Musical Moments: Ferreira, Easy

A great old song...

Baby has a mind of his own.

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

Today's selection is Sky Ferreira's Easy from Baby Driver: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DScjas2Nv8

Photos: Tumblr.

Next time on The Allen Report:
Stand By: Your New Week's About to Begin.

Darien Sees an Uptick in Real Estate Activity

Weekly update...

See ya later.

Darien saw an uptick in residential real estate activity in the week ending today.

Results, according to the Daren MLS, were: 

-- Six new listings of property for sale;

-- 10 price changes;

-- Four accepted offers;

-- One property going under contract, and

-- Nine closings.

For more:

Next time on The Allen Report:

Musical Moments: Ferreira, Easy.

A New Study on Alcohol Use Provokes Controversy

Is just one drink a day a problem?

Cheers?

A new study on consuming alcohol published in The Lancet has provoked another controversy over the much debated issue: to drink or not to drink.

Just one alcoholic drink a day slightly increases an individual's risk for health problems, according to the new study, Nicholas Bakalar reports on nytimes.com.

No level of alcohol consumption conferred any health benefits, the authors also concluded -- a finding that runs contrary to much previous research and public health guidelines in many countries, Bakalar wrote.

For more: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/27/health/alcohol-drinking-health.html

On the other hand

A different view of the study was presented by Aaron Carroll on nytimes.com.

Last week a paper...claimed to be the definitive study on the benefits and dangers of drinking, Carroll wrote.

The news was apparently not good for those who enjoy alcoholic beverages, he added.

The truth is much less newsy and more measured, he added

For more:  https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/28/upshot/alcohol-health-risks-study-worry.html

Photos: Pinterest.

Next time on The Allen Report:

Darien Sees an Uptick in Real Estate Activity.

China's New Challenge to the US Navy in the Pacific

China's growing sea power...

The Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning at sea in April.

In April, on the 69th anniversary of the founding of China's Navy, the country's first domestically built aircraft carrier stirred from its berth in the port city of Dalian on the Bohai Sea, tethered to tugboats for a test of its seaworthiness, Steven Lee Myers reports on nytimes.com.

"China's first homegown aircraft carrier just moved a bit, and the United States, Japan and India squirmed," a military news websited crowed, referring to the three nations China viewws as its main rivals, Myers wrote.

Not long ago, such boasts would have been dismissed as the bravado of a second-string military. No longer, Myers noted.

For more on China's growing seapower: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/29/world/asia/china-navy-aircraft-carrier-pacific.html

Photo: nytimes.com.

Next time on The Allen Report:

A New Study on Alcohol Use Provokes Controversy.

How Our Phones Are Listening To Us

Are those ads we see a coincidence?

Yes, your phone is probably listening to you.

A couple of years ago, something strange happened, Sam Nichols reports on vice.com.

A friend and I were sitting in a bar, iPhones in pockets, discussing our recent trips in Japan and how we'd like to go back, Nichols wrote.

The very next day, we both received pop-up ads on Facebook about cheap return flights to Tokyo.  It seemed like just a spooky coincidence, but everyone seems to have a story about their smartphone listening to them, Nichols added.

For more on how our phones are listening to us: https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/wjbzzy/your-phone-is-listening-and-its-not-paranoia

Photo: Pinterest.

Next time on The Allen Report:

China's New Challenge to the US Navy in the Pacific.

Why the Discovery of Titanic's Wreakage Became a Secret

An intelligence mission's  accidental discovery...

Titanic's sinking was front page news in 1912.

The RMS Titanic was billed as "unsinkable," Eric Milzarski reports on businessinsider.com.

Many reasons have been proposed as to why, but nonetheless, they were proven wrong.  When the Titanic sank to the bottom of the North Atlantic, she took with her over 1,500 of her 2,224 estimated passengers and crew, Milzarski wrote.

Countless expeditions were sent to go salvage the wreckage, but it wasn't until 1985 when it was "suddenly" located, Milzarski noted.

As it turns out, finding Titantic was a complete accident, Milazarski wrote.

For more of an intriguing report: https://www.businessinsider.com/cold-war-era-navy-mission-found-the-titanic-kept-it-secret-for-years-2018-8?utm_content=buffer0c2c2&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer-bi

An illustration produced in 2012 for the 100th anniversary of Titanic's sinking.

The US Navy's Alvin deep sea submersible found Titanic's wreckage. Alvin made 12 dives to Titanic.

For a video of an expedition to Titanic in 2004 by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, using the Hercules remotely controlled vehicle:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Z7REEnwKOQ

Photos: Pinterest.

Next time on The Allen Report:
How Our Phones Are Listening To Us.

Heads Up: Your New Week's Almost Here

Enjoy...

Here, let me lend a paw.

For fun videos to start your new week: 

-- IHOP: Pancake Air: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txYv6-aZapU

-- Capital One: Airport: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rVE7haSLmE

-- Wells Fargo: Pizza Party: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zI8mThT-OSU

-- Progressive: Taco Truck: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAOc4PZFuvY

-- GEICO: Gecko Goes Fishing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CMLYSX6JOo

-- GEICO: Meerkats Spread Office Gossip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vE-FRVSpRoY

Photo: Pinterest.

Next time on The Allen Report:
Why the Discovery of Titantic's Wreakage Became a Secret.

Musical Moments: Seger, Night Moves

An old favorite...

Summer nights.

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

This week's selection is an old favorite: Bob Seger's Night Moves:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFRVegQZ_r0&start_radio=1&list=RDBFRVegQZ_r0

Photo: Pinterest.

Next time on The Allen Report:

Heads Up: Your New Week's Almost Here.

Darien Real Estate Finishes Slow Week

Weekly update...

Half Dome, Yosemite.

Darien's residential real estate market finished a slow summer week today.

Results, according to the Daren MLS, were: 

-- Two new listings of property for sale;

-- Two price changes;

-- Two accepted offers;

-- One property going under contract, and

-- Four closings.

For more:

Next time on The Allen Report: 

Musical Moments: Seger, Night Moves.

Putin's 'Invulnerable' Missile is Missing

Another failure; this time lost at sea...

The launch of what Russian President Putin said is Russia's new

nuclear-powered intercontinental cruise missile.

Russia lost a nuclear-powered missile during a failed test last year, and now Moscow is gearing up to go find it, according to CNBC, citing people familiar with a relevant US intelligence report, Ryan Pickrell reports on businessinsider.com.

Proudly claiming that the world will "listen to us now," Russian President Vladimir Putin boasted in early March that his country had developed a new nuclear-powered cruise missile with unlimited range, but each of the four tests between November 2017 and February reportedly ended in failure, according to reports from May, Pickrell wrote.

For more, including a Russian-made video on the missile: https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-to-search-for-nuclear-powered-cruise-missile-lost-at-sea-2018-8?utm_content=buffer4301c&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer-bi

Photo: businessinsider.com.

Next time on The Allen Report: 
The Latest Darien Real Estate Update.

Should You Choose a Female Doctor?

Patients tend to fare better...

A new study shows female doctors seem to listen more.

Does gender matter when choosing a doctor, Tara Parker-Hope asks on nytimes.com.

Whether your doctor is male or female could be a matter of life or death, a new study  suggests, according to Parker-Hope.

The study, of more than 580,000 heart patients admitted over two decades to emergency rooms in Florida, found that mortality rates for both women and men were lower when the treating physician was female, Parker-Hope noted.

And women who were treated by male doctors were the least likely to survive, she added.

For more of a timely report: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/14/well/doctors-male-female-women-men-heart.html

Photo: Pinterest.

Next time on The Allen Report:
Putin Has Lost His 'Invulnerable' Missile.

How Your Brain Tricks You Into Believing Fake News

No quick fix...

Sitting in front of a computer not long ago, a tenured history professor faced a challenge that billions of us do everyday: deciding whether to believe something on the Internet, Katy Steinmetz reports on time.com.

What the professor never realized...is that the group in question he had found is a socially conservative splinter faction that broke away from the mainstream American Academy of Pediatrics over the issue of adoption by same-sex couples, Steinmetz wrote.

Why are even the smartest among us so bad at making judgments about who to trust on the web?  How can we get better?

For more: http://time.com/5362183/the-real-fake-news-crisis/

Photo: Tumblr.

Next time on The Allen Report:

Should You Choose a Female Doctor?

How to Protect Yourself From Debit Card Skimmers

Recommended precautions...

If debit card security worries you, maybe

a credit card would be better.

Stealing debit card information using "skimmers" at gas pumps and ATMs is an old problem, Anthony Giorgianni reports on consumerreports.org.

But thieves are becoming more sophisticated at hiding the devices and getting around some of the fixes merchants have put in their way, Giorgianni wrote.

A new study from FICO Card Alert Services shows just how big a problem this sort of theft has become.  FICO reported a 70 percent increase in the number of debit cards that were compromised in 2016 at ATMs and at card readers used by merchants.  It also reported that the number of card readers at ATMs and merchant devices that were hacked rose 30 percent.

For some precaution to protect your use of debit and ATM cards:  https://www.consumerreports.org/money/watch-out-for-skimmers-at-atm/

Photos: Giphy, Pinterest.

Next time on The Allen Report: 

How Your Brain Tricks You Into Believing Fake News.

Next Up: Your Brand New Week

Enjoy...

March Madness runs amok.

For fun videos to start your new week: 

-- Progressive: Real actors: https://www.ispot.tv/ad/d14N/progressive-real-actors

-- Allstate: Park Road, America: https://www.ispot.tv/ad/d5bG/allstate-park-road-america-featuring-dennis-haysbert

-- Allstate: 4-Way Observation: https://www.ispot.tv/ad/d14e/allstate-drivewise-4-way-observation-featuring-dennis-haysbert

-- GEICO:  Excessive use of packing bubbles:  https://www.ispot.tv/ad/dt4_/geico-excessive-use-of-packing-bubbles

-- GEICO: More:  https://www.ispot.tv/ad/dwKJ/geico-more

-- GEICO: Longest goal celebration ever: https://www.ispot.tv/ad/ddrz/geico-soccer-celebration

Photo: Pinterest.

Next time on The Allen Report: 

How to Protect Yourself From Debit Card Scammers.

Musical Moments: Remembering Aretha Franklin

An American icon.

Aretha Franklin bringing the house down at the Kennedy Center in Washington, 2015.

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

This week we lost Aretha Franklin, an American icon.

Aretha was an extraordinary woman -- a gifted singer, an inspired pianist, and the fabled Queen of Soul who was honored by millions, including presidents.

Here are few videos of some memorable moments that Aretha gave us: I Say a Little Prayer For You: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtBbyglq37E

I Dreamed a Dream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4F4SbGtqL4

You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHsnZT7Z2yQ

 Photo: Pinterest.

Next time on The Allen Report:
Next Up: Your Brand New Week.

Darien Real Estate Sees Summer Slowing

Weekly update...

Practice, practice, practice...

Darien saw a summer slowing of residential real estate results in the week ending today.

Results, according to the Daren MLS, were: 

-- Two new listing of property for sale;

-- Six price changes;

-- Five accepted offers;

-- No properties going under contract, and

-- Nine closings.

For more:

Next time on The Allen Report:

Musical Moments: Remembering Aretha Franklin.

What Three Million Russian Troll Tweets Revealed

A sophisticated and intricate Russian assault...

As Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) recently remined us, Russian attacks on the US

have been going on for years.

Last week, FiveThirtyEight.com published nearly three million tweets sent by handles affiliated with the Internet Research Agency, a Russian "troll factory," Oliver Roeder reported.

That group was a defendant in one of special counsel Robert Mueller's indictments, which accused the IRA of interfering with American electoral and political processes, Roeder wrote.

Roeder noted that the data was shared with others for analysis.

What did they find?

The trolls were engaged in a sophisticated and intricate Russian assault on the political debate in America and several other countries, Roeder wrote.

It was an assault waged both before and after the 2016 presidential election -- and an assault that appears to continue, at least in some form to this day, he noted.

For more: https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/what-you-found-in-3-million-russian-troll-tweets/

Photo: Pinterest.

Next time on The Allen Report:

Darien Real Estate Sees Summer Slowing.

Why Can't the English...Speak as we do?

How embarrassing...

Workers replacing glass panels on Big Ben last month in London.

When he was in college in the US, my English father-in-law told a woman he'd met: "I'll knock you up sometime," Melissa Mohr reports on csmonitor.com.

She slapped him, Mohr wrote.

In British English, to knock someone up means to call on someone, particularly to wake a person by knocking at the door, she added.

In American English, of course, it means to get a woman pregnant, she noted.

For more on differences between British and American English: https://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/In-a-Word/2018/0810/Why-can-t-the-English-speak-as-we-do?cmpid=FB&utm_campaign=Echobox&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook#Echobox=1533905539

Photo: csmonitor.com

Next time on The Allen Report:

What Three Million Russian Troll Tweets Revealed.

Southpaws Get Their Day Today

International Left-handers Day...

A special offering from Oreos to left-handers today.

Lefties get their own special day today -- International Left-handers Day -- and they can get a hand from Oreos, too, Mike Snider reports on usatoday.com.

In honor of the day, Oreo maker Nabisco has created limited edition Left-Handed Oreo packages, which are easier for lefties to open as the flap opens on the right side, as opposed to the standard left side opening, Snider wrote.

Oreo is sending a free package of cookies to all residents of Left Hand, West Virginia (population: 390), but others can order them, too, Snider added.

A humorous Oreo video makes fun of the travails of lefties, including right-hand scissors and notebooks, and clashing elbows at the dinner table.  Researchers have found 10 percent to 15 percent of people are left-handed.

For more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2018/08/13/international-left-handers-day/974727002/

Photo: usatoday.com

Next time on The Allen Report: 

Why Can't the English...Speak as we do?

Does the US Need a Space Force?

A Space Force or a Space Corps or...

President Trump described his proposed Space Force and the Air Force

as 'separate but equal.'

In a visit to Fairbanks and Eielson Air Force Base Friday afternoon, Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson was cautious in her remarks about the Space Force, a new branch of the military discussed by Vice President Mike Pence on Thursday, Erin McGroarty reported on newsminer.com.

"I think the best that's happened out of this is the recognition of the importance of space to our fight and to America," Wilson said, according to McGroarty.

"The Air Force operates 77 satellites in space, 41 of those are GPS.  Our responsibility is to provide exceptional service to the commanders and the rest of the country, and the rest of the discussion will play out as time goes," Wilson said.

For more of McGroarty's report: http://www.newsminer.com/news/local_news/air-force-secretary-visits-fairbanks-discusses-space-force-f-/article_51f24952-9d39-11e8-b663-afb9e5f2e480.html

Additional coverage of Trump's proposed Space Force

Pence calls space 'next battlefield' while detailing Space Force: https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Military/2018/0810/Pence-calls-space-next-battlefield-while-detailing-Space-Force?cmpid=FB&utm_campaign=Echobox&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook#Echobox=1533924907

Does the US Need a Space Force: https://www.brookings.edu/podcast-episode/does-the-us-need-a-space-force/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=comm

Former AF Secretary: Air Force mission would get 'totally lost' if Space Force created: https://www.mydaytondailynews.com/blog/ohio-politics/former-secretary-air-force-missions-would-get-totally-lost-space-force-created/JiklfbgyGHViwJSKfY6KBN/

Proposed Space Force to Protect, Expand US Cosmic Capabilities: https://www.defense.gov/News/Article/Article/1598991/proposed-space-force-to-protect-expand-us-cosmic-capabilities/

Trump's Space Force is a bad idea, according to former Air Force secretary: https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/bjb7w8/trumps-space-force-is-a-bad-idea-according-to-former-air-force-secretary

Experts offer their views on creating a Space Force: https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2018/08/10/experts-offer-their-views-on-creating-a-space-force/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=fp

'Mars Awaits:' Trump campaign asks supporters to vote for 'Space Force' logo: https://www.businessinsider.com/space-force-trump-campaign-supporters-vote-logo-2018-8?utm_content=buffer63a6e&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer-bi

Photo: Pinterest.

Next time on The Allen Report:

Southpaws Get Their Day Today.

Why Americans go to Church, and Why They Don't

New poll results...

If American religion were traded on a stock exchange, your broker might be advising you to sell, Daniel Burke reports on cnn.com.

The trend lines don't look great and haven't for some time, Burke wrote.

A new Pew Research Center study offers something different: a survey of 4,729 Americans telling us precisely why they do (or don't) attend religious services, Burke added.

For more: https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/09/us/pew-church-10-reasons/?no-st=1534004358

Photo: Pinterest.

Next time on The Allen Report: 

Does the US Need a Space Force?

Get Ready for Your new Week

Enjoy...

Some can, some just can't.

For fun videos to start your new week:

-- Progressive: Excited: https://www.ispot.tv/ad/doAK/progressive-excited

-- Progressive: Game Show Gary: https://www.ispot.tv/ad/dwII/progressive-game-show-gary

-- GEICO: Options: https://www.ispot.tv/ad/7Vt6/geico-options

-- GEICO: 15 Minutes: https://www.ispot.tv/ad/7g52/geico-and-m-and-ms-15-minutes

-- Allstate: Ring Bearer: https://www.ispot.tv/ad/dIbd/allstate-mayhem-ring-bearer-song-by-the-dixie-cups

-- Allstate: Tin Can: https://www.ispot.tv/ad/dIOh/allstate-mayhem-weddings

Photo:

Next time on The Allen Report:
Why Americans go to Church, and Why They Don't.

Musical Moments: The Commodores, Easy

A classic...

Ansel Elgort on the job in Baby Driver.

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

Last year's Baby Driver song list revived a number of classics, including The Commodore's hit, Easy.

For some easy music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XcTyEKSnYg

Photo: Tumblr.

Next time on The Allen Report:
Get Ready for Your new Week.