Darien Sees Real Estate Uptick

Weekly update...

Winter sunset, Branford, CT

Darien's residential real estate market registered an uptick in activity in the week ending today.

Results, according to the Darien MLS, were:

-- 13 new listings of property for sale;

-- Five price changes;

-- Six accepted offers;

-- Six properties going under contract, and

-- One closing.

For more:

Photoshop at 25 Dreams on With Stunning Video

See change...

Caras Ionut

Happy Birthday, Photoshop, Alice Yoo writes on mymet.com.

Twenty-five years ago this month, a little graphics editing program called Photoshop was born, she reports.

As part of the anniversary celebration, Adobe has launched a search for 25 of the most creative visual artists under the age of 25.

In the meantime, take a look at a recent Washington Post article, How 25 years of Photoshop changed the way we see reality:  http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/celebrate-photoshop-birthday-photo-manipulations?lang=en&utm_campaign=10today&flab_cell_id=2&flab_experiment_id=19&uid=153834883&utm_content=article&utm_source=email&part=s1&utm_medium=10today.0223&position=9&china_variant=False

And don't miss Adobe's stunning video celebrating the anniversary:  http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/25-year-anniversary.html

New Exhibit: Paul Rand, Business Design Pioneer

Putting design first...

Paul Rand

We live in an era that acknowledges the business value of good design. Research proves it.  But it wasn't always so, Carey Dunn writes on fastcompany.com.

Everything is Design: The Work of Paul Rand, a new exhibit at the Museum of the City of New York, reveals that today's design-led business owe much credit to the work of visionary graphic designer Paul Rand, Dunn reports.

Spanning six decades of work, including corporate communications for the likes of IBM, ABC, UPS, Westinghouse, Morningstar and Steve Job's NeXT, the show reveals that Rand didn't just make beautiful graphics.

As his colleague Lou Danziger put it, he also "almost single-handedly convinced business that design was an effective tool," Dunn writes.

For more of Dunn's fascinating report:  m.fastcompany.com/3042762/how-graphic-design-legend-paul-rand-ushered-in-an-era-of-design-led-business

Some Paul Rand designs: 

Steven Heller noted that Rand's work was "characterized by wit and simplicity" in his New York Times obituary about the designer, who died in Norwalk, CT in 1996.

For more on Heller's interesting report on Rand, his development and career: http://www.nytimes.com/1996/11/28/arts/paul-rand-82-creator-of-sleek-graphic-designs-dies.html

High Stakes in Recent California Ports Deal

Video: Beautiful view of global shipping seen from space...

Shipping traffic through the Straits of Malacca

 Here’s what was really at stake in the recent California ports deal struck last week, Ben Geir reports on fortune.com.

The ongoing dispute had led to significant slowdowns and jams. The new deal lasts for five years and covers 29,000 workers at 29 ports, the LA Times reported, Geir writes.
 

The shutdown had impacted major ports including the ones at Long Beach and Los Angeles, which handle around 40% of incoming container cargo for the US, Geir reports.

 To get a sense just how important these ports are, consider this video visualizing how cargo moved through the world on a typical day in 2012: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtffmxJmehs

Spotlight Switches From Oscar Season to UK Film Factory

To the ball...

  

Cinderella 

  

The spotlight switches today from the Oscar awards to Britain's Pinewood Studios, home for nearly a half century to great films, including the James Bond franchise.

Pinewood Studios' Historian Gareth Owen explains the studios' unique relationship with Bond in the video below.

He also talks about new films in production at the renowned studios, including Cinderella, Starwars, the latest Bond movie -- Spectre -- and more.

Owen traces the nearly 80-year history of what he calls the film factory where Superman and Batman films were made, and discusses how the studios are attracting new productions.

For a fascinating video: http://www.bloomberg.com/video/pinewood-studio-why-bond-spectre-is-filmed-here-_ihMkws9RlqyIv8R~YfIjA.html

For the new Cinderella trailer that has had more than 2 million hits:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McQ_cCBaiac

Musical Moments: Victor Borge, The Orchestra Conductor

Marvelous...

 

Victor Borge

 

Victor Borge has fun playing the inept orchestra conductor.

 

See how his marvelous antics even have the orchestra members laughing and joining in the fun:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGESFaMl84U

 

Darien Real Estate Market On the Move Despite Cold

Weekly update...

Taking Teddy for a ride

Darien's residential real estate market was on the move in the week ending today despite the Siberian Express gripping the region.

Results, according the Darien MLS, were:

-- Seven new listings of property for sale;

-- Four price changes;

-- Four accepted offers;

-- Two properties going under contract and

-- One closing.

For more:

Time Out for New Dubai Time-Lapse

Staggering...

 Rob Whitworth at work on Dubai time-lapse

Remember when time-lapses first started hitting the internet?

Many were simple sunsets over the world's greatest cities, Michael Hession reports on gizmodo.com.

This new, over-the-top time-lapse of Dubai is a perfect reflection of its very subject: opulent, excessive, awe-inducing, Hession writes.

Take a time out for this three-minute tour-de-force by time-lapse professional Rob Whitworth. 

The amount of production, effort, and indeed, time involved is staggering, Hession writes: http://gizmodo.com/this-timelapse-of-dubai-is-the-dubai-of-timelapses-1686118596?utm_campaign=socialflow_gizmodo_twitter&utm_source=gizmodo_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow

And don't miss this intriguing report about how the Dubai piece was created, told through stills and video:  http://petapixel.com/2015/02/16/flow-motion-time-lapse-dubai-insane/

Anyone who has ever been involved in a photo shoot will appreciate all that went into producing this remarkable piece.

$300M Gift: Princeton Given Gutenberg Bibles, Shakespeare Folios and More

About 2500 rare pieces...

 

William Scheide in 2002 with an original Gutenberg Bible from the 1450s

Princeton University just received the largest gift in its 269-year history: $300 million worth of rare books and manuscripts, including the first printed editions of the Bible, plays by Shakespeare and the Declaration of Independence, Aaron Smith reports on cnn.com.

For more, including a short video about the collection: http://money.cnn.com/2015/02/17/luxury/princeton-rare-books/

With thanks to my old friend Bill Goldberg for letting me know about this item.

Washington in the Snow

Terrific...

A Capitol scene

Enterprising photographers offer some terrific shots from in and around Washington during the East Coast's latest snow storm last night.

For a series winter scenes from usatoday.com:   pic.twitter.com/N2GubI13j9; click on this link for the usatoday series of photos: usat.ly/1DBOcba

And for another taken on the Mall in front of the Lincoln Memorial: instagram.com/p/zMDOv7waI0/ pic.twitter.com/5ptINtr9GE

A Presidents Day Tour of Presidential Memorials

Wonderful...

The Washington Monument from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial

In honor of Washington's birthday and Presidents Day today, Lee Mindel on architecturaldigest.com takes us on a tour of four presidential monuments and memorials in Washington.

For a wonderful slide show: http://www.architecturaldigest.com/blogs/architects-eye/2015/02/tae-presidential-memorials-slideshow?title=1

Musical Moments: Adele - Set Fire to the Snow?

Unforgettable...

Bundle up

Many across the country might like to find a way to take Adele's four-year hit and turn it into Set Fire to the Snow to get rid of the cold and all the mounds of white stuff.

While that may not be possible, I hope you'll enjoy today's Musical Moment's selection:  Adele's Set Fire to the Rain, which was released in 2011 and has been among the top songs in many countries.

   

The video of Adele singing her unforgettable piece at the Royal Albert Hall has had nearly 130 million hits.

See it here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ri7-vnrJD3k

Stay safe and warm.

Home Buyers Busy in Darien in the Past Week

Weekly update...

The pink barn

Home buying resulted in seven accepted offers in Darien during the past week.

Other residential real estate results, according to the Darien MLS, were:

-- Five new listings of property for sale;

-- Three price changes;

-- Three properties going under contract and,

-- Four closings.

For more:

Valentine's Day Getaways

Someplace different...

Twin Farms, cozy spot in Vermont

Looking for some place different to spend Valentine's Day?

Alyssa Bird on architecturaldigest.com reports on some special places, ranging from Vermont to California and from Canada to Mexico.

Maybe your favorite is among the beauties in this slide show:  http://www.architecturaldigest.com/blogs/daily/2015/02/romantic-getaways-for-valentines-day-slideshow?title=1

2015's Weirdest and Wackiest Health Trends

Hmmm...

 

Snail facial

 

                         

A few years ago, if you told your friends that you were drinking charcoal, going to 7 a.m. raves and drinking bone broth, they probably would have looked at you like you were crazy, Leigh Weingus reports on huffingtonpost.com.

These activities still seem a little strange, but they're also considered healthy (at least by some people).

We can't guarantee that trends like (gulp) snail facials are here to stay, Weingus wrote, but for the moment, they're in.

For more, including a slide show with a closer look at what's cool in the wellness world right now:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/09/health-trends-2015_n_6574446.html

 

Update: Women's Top Paying Jobs

New report...

 

Nurse anesthetist

 

 

Careers in science, engineering and healthcare dominate Forbes' annual ranking of the best-paying jobs for women this year, Kathryn Dill reports on forbes.com.

 

For more, including a slide show of top-paying jobs:  http://www.forbes.com/pictures/fjle45kmig/no-1-sales-engineer/

 

 

The Moon: On the Far Side

Never seen before...

 

 

On the moon's far side with Earth in the background

 

 

We always see just one side of the moon.

 

But what is its other side like?

 

There's always been a notion that the moon's far side is perpetually shrouded in darkness, George Dvorsky reports in io9.com.

 

But that's not the case, he writes, as a new visualization from NASA illustrates.

 

Using data acquired by the Lunar Reconnaisance Orbiter, NASA has created a new simulation of the moon to demonstrate the complete cycle of phases that are experienced from the moon's far side.

 

Take a look at a fascinating, short video of the moon as we can never see it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdkMHkF7BaA

 

 

 

 

 

Musical Moments: We Are Bangor

Fun video...

 

Love on both sides of the Penobscot River

 

 

What do you do when people mostly from far away mispronounce the name of your city in Maine?

 

In Bangor (that's Ban-gor not Ban-ger please), they recently stepped up to the situation with a novel, Down East approach.

 

They produced We Are Bangor, which is such a fun video that in the two weeks since it came out it's scheduled for the NBC Nightly News tomorrow evening, according to reports.  Of course, the date is subject to change.

 

Thanks to my old friend Jim Thompson for letting me know about this one.

 

By the way Jim lives in Calais, Maine, and that's pronounced Cal-liss, like Dallas, not some fancy French way like Cal-lay.

 

Here's We Are Bangor:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_q9hAAIS-c

 

 

 

New Listings Lead Latest Darien Real Estate Results

Weekly update...

Central Park on a Snowy Day

Eleven new listings of property for sale led Darien's latest residential real estate results for the week ending today.

Other results, according to the Darien MLS, were:

-- Two price changes;

-- Three accepted offers;

-- Four properties going under contract, and

-- Three closings.

For more:

Oscar Nominees Discuss Their Beautiful Sets

Challenging creations...

Mr. Turner: A challenging set

Oscar nominees for best production design recently discussed their award-worthy sets with Elizabeth Stamp on architectural.com.

For Stamp's report and an slide show of some beautiful creations:  http://www.architecturaldigest.com/ad/set-design/2015/oscar-nominees-set-design-slideshow_slideshow_Mr--Turner_8

Paris: At Home in the 7th

Merveilleux...

Near the tower

Paris’s 7th arrondissement, a wedge along the Left Bank, has some of the city’s leading tourist attractions, including the Eiffel Tower and the Musée d’Orsay, J. S. Marcus reports on wsj.com.

But when the tourists depart for the evening, the CEOs head there for home, he recently wrote.

“The whole CAC 40 now lives in the 7th,” says Louis Benech, a Parisian landscape architect, referring to the French key stock index and the people who run the listed companies.

Mr. Benech’s clients in the 7th arrondissement include François Pinault, the entrepreneur and honorary chairman of Kering, the Paris-based conglomerate that controls brands such as Gucci and Saint Laurent.        

  

Bernard Arnault , chairman of LVMH and its stable of brands like Dior and Louis Vuitton, also has a home there.

For a slide show of the area, including a look at some of its wonderful homes: http://www.wsj.com/articles/in-the-7th-paris-is-earning-1422544576

Super Bowl Ads: Hits & Misses

Ad wrap-up...

 

Winning pup and pal

 

Sunday's Super Bowl was the largest TV event in history, advertising expert Porter Bibb told Mark Crumpton on Bloomberg's Bottom Line yesterday.

 

We know who won the game, but who were the advertising winners and losers?

 

Budweiser's puppy was the biggest winner, said Bibb, who is managing partner of Mediatech Capital Partners.

 

Here's Bibb's scorecard for advertising hits and misses:

 

Hits: Budweiser's Lost Puppy and Coke's Get Happy.

 

Misses: Jublia's ToeNail Fungus and Loctite.

 

For more on Super Bowl ads and Bibb's interview with Crumpton: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2015-02-02/super-bowl-ads-the-hits-the-misses

 

 

 

Making a Flying Machine

Fascinating...

Air Force One in Seattle where its new, larger successor will be built

The Air Force announced last week that the next Air Force One will be a Boeing 747-8.

The new flying White House, of course, will be very different from the commercial 747-8 used by airlines.

It will be a custom designed plane with a host of unique capabilities

How does Boeing build such huge planes?

The company produced an fascinating film on the production of the 747-8 intercontinental a few years ago.

Take a look at the detail and time and effort that goes into producing this amazing flying machine:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpUdd29wnzY

For a rare, in depth look at the President's ultra high tech 747:     https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2048262210690389164#editor/target=post;postID=7896041344898901006;onPublishedMenu=posts;onClosedMenu=posts;postNum=5;src=link

For more about the 747, its history and its many versions over the years, here's an interesting slide show:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_747#mediaviewer/File:Boeing_Factory_2002.jpg

And if you'd like to see what goes into the production of another popular Boeing plane, here's a neat video on the 737, which starts with, of all things, a train:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXYDE5dC4Q4

Lufthansa's new 747-8 at Boeing, Everett, Wash.

Lufthansa's 747-8 off into the sunset

Mercedes: Game Day Spot for Super Bowl

On your mark...

Mercedes 2015 fable

The storybook legend of two woodland creatures racing through the forest gets a fresh spin thanks to the guest appearance by the 2016 Mercedes-AMG GTS.

For some fun, don't miss this spot set for the game today: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQvdIGeUUvo