Musical Moments: Bridge Over Troubled Waters

Special request...

A day we'll always remember.

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

Today's selection is a special request, Simon and Garfunkel's famous Bridge Over Troubled Waters, from a very special person.

Happy anniversary, Hon:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_a46WJ1viA

Darien Finishes Active Real Estate Week

Weekly update...

Darien in spring.

Darien finished an active residential real estate week today.

Results, according to the Darien MLS, were:

-- 13 new listings of properties for sale;

-- 16 price changes;

-- Nine accepted offers;

-- Two properties going under contract, and

-- Six closings.

For more: 

Tour Bosch's Freaky The Garden of Earthly Delights

Magnificent...

Detail from The Garden of Earthly Delights.

The Dutch city of 's-Hertogenbosch is commemorating the 500th anniversary of the death of one of its most famous native sons, Hieronymous Bosch, with a major exhibition of his work, Alexandra Schwartz reports on newyorker.com.

However, Bosch's best known painting, The Garden of Earthly Delights, remains in the Prado.

But you can see his freaky masterpiece here in a magnificent, hi-res, interactive version:  https://danutm.wordpress.com/2016/02/03/hieronymus-bosch-the-garden-of-earthly-delights/

For more of Schwartz's report: http://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/click-here-to-visit-hell-an-interactive-garden-of-earthly-delights?mbid=social_facebook

Photo: Pinterest.

How to Succeed at Home and at Work

Self-help...

Does being a more productive worker mean being a better person?

"Smarter Faster Better: The Secrets of Being Productive in Life and Business” (Random House) is Charles Duhigg’s follow-up to his best-selling “The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business,” which was published in 2012, Louis Menand reports on nyyorker.com.

For a thoughtful piece on self-help and how if often reflects popular thinking at the time and more:  http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/03/28/smarter-faster-better-the-secrets-of-being-productive-in-life-and-business?mbid=nl_TNY%20Template%20-%20With%20Photo%20(22)%20A&CNDID=25100917&spMailingID=8707693&spUserID=MTA5MjQwMzYyOTc1S0&spJobID=882711690&spReportId=ODgyNzExNjkwS0

Photo: Richard McGuire, nyyorker.com.  

IBM's Big Shift to Cognitive Computing

Here to help...

IBM Watson's logo.

IBM's cognitive computing business — which includes artificial intelligence, machine learning, algorithms and analytics — accounted for 35% of the company's $81 billion in revenue last year, Tracy Lien reports on latimes.com.

It's the fastest-growing segment at IBM, Lien writes.

But just like IBM saved companies from having to build their own computers and servers, it's now hoping it can turn a profit saving companies, scientists and researchers from building their own cognitive solutions. Need help with data crunching? Genomic sequencing? Personality matching? There's a Watson -- IBM's cutting edge system -- for that, Lien reports.

For more of Lien's reports: http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-cutting-edge-ibm-20160422-story.html

For a good, short video on Watson and how it is "here to help": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFY4ZGvq9lA

Chinese Restaurants: What's in a Name?

Most popular..

Start poking around into the vast things that are Chinese foods and restaurants in America and some interesting things come to light.

For instance, there are tons of Chinese restaurants, Roberto Ferdman and Christopher Ingraham report on washingtonpost.com.

In fact, there are more Chinese restaurants in the U.S. than McDonald's, Burger King, Kentucky Fried Chicken and Wendy's -- combined, they wrote.

And what about their names?  You may be surprised about the most popular:  https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/04/08/we-analyzed-the-names-of-almost-every-chinese-restaurant-in-america-this-is-what-we-learned/

Photo: Rachel Orr, washingtonpost.com. 

SNL Introduces Ad for the New Mercedes AA-Class

New concept...

Is there an electric star in your future?

Saturday Night Live unveiled a first the other night:  An ad for a Mercedes powered by masses of AA batteries.

See why thousands have gotten a charge out of this video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ug-YeWvvmdg

Photo: Pinterest.  

Musical Moments: Barber, Adagio for Strings

Famous...

Celebrating strings.

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

This week's feature is Samuel Barber's famous Adagio for Strings:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcflwUYYoXk&feature=youtu.be

Photo: Pinterest. 

Darien Real Estate's New Listings, Price Changes Surge

Weekly update...

Dogwood season.

Darien saw a surge in residential real estate new listings and price changes in the week ending today.

Results, according to the Darien MLS, were:

-- 22 new listings of property for sale;

-- 16 price changes;

-- Three accepted offers;

-- No properties going under contract, and

-- Six closings.

For more: 

New Viral Video: Cosmic Eye

Powers of 10...

A masterpiece by the Hubble Space Telescope.

A Perth astrophysicist says he is surprised but delighted to find a video he made four years ago has suddenly gone viral online, clocking up 36 millions views in a week, abc.net reports.

Cosmic Eye is a three-minute video that zooms out from a woman's face to eventually reveal a view of the universe one billion light years from Earth.

It's terrific:  http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-04-20/cosmic-eye-video-by-perth-star-researcher-goes-viral/7339620

Cosmic Eye is based on Powers of Ten, made in 1977 by Charles and Raye Eames for IBM. It's still wonderful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fKBhvDjuy0

Photo: Pinterest, NASA.

Stunning: Zaha Hadid's Unfinished Designs

Spectacular...

New Miami skyscraper.

Celebrated architect Zaha Hadid,  who died last month at 65, left an incredible legacy, Leanne Garfield reports on techinsider.

The Pritzker Prize-winning architect was known for her neo-futuristic works characterized by sweeping curves and geometric forms, Garfield wrote.

For a look at some spectacular Hadid projects in the works: http://www.techinsider.io/a-list-of-zaha-hadids-unbuilt-building-designs-2016-4

Photo: Pinterest.  

Looking for a Job? Try Television

Shortages...

Penelope Wilton as Isobel Crawley during a break in the shooting of Downton Abbey.

If you're looking for a job, you might want to consider something in television.

Turns out there's a serious shortage of labor and even production space, according to bloomberg.com.

To see why, take a look at this new bloomberg video:  http://bloom.bg/1WpOcow

Photo: Pinterest.

Tapping the Oceans for Energy

Sea power...

Wave simulator at the University of Maine at Orono.

The oceans generate enough energy for us to give up coal and gas completely, but no one has been able to harness it effectively, bloomberg.com reports.

At the University of Maine, scientists are testing The Triton, a wave harvester that uses a novel design which may be the key to unlocking the power of the ocean, bloomberg added.

The Triton's trials take place in the school's $13.8-million simulator capable of creating waves that top 100 feet and winds that exceed 200 mph, according to the university.

For a fascinating look at a potentially new source of energy:  http://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2016-04-12/tapping-into-the-ocean-s-energy

Photo: Google.

Start Your Week With a Smile

Fun ahead...

Keeping a close eye on things.

Start off your week with a smile, thanks to some terrific work from the GEICO folks: 

--  Hack attack:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdDe0ObBBkU

--  Alien life: https://www.geico.com/more/geico-community/commercials/oddly-appropriate-segues/

--  Aw, Snap:  https://www.geico.com/more/geico-community/commercials/oddly-appropriate-segues/

-- Fast forward:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hk5HT_J3n6k

-- Tree:  http://www.ispot.tv/ad/AbWX/geico-emergency-roadside-service-tree

Photo: tumblr.com.

Musical Moments: Bonnie Raitt, I Can't Make You Love Me

Unforgettable...

Bonnie Raitt.

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

This week's feature is Bonnie Raitt and her unforgettable, I Can't Make You Love Me:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nW9Cu6GYqxo

For a timely profle on Raitt in the New Yorker: http://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/bonnie-raitt-and-the-fugitive-emotions-evoked-by-slide-guitar

For Adele's version of the Raitt classic: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jp97AWIeMbo

Photo: Pinterest.

Darien's Spring Real Estate Market Rolls On

Weekly update..

Early spring in the woods.

Darien's spring residential real estate market continued to roll on in the week ending today.

Results, according to the Darien MLS, were:

-- 11 new listings of property for sale;

-- 10 price changes;

-- Five accepted offers;

-- One property going under contract, and

-- Five closings.

For more: 

Reaching for the Stars With Tiny, Computer-chip Starships

Intriguing...

Sailing across vast distances.

Stephen Hawking is backing a project to send tiny spacecraft to another star system within a generation, bbc.com reports.

They would travel trillions of miles -- far further than any previous craft.

The $100 million research program to develop the computer chip-sized "starships" was launched by the billionaire Yuri Milner and is supported by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, according to bbc.

For an intriguing video:  http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-36025706

Photo: Pinterest.

News Flash: Inky Disappears

Bye...

Have you seen Inky?

It was an audacious nighttime escape, Dan Bilefsky reports on nytimes.com.

After busting through an enclosure, Inky the octopus and nimble contortionist appears to have quietly crossed the floor and slithered through a narrow drain hole about six inches in diameter.  Then he jumped into the sea and disappeared, Bilefsky wrote.

For more about the case of Inky, New Zealand's missing octopus: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/14/world/asia/inky-octopus-new-zealand-aquarium.html?_r=0

Photo: nytimes.com.

Kurt Vonnegut: Remembering a Wonderful Writer

Insightful and witty...

Kurt Vonnegut, one of my favorite writers, died this week in 2007 at 84.  He was insightful, thoughtful and witty.

"(Kurt Vonnegut's) own writing career grew slowly, once army service was done," economist.com wrote of his passing.

" He was a crime reporter for the Chicago City News Bureau, a PR writer for General Electric, even a Saab car salesman. He also studied for a master's in anthropology at the University of Chicago. His thesis was rejected, but his novel 'Cat's Cradle' (1963) was accepted instead, almost 25 years late," economist added.

For more of the economist report: http://www.economist.com/node/9032943?fsrc=scn/fb/te/pe/ed/kurtvonnegut

For a delightful video of a Vonnegut lesson on stories:  https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2048262210690389164#editor/target=post;postID=768300595369522795;onPublishedMenu=posts;onClosedMenu=posts;postNum=0;src=link

Photos: Pinterest.

How the iPhone has Crushed Cameras

Click...

There's even a smartphone zoom lens.

There are many measures you can use to gauge the influence of the iPhone, Roberto Ferdman reports on washingtonpost.com.

The list of maligned objects is long. When was the last time you used an MP3 player or held a calculator? What about a physical map? Or a BlackBerry? Do BlackBerrys even exist anymore?

There might, however, be no better example than the camera, which has suffered mightily since the iPhone was introduced almost 10 years ago, Ferdman wrote.

See how the iPhone has crushed camera sales:  https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/04/07/what-the-iphone-has-done-to-cameras-is-completely-insane/

Photo: Pinterest.  

Smile: Fun Week Ahead

Enjoy...

Famous Bruin gridiron headgear.

Kick-off your new week with a laugh or two with the help of some good old UCLA fans and more:

-- BMW: UCLA vs USC:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Csn2zOeyz6o

-- BMW:  Superstition:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXUk7UtDY-4

-- BMW: Pre-owned:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DK03ThZhM8

-- GEICO: The auctioneer:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBdxHt_-XZQ

-- High dive: Giraffe splash:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPrWo5pEvyk

Enjoy.

Photo: Pinterest.

Musical Moments: Chopin's Nocturne Op 9 No. 2

Wonderful...

Chopin's 1846 piano.

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

This week's selection is Chopin's wonderful Nocturne Op 9 No. 2:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGRO05WcNDk

Photo: Pinterest.

Darien Ends Active Real Estate Week

Weekly update...

Graceful spring.

Darien ended an active residential real estate week today.

Results, according to the Darien MLS, were:

-- 14 new listings of property for sale;

-- 16 price changes;

-- Eight accepted offers;

-- Two properties going under contract, and

-- Seven closings.

For more:  

NYC: Delivering the Champagne of Water to Millions

Safe water...

Safe water: Something we take for granted.

Revelations about tainted water have sparked worry across the country, nytimes.com reports.

The Times decided to look at how the nation's largest municipal water supplier delivers what has been called the champagne of drinking water to 9.5 million people.

For a fascinating report:  http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/03/24/nyregion/how-nyc-gets-its-water-new-york-101.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur&_r=1

Photo: Pinterest.

See Anything in the Circle?

Brain teaser...

Is your eyesight good enough to see the picture hidden inside the red circle, Emily Hodgkin asks on dailymail.co.uk.

Some see an outline in the brain teaser, others see a detailed image, and some have struggled to spot anything at all, Hodgkin wrote.

What do you see?

For more about the test that is trending online and more:  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3522717/Can-spot-s-inside-red-circle-Optical-illusion-sight-test-hidden-image-leaves-internet-baffled.html

Photo: dailymail.co.uk.

Dutch Artist: Brazilians Stole My Rubber Ducky

Crying fowl...

Fowl play.

Amid all the turmoil in Brazil, you might have noticed a huge Rubber Ducky in some news coverage and wondered what that was all about.

For a short video on the fuss and why Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman, who is famous for his oversized ducks, is crying fowl...er, foul... about the Brazilians: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LG8G9RN-3cs

For more:  http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-35931668

Photo: bbc.com.

Zaha Hadid: The Passing of a Great Innovator

Brilliant...

I have never known anyone whose reputation provoked more terror yet whose actual presence was more fun than Dame Zaha Hadid’s, reports John Seabrook on newyorker.com about the passing last week of the brilliant architect.

On the occasions that we spent together when I was working on my 2009 Profile and then, more recently, at a 2015 New Yorker Festival event, I was struck anew by the warmth and humanity that this supposed harridan radiated, Seabrook wrote.

For more, including photos of some of Hadid's great innovations:  http://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/postscript-zaha-hadid-1950-2016

For Hadid's New York Times obituary, including a slide show:  http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/01/arts/design/zaha-hadid-architect-dies.html

A few examples of Hadid's amazing designs:

Zaha Hadid Architects, West 28th Street image, Manhattan.

Zaha Hadid Architects, Win Danjiang Bridge image, Taiwan.

Zaha Hadid Architects,  Heydar Aliyev Center, Baku Azerbaijan.

Zaha Hadid Architects, Galaxy Soho, Beijing, China

Photos: nytimes.com, Pinterest.

Smile: We're Off to a Great New Week

Fun ahead...

Batter up on opening day.

Start your week with a smile or two with some fun videos:

-- GE, Owen, Big News:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvfU1NpCJQQ

-- GE, Owen, Orc-O-Gram:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmZ7eornkP0

-- GEICO, Alligator Arms:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f95abQuPXaw

-- GEICO; If Your Boss Stops By...: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3L9OP2CLFM

-- Progressive:  Flo, Discount Boy Band:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiroIMFtgz0

Photo: stumbleupon.com.