Start Your Week With Some Fun

Smile...

Improvising at the pool.

Let some of the best commercials this year help start your week with a smile:

-- Apple, Timer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCbWyYr82BM

-- Walgreen's: Give it a Shot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8h6J5Wj8E8o

-- Doritos: No Dogs Allowed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZfo7wfojeQ

-- M&M's: 75 Years of Ads: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6klzuy8HEdc

-- Pantene: Girls into Women:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ue7dyLcLDgQ

Photo: Pinterest.

Musical Moments: Mendelssohn, A MidSummer Night's Dream

Marvelous...

Titania sleeping.

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

Today's feature is Mendelssohn's marvelous A Midsummer Night's Dream.

I hope you'll enjoy it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUDvZaMl4RU

Photo; Illustration by Arthur Rackham, 1909, from Pinterest.

Darien Ends Quieter Summer Real Estate Week

Weekly update...

The neighbors brought the kids by for a snack.

Darien saw a quieter summer residential real estate market in the week ending today.

Results, according to the Darien MLS, were:

-- Nine new listings of property for sale;

-- Seven price changes;

-- Two accepted offers;

-- One property going under contract, and

-- Five closings.

For more: 

High-Tech Gear You'll See at the Rio Olympics

Starting next week...

Nike cooling hood.

Some odd high-tech sports gear will be in use in the Rio Olympic games starting next week.

You'll see swimmers such as Missy Franklin hit the water in Speedo's new LZR Raper X suit.  The suit has laser-cut straps to ensure it lies flat against the body (preventing drag in the water) and helps improve range of motion through the arms, refinery29.com reports.

Advanced Speedo swim suit.

When reigning Olympic champ (and current Vogue cover star) Ashton Eaton goes for the gold in Rio, you might see him wearing an strange looking cooling hood created for him by the Nike Sports Research Lab, the website added.

Cooling hood.

For a slide show of more advanced gear: http:/http://www.refinery29.com/2016/07/117116/rio-olympian-gear#slide

Photos: refinery29.com, Pinterest.

The Intriguing Story of Zero

Much ado...

Zero's 13th century revival in Europe.

Who knew an animated video about nothing, like this one from the Royal Institution, could be so much fun, Seinfeld notwithstanding? Actually, nothing is just what some of us thought zero was. But it turns out it’s a lot more, Robby Berman reports on slate.com.

For an intriguing video about the history of zero: http://www.slate.com/articles/video/video/2016/06/an_animated_history_of_the_number_zero_video.html

Photo: Google

Coming in October: Voyage of Time

Quantum leap...

Stills from Voyage of Time.

Few projects in the history of film-making have spent as long gestating as Terrence Malick’s IMAX movie Voyage of Time, which explores our universe “billions of years in the making” and took about as long to produce, Forrest Wickman reports on slate.com.

But after decades of stops and starts and at least one lawsuit, the movie is finally set to come out this fall, in our own geologic period, he wrote.

For a look at what has been described as a quantum leap in film-making: http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2016/06/30/the_trailer_for_terrence_malick_s_voyage_of_time_is_here_and_it_s_spectacular.html

Photo: Google.

How Hermes Markets Its Famous Birkin Bag

Creating desire...

The Hermes Birkin.

How do you create desire and build demand?

Hermes manages the marketing of its Birkin handbag, one of the most sought-after products in the world, with some very different methods.

See how they do it in Brooke Unger's report on 1843magazine.com: https://www.1843magazine.com/style/demand-curve

For a video on the record sale of a Birkin for $412,000: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qptISc8R74k

Photo: Pinterest.

Have a Great New Week

Smile...

Just you wait.

Here's some fun from Geico.

Hope you'll enjoy it and have a great week:

--  Clowns:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUSAaWZPEcc&index=3&list=PL139A69A037F3A12D

--  Butt Dial:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eyz-sL4m5Fw&index=5&list=PL139A69A037F3A12D

--  Hike: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2syT5OaGlHs

--  Forest:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqEEQpleFJQ

--  A little advice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jykF6e3CMdc

Photo: giphy.com.

Musical Moments: Debussy, Clair de Lune

Gorgeous...

Debussy.

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

Today's selection is Debussy's gorgeous Clair de Lune.

I hope you'll enjoy it:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlvUepMa31o

Photo: Pinterest.

Darien Finishes Slower Real Estate Week

Weekly update...

Loch Leven, Glencoe.

Darien finished a slower residential real estate week today.

Results, according to the Darien MLS, were:

-- Two new listings of property for sale;

-- 10 price changes;

-- No properties going under contract; 

-- Two accepted offers and,

-- Six closings.

For more: 

NASA's New Orion is Light-Years Ahead of Apollo

Pushing the boundaries...

Work underway on Orion, NASA's newest manned space program.

Yesterday marked the 47th anniversary of the Apollo space program's epic landing of the first men on the moon.

Now the focus is on America's next large manned space effort called Orion.

Look at NASA's high-profile Orion spacecraft, and you may get a funny feeling of familiarity, Nathan Mattise and Jennifer Hahn report on arstech.com.

While the modern crew vehicle recently made its big screen debut in the Oscar-nominated The Martian, any lingering deja vu more likely comes from a different place. With the Orion module, there's more than a passing resemblance to its predecessor—the one from the Apollo program, they wrote.

"But, this is completely different," says Jim Bray, the Lockheed-Martin director of the Orion crew module program.

For more about NASA's newest manned project designed to take its crew farther than any human spacecraft has been: http://arstechnica.com/science/2016/03/looks-aside-nasas-orion-is-lightyears-ahead-of-what-they-had-in-apollo/

Orion assembly.

Orion test launch.

The Apollo command module docking with the lunar excursion module.

Celebrating the Apollo 11 Moon landing, 1969.

Photo: Pinterest.

National Geographic Travel Photo Winners For 2016

Memorable...

Manhattan, looking south on Central Park West.

The National Geographic announced the winners of its 2016 Travel Photographer of the Year Contest earlier this month -- and we came down with a serious case of wanderlust, Heather Finn reports on elledecor.com.

For some memorable photography: http://www.elledecor.com/life-culture/g3150/2016-national-geographic-travel-contest-winners/

Photo: elledecor.com.  

Stop. Using. Periods. Period

Full stop...

An old friend who's out of fashion.

Have you ever watched parents try to text with their children, Jeff Guo writes on washingtonpost.com.

One hilarious type of misunderstanding goes like this:

Parent: I am waiting for you in the car.
Child: r u mad?
Parent: I am not mad.
Parent: I am telling you I am waiting.
Child: what?????

The poor mom or dad doesn’t understand one of the cardinal rules of texting, which is that you don’t use periods, period. Not unless you want to come off as cold, angry or passive-aggressive.

For more about the poor period:  https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/06/13/stop-using-periods-period-2/?tid=sm_fb

Photo: washingtonpost.com.  

Marvelous New Time Lapse: Los Angeles After Dark

Extraordinary...

Evening approaching in Los Angeles.

There's a marvelous new time lapse of Los Angeles after dark that you won't want to miss.

Writing about Joe Capra's HD time lapse film, Andrew Liptak reports on theverge.com that it puts every (other) one to shame.

For the extraordinary new film: http://www.theverge.com/2016/7/8/12128368/phased-los-angeles-video-12k-scientifantastic-watch

Photo: Pinterest.

Time Out For Fun And a Laugh or Two

Enjoy...

Weird. How does this work?

Time out for a fun break and a laugh or two to start the week:

-- Progressive: Fampling: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAobVjPdu70

-- Progressive: Relentless Protection:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dcsh4NmHXcQ

-- Citi: Double Means Double:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAOT7MmuFWo

-- Citi: Date: https://www.ispot.tv/ad/ABEA/citi-double-cash-card-bad-date

-- Hyundai: Dad and Car Finder: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-R_483zeVF8

-- Capital One: Praising Gary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkj3pcL95Ko

Photo: tumblr.com

Musical Moments: Tchaikovsky, Piano Concerto No. 1

Soloist: Martha Argerich...

Martha Argeich, birthday concert, June 5, 2016, Berlin.

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

Today's selection is Tchaikovsky's famous Piano Concerto No. 1, featuring soloist Martha Argerich: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItSJ_woWnmk

Photo: Pinterest.

Darien Sees Home Buying Uptick

Weekly update...

Thunderstorm developing over the Pacific.

Darien's residential real estate market saw an uptick in home buying in the week ending today.

Results, according to the Darien MLS, were: 

-- Six new listings of property for sale;

-- 15 price changes;

-- Nine accepted offers;

-- One property going under contract, and

-- Two closings.

For more: 

Is It Better to Rent or Buy?

New calculator...

Which way?

The choice between buying a home and renting one is among the biggest financial decisions that many adults make, Mick Bostock, Shan Carter and Archie Tse report on nytimes.com.

But the costs of buying are more varied and complicated than for renting, making it hard to tell which is a better deal, they wrote.

To help you answer this question, their calculator takes the most important costs associated with buying a house and computes the equivalent monthly rent:  http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/upshot/buy-rent-calculator.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur&_r=1

Photo: Pinterest.

Happy Bastille Day

Vive la France...

Lighting up the tower.

To mark the anniversary of France's Bastille Day, here's a wonderful video of Debussy's famous Reverie:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0CLYpYKHNY

Photo: Pinterest.  

Catch Manhattanhenge This Week

Great sunsets...

A spectacular Manhattanhenge.

Manhattanhenge, a beloved event in New York, occurs when the setting sun aligns perfectly with the numbered streets that run east and west on Manhattan’s city grid, bathing traffic and skyscrapers in its warm red light, Nicholas St. Fleur reports on nytimes.com.

Manhattanhenge is a two-day event that happens twice a year on opposite sides of the summer solstice.  You can catch the displays on July 11 and 12, and it happened earlier this year around Memorial Day, St. Fleur wrote.

The sun takes two forms on Manhattanhenge.  It can appear as a bring half-disk illuminating the city or as a shining full orb.  The differences depend on the position along the horizon at which it sets.

For more: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/27/science/when-is-manhattanhenge-2016.html

Photo: Pinterest.

Wimbledon Ups Its Games With IBM's Watson Supercomputer

Hi-tech tennis...

New Wimbledon insights thanks to IBM.

As Andy Murray and Serena Williams win Wimbledon, CNBC's Phil Han finds out what role technology plays during the tournament.

See how IBM covers the games for players, fans in the stands and the world through the Internet: http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000532990&_source=twitter

For more on hi-tech tennis at Wimbledon: http://www.zdnet.com/article/wimbledons-recipe-for-online-success-more-tech-but-not-too-much/

For more about IBM's 27-year involvement with Wimbledon: http://www-05.ibm.com/innovation/uk/wimbledon/index.html

Photo: cnbc.com.

Start Your New Week With a Smile

Fun ahead...

Off to a new week.

Start your new week with a smile or two:  

-- Progressive: Ghostbusters:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDlxiqa98cE

-- GEICO: Lake: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSV8AjIEUhE

-- Progressive: Cool Table: https://www.ispot.tv/ad/AKcQ/progressive-name-your-price-tool-after-school-special-too

-- GEICO: More:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JldaN6Zv9uM

-- Buick: Wifi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYKXdai4i3Q

-- GEICO: Parrot:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaEFUwt5eT8

Photo: Pinterest.

Musical Moments: Rimsky-Korsakov, Sheherazade

A beauty...

Taken from a poster for the Sherherazade ballet in 1913

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

Here's a beauty that I hope you'll like:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQNymNaTr-Y

Photo: Pinterest

Darien Finishes Quieter Real Estate Week

Weekly update...

Gorham's Pond and Rings End Bridge in tiger lily season.

Darien saw a quieter real estate market in the week ending today.

Results, according to the Darien MLS, were:

-- Six new listings of property for sale;

-- Seven price changes;

-- Two accepted offers,

-- No properties going under contract, and

-- Eight closings.

For more: 

A Laser, a Pack of Gum and IBM

Bar code anniversary...

Every time you hear that beep at checkout, you hear a little bit of IBM, tumblr.com reports.

Forty-two years ago today, a pack of Juicy Fruit at a grocery store in Ohio became the first item swiped using a UPC bar code, technology IBM helped invent, tumblr wrote.

Now that same beep is heard billions of times a day, all over the world, tumblr added.

For more: http://ibmblr.tumblr.com/post/146523419488/a-laser-a-pack-of-gum-and-ibm-every-time-you?__prclt=rqwsSYcV

Photo: tumblr.com.

The Apple Car's For Sale, But Not The One You Think

Paul Newman's ride...

The first Apple Car, which Paul Newman drove to second place at Le Mans.

This is the first-ever Apple Car, William Fierman reports on businessinsider.com.

 It's 36 years old and Paul Newman once drove it, Fierman wrote.

Let's explain: http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-porsche-for-sale-2016-7

Photo: businessinsider.com.

Mesmerizing: Stunning European Time-lapse Trip

Pack your bags...

We'll always have Paris.

If you need a pick-me-up right now, you're going to want to see this, Devin Alessio reports on elledecor.com.

Paul Richardson, a UK-based time-lapse photographer, has combined more than 300,000 images of his travels across Europe to create a video entitled "Patience." It's so mesmerizing, more than half a million people have watched the video in less than 24 hours, Alessio wrote.

Sit back and enjoy stunning ride: http://www.elledecor.com/life-culture/travel/news/a8787/timelapse-video-of-europe/?src=TrueAnth_ELLEDECOR_TW&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_content=5776cd2a04d301697b9a6faa&utm_medium=trueanthem&utm_source=twitter

Photo; Pinterest.