Musical Moments: George Shearing, East of the Sun...

Superb...

 

George Shearing

 

 

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

 

George Shearing was one of the world's finest classical jazz pianists.

 

I hope you'll enjoy Sir George's superb rendition of East of the Sun, West of the Moon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmm63Z_vUMM
 

 

 

Darien Real Estate Market Slows for Thanksgiving Holiday

Weekly update...

 

Rocky stream in Autumn

 

 

Darien's residential real estate market slowed in the holiday week ending today.

 

Results, according to the Darien MLS, were:

 

-- One new listing of property for sale;

-- Two price changes;

-- Two accepted offers;

-- Three properties going under contract, and

-- No closings.

 

For more:

 

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

All the best...

 

Homeward bound

 

 

Wishing you a very happy Thanksgiving.

You can view your card here.

 

If you'd like to reply to the sender, simply click "Send a Reply" at the bottom of the card.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cool Future Computer Uses

Neat ideas...

 

Shopping in the future 

 

 

Every now and then videos that depict the future of computers crop up.  Too often, though, they are more flash than substance, Lambert Varias reports on technabob.com.

 

A few years ago, Corning -- the glass and ceramics company that gave us Gorilla Glass, among other things -- produced a fascinating clip with its view of the computer's future.

 

And, of course, it's glass.

 

For some neat ideas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFiEWHdFSsQ

 

With thanks to my old friend Ed Mastoloni for letting me know about this clip.

 

 

 

Top 10 Words Invented by Writers

Authorisms...

 

Good old Catch-22

 

 

Writer Paul Dickson discusses his long-time interest in words, particularly the coinage of new ones, as background about his new book, Authorisms, on theguardian.com.

 

He sorts through 10 or his favorite authorisms, including those by Joseph Heller (Catch-22), Herb Caen (beatnik), Mark Twain (hard-boiled) and William Gibson (cyberspace).

 

For more:  http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/nov/19/top-10-words-invented-writers-authorisms

 

For some interesting reviews of Dickson's book:  http://www.bloomsbury.com/us/authorisms-9781620405420/

 

Musical Moments: Beethoven, Symphony 6 Pastoral

Marvelous...

 

Ludwig van Beethoven

 

Beethoven at his best with the marvelous Pastoral from Symphony 6...and a lovely slide show:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMJPZ-mu-Ts

 

Closings Top Latest Darien Real Estate Results

Weekly update...

 

Autumn in Central Park as Thanksgiving nears

 

 

Five closings topped Darien residential real estate results for the week ending today.

 

Other results, according to the Darien MLS, were:

 

-- One new listing of property for sale;

-- Three price changes;

-- Four accepted offers and

-- Four properties going under contract.

 

For more: 

 

 

 

 

 

Head-Turning Cars at LA Car Show

Stars on display...

  

 Maserati
 

Some of the world's coolest auto concept and production cars are on display at the Los Angeles Auto Show which opened this week, Benjamin Zhan reports on businessinsider.com.

Stars in the spotlight range from new Audis and BMWs to a new Jaguar, the reintroduced Mercedes-Maybach and more.

For a slide show:   

http://www.businessinsider.com/21-coolest-cars-at-the-2014-la-auto-show-2014-11#

 

Film-maker's Stylish French Chateau

I want a nice shower, too...

 

Chateau de Digoine

 

 

Film-maker Jean-Louis Remilleux, once a journalist known for high-profile interviews with the likes of Brigitte Bardot, has restored and transformed what was a neglected chateau in Burgundy into a showplace, Mitchell Owens reports on architecturaldigest.com.

 

"I love history," Remilleux told Owens, "but I want a nice shower, too."

 

For more, including a slide show of the chateau:  http://www.architecturaldigest.com/decor/2014-12/remilleux-burgundy-chateau-article

 

 

Huge New Digital Billboard for Times Square

Your name here...

 

New Times Square digital display

 

 

A digital billboard almost the length of a football field is coming to Times Square in New York City today, making it the biggest, brightest, and most expensive advertising space anywhere in North America, according to rt.com.

Arriving just in time for four weeks of the busiest shopping season of year, visitors to Times Square will get to witness the massive advertisement, the website reported.

Occupying an entire city block at eight stories high, the digital outdoor billboard will first show off an art exhibition by Universal Everything, which will dazzle the area’s 300,000 daily visitors. The billboard’s 24-million-pixel-strong LED display will be bright, but at $2.5 million for four weeks of display time it is not cheap, according to rt.com.

For more of the rt.com report:  http://rt.com/usa/206391-times-square-biggest-billboard-nyc/

 

For a Bloomberg video about the new billboard:  http://www.bloomberg.com/video/the-biggest-billboard-times-square-has-ever-seen-GSNvhCgUQjintqx_KwKwDw.html

For a New York Times report:  http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/17/business/media/times-squares-biggest-and-most-expensive-digital-billboard-is-set-to-shine-.html?_r=0

 

What Your Plaid Says About You

Popular plaids...

 

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, in plaid

 

 

A look at seven of the most popular plaids, their histories and the celebrities who love them, by Micaela English, townandcountrymag.com.

 

For a gallery of plaids:  http://www.townandcountrymag.com/style/fashion-trends/news/a2538/what-your-favorite-plaid-says-about-you/?click=_hpTrnsprtr_6

 

 

Musical Moments: God Only Knows

Something different...

God Only Knows

The BBC has remade The Beach Boys' masterpiece, God Only Knows, with the help of a few friends.

The new production has the 80-piece BBC Concert Orchestra at its heart and what the BBC says are 27 ridiculously talented musicians from a wide range of genres.

 Its "impossible orchestra" represents the talent, diversity and musical passion found every day throughout its organization, the BBC said.

I hope you'll enjoy something different: 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqLTe8h0-jo

For more about who's in the production:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/2R3PxWX7hzMb8lNZs3Ngz5L/god-only-knows

• 

  God Only Knows (BBC Music)

  View Programme information

Sparkle & Whim

Something special...

 

Sparkle and Whim crystal bracelet and earrings

 

 

 

 

Like to do a little shopping?

 

Check out my daughter Meg Allen's website, Sparkle and Whim, for something special.

 

You might just find that little something that strikes your fancy or makes a perfect gift.

 

Sparkle and Whim:  sparkleandwhim.com

 

 

 

 

 

New Listings Head Latest Darien Real Estate Results

Weekly report...

Church at Old Lyme, Childe Hassam, 1905

 

Nine new listings of property for sale headed Darien residential results for the week ending today.

 

Other results, according to the Darien MLS, were:

 

-- Three price changes of property for sale;

-- One accepted offer;

-- Six properties going under contract, and

-- Four closings.

 

For more:

 

 

 

Ah, Paris

Wonderful scenes...

 

Paris, Gail Albert Halaban

 

 

Photographer Gail Albert Halaban's new book of striking images of Paris are featured on architectural digest.com.

 

For a report about the book, Paris Views, by AD's Julie Coe and a slide show of some of Halaban's wonderful Parisian scenes: http://www.architecturaldigest.com/blogs/daily/2014/11/paris-views-gail-albert-halaban-article

 

Wedding Fiascos

Oops...

 

Wedding surprise 

 

 

Despite hours of preparation, meticulous planning and attention to detail, Murphy's Law can turn a wedding into the surprise of a lifetime.

 

The law says that if something can go wrong, it will.

 

For a look at how things went wrong -- and for a chuckle or a gasp or two -- here's CNN's Jeanne Moos' recent report on some memorable wedding twists: http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/offbeat/2014/10/30/erin-dnt-moos-groom-drops-bride.cnn.html

 

 

Veterans' Day 2014

Thank you...

 

In honor of service to the nation 

For a video saluting those who serve and have served:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtVF2QIIhWg&feature=youtu.be&adid=icgsch73287199-VQ16-c-VQ6-55698890420





 

$195M: Asking Price for Most Expensive US Home on the Market

Beverly Hills mansion...

 

Palazzo di Amore

 

America's most expensive home has hit the market for a staggering $195 million, Katherine Clarke reports on nydailynew.com.

The massive 25-acre Beverly Hills compound, known as the Palazzo di Amore or Palace of Love, has its own vineyard, a bowling alley, a 50-seat movie theater, a discothèque with a rotating dance floor, a supersize reflecting pool and even a spa, Clarke wrote.

Billionaire real estate mogul and Mike Tyson bestie Jeff Greene spent nearly eight years developing the estate as an investment property and married his wife Mei Sze Greene there in 2007 with the former boxer as his best man, according to Clarke.

For more of Clarke's report and photos of the property:  http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/real-estate/billionaire-real-estate-mogul-jeff-greene-lists-195m-home-article-1.2003369

For a video of the property:  http://money.cnn.com/2014/11/06/real_estate/most-expensive-listing/

Musical Moments: Ernesto Cortazar, Autumn Leaves

Colorful season...

 

Ernesto Cortazar

 

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

 

I hope you'll enjoy Ernesto Cortazar's Autumn Leaves, set to a slide show of the colorful season:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjFTVVqeQ_0

Closings Lead Latest Darien Real Estate Results

Weekly update...

 

Fall on Darien's Great Island, K. Allen, Oct. 2014

 

 

Nine closings led Darien residential real estate results for the week ending today.

 

Results in other categories, according to the Darien MLS, were:

 

-- One new listing of property for sale;

-- No price changes for property for sale;

-- Six accepted offers, and

-- Seven properties going under contract.

 

For more: 

Epic Phone Prank

Surprise...

 

Phone as a cup of water

Smartphones can do just about anything these days.

Take a look at how a couple of far out apps surprise and bewilder a customer in an epic phone prank.

For a chuckle:http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/showbiz/2014/10/28/carbonaro-effect-new-season-preview.trutv.html

 

Susie Wolff Wants to Win a Grand Prix

In fast company...

 Susie Wolff

 

 

Susie Wolff is an anomaly in the fast and rarified world of Formula One car

racing where speeds can reach 220 mph.

 

She is the first woman to drive in an F1 weekend in 22 years, Bloomberg.com reports.

 

Wolff talks about what it will take to get her to a Grand Prix in a Bloomberg.com video:   http://bloom.bg/1t4qLhq

 

For more about Wolff: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susie_Wolff

 

For more on F1 racing:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formula_One

 

 

 

Susie Wolff

 

 

1 World Trade Center Open for Business

Now open...

1 World Trade Center

                

More than 13 years after a terrorist attack destroyed the twin towers — soaring symbols of New York City’s might, financially and structurally — the first employees of the first tenant in the building erected to take their place arrived on Monday for their first workday, nytimes.com reports.

“The building is open for business,” said Jordan Barowitz, an official of the Durst Organization, which developed the building, 1 World Trade Center, with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

“It’s a beautiful building, it’s a historic building, but it’s an office building and it’s open for business.”

For more, including slide show:  http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/04/nyregion/first-tenant-of-1-world-trade-center-arrives-highlighting-lower-manhattans-renewal.html?ref=todayspaper&_r=0

Darien, Rowayton Show Mixed Real Estate Results

Latest update...

 

Darien's Gorham's Pond and Ring's End Bridge, K. Allen

 

 

Darien and Rowayton residential real estate year-to-date results as of Oct. 31 were mixed, according to a new Darien MLS report out today.

 

The average sale price in Darien gained .8 percent, while in Rowayton it rose 14.8 percent.

 

For more: 

 

 

 

Musical Moments: Funiculi, Funicula

Shopera...

 

Shoppers' treat

 

 

Shoppers in an Oxford Street supermarket in London were surprised last year when some in the store broke out in song with the famous Neapolitan piece, Funiculi, Funicula.

 

The rousing song was written in 1880 by Peppino Turco and set to music by the composer Luigi Denza to commemorate the opening of the first funicular cable car on Mount Vesuvius.

 

I hope you'll enjoy Funiculi, Funicula as much as some shoppers did: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44UC6muN8KY