonardo da Vinci's great successes:

The Mona Lisa, c. 1503,

Louvre Museum, Wikipedia

 

 

 

 

Rebounding from Failure to Success

 

 

What's one of the key, common denominators for success after a failure?

History’s greatest figures overcame failure and achieved success in almost exactly the same way, Adam Westbrook reports at the outset of a fascinating two-part video series on creativity and achievement.

Westbrook illustrates his point with the example of Leonardo da Vinci, who overcame adversity to achieve fame as a genius of the Renaissance.

The missing chapter in the story of success reveals the secret to do meaningful work, Westbrook wrote. 

But rather than celebrating that part of the creative process we ignore it, he reports.

And in today's world, full of distraction, do we have what it takes to do great things, he wonders.

Take a few minutes and watch Westbrook's story about how da Vinci and others overcame failure and applied the long game of experience that led to their eventual success: http://twistedsifter.com/videos/the-importance-of-failure/

Rowayton Average Home Sale Price up in May

Update...

Rowayton, K. Allen, 2013

Average Rowayton Home Sale Price up in May

Rowayton's average home sale price increased 8.2 percent at the end of May compared with a year ago, according to a new report by the Darien MLS today.

In other major real estate categories, comparing year-to-date 2014 and 2013, Rowayton's results showed:

-- Sales volume down 25.4 percent, and 
-- Sales off 31 percent, from 29 units last year to 20 in 2014.

On a month-to-month comparison of May 2013 to May 2014, Rowayton's average sale price rose 29 percent, while units sold declined 3.9 percent from 77 to 74.

For more:

Update: Darien Average Home Sale Price up in May

Moving on...

Along Five Mile River Road, Darien, K. Allen, 2013

Update:  Darien Average Home Sale Price up in May

Darien's average home sale price rose 2.2 percent at the end of May compared with a year ago, according to a new report from the Darien MLS today.

Results in other major real estate categories, comparing year-to-date 2014 with the same period in 2013, showed:

-- Sales volume slipped 5.1 percent, and

-- Sales declined 7.1 percent from 84 to 78 in 2014.

For more: