Musical Moments: Vivaldi, Spring

Happy Mother's Day...

Tranquil beauty.

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

Today's selection in honor of Mother's Day is Spring from Vivaldi's masterpiece, The Four Seasons:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFWQgxXM_b8

Photos: Pinterest.

Tomorrow on The Allen Report: 

Smile: Your New Week is Here.

Darien Sees Home Market Surge

Weekly update...

Spring beauty.

Darien saw a surge in residential real estate activity in the week ending today.

Results, according to the Darien MLS, were:

-- 18 new listings of property for sale;

-- 21 price changes;

-- 11 accepted offers;

-- One property going under contract, and

-- 10 closings.

For more:  

Tomorrow on The Allen Report:

Musical Moments: Vivaldi, Spring.

Vantablack: As Close as You'll Come to a Black Hole

Like looking into a void...

Vantablack, the blackest substance known.

Vantablack, a new material, absorbs 99.96% of light, making it the world's darkest substance. It's so dark your eyes perceive it as flat, cnn.com reports.

For a fascinating new video:  https://twitter.com/CNN/status/847860005525221376/video/1 (If audio doesn't play, stop and restart video.)

Photos: Giphy, Pinterest.

Tomorrow on The Allen Report: 

The latest Darien real estate update.

Cats Really Do Love People

New study results...

I'd go anywhere with you.

Any cat owner will tell you: cats hold humans in contempt.  Oh sure, they pretend to like you, rubbing around your legs and purring until you produce the food bowl, Nicholas Bakalar reports on nytimes.com.

But as soon as mealtime is over, they go right back to normal mode -- sneering condescension, Bakalar wrote.

But what if you learned that you're wrong and that given a choice, cats will pick human companionship over toys, food and appealing smells?

That's what three research have recently discovered, Bakalar added.

For more:  https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/01/science/cats-love-people.html?_r=0

One happy cat.

Photos: Pinterest.

Tomorrow on The Allen Report: 

Vantablack: As Close as You'll Come to a Black Hole.

Mysterious Air Force Plane Lands After Two Years in Space

Record-breaking flight...

The mysterious Air Force X-37B.

The US military's X-37B space plane landed at NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Sunday, ending its record-breaking 718-day orbit with a sonic boom during its first landing in Florida, Christopher Woody reports on businessinsider.com.

The US Air Force has two X-37B Orbital Test Vehicles, which it calls its "newest and most advanced reentry spacecraft." 

For more of Woody's report: http://www.businessinsider.com/details-about-air-force-space-plane-that-spent-2-years-in-space-2017-5

For a video of the X-37B's latest landing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dB5-lBO7wgA

For a video with more on the X-37B: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yeD8PjaWO4

For a video on the latest X-37B landing and background on the space vehicle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzHc1tnHfIk

An X-37B awaiting launch.

Photos: Pinterest, YouTube.

Tomorrow on The Allen Report: 

Cats Really Do Love People.

The Best Exercise for Aging Muscles

New study results...

Exercise can help even down to the cellular level.

The toll that aging takes on a body extends all the way down to the cellular level, Gretchen Reynolds reports on nytimes. com.

But the damage accrued by cells in older muscles is especially severe, because they do not regenerate easily and they become weaker as their mitochondria, which produce energy, diminish in vigor and number.

For more on how certain workouts can help:  https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/03/23/well/move/the-best-exercise-for-aging-muscles.html?mc=aud_dev&mcid=keywee&mccr=dommob&kwp_0=368420&kwp_4=1376009&kwp_1=607060&_r=0&referer=http://m.facebook.com

Photos: Pinterest, nytimes.com.

Tomorrow on The Allen Report: 
Mysterious Air Force Plane Lands After Two Years in Space.

The President's Secret, Standby Planes

In case of war...

An Air Force version of the Gulfstream V could whisk the President away in an emergency.

Security arrangements for the President of the United States are understandably a closely guarded secret, Kyle Mizokami reports on popularmechanics.com.

The President is arguably the most wanted man in the world, with terrorists and wartime enemies seeing the number one coup as taking down the man who runs America. So, whenever the POTUS leaves Washington D.C., according to Politico, there is a secret air force of three aircraft that shadow his "official" convoy of Air Force One and military transports that fly with it, Kyle wrote.

For more, of Kyle's report: http://www.popularmechanics.com/military/aviation/a26371/president-secret-air-force-war-shuttle-gulfstream/

For a fascinating video on the President's Gulfstream and four other secret aircraft protecting the commander-in-chief:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOnUJ-LOV6o

An Air Force Gulfstream V, designated a C-20C.

Photos: Pinterest.

Tomorrow on The Allen Report:

The Best Exercise for Aging Muscles.