A Photo Tour of Venues for the Rio Olympics

Where the action will be...

Fort Copacabana venue for swimming, triathlon and road cycling.

Wonder what the venues are like for the Rio Olympic games which start today?

Here's an excellent photo tour of many, thanks to Flipboard: http://cdn.flipboard.com/content/thephotodesk/thephotodeskgalleries/items/1470057327000.html?utm_campaign=personal-digest-email&utm_medium=digest&utm_source=email

Photo: Flipboard.com.

The World's Coolest Department Stores

Classics...

A Christmas window display at Bergdorf Goodman in New York.

Imagine a shop where you can buy everything, Maggie Wong reports on cnn.com.

OK, OK, yes we've heard of the Internet, but we were thinking of an actual real-life shop, she wrote.

Because there's something about a physical store that online shopping just can't replace. And nothing beats a classic department store, she added.

For some of the world's coolest department stores from New York to London to Paris, Milan, Moscow and more: http://edition.cnn.com/2016/07/26/travel/best-department-stores/index.html?sr=twCNN073116best-department-stores1105PMStoryGalLink&linkId=27076080

Photo: Pinterest. 

Jumping 25,000 Feet Without a Parachute

Record fall...

Luke Aikins jumped to a new record without a parachute last weekend.

Skydiving is pretty terrifying on its own, even when you take into account necessary safety precautions, Carl Velocci reports on gizmodo.com.

But what if you were to jump from an airplane without a parachute? 

On Saturday, Luke Aikins successfully fell 25,000 feet from a plane with nothing on him but a GPS, a camera, a communication device, and an oxygen mask, which was removed and handed to one of the three parachuted assistants at around 18,000 feet. Without a wingsuit or a parachute, he landed just a couple minutes later safely on a 10,000-square-foot net, Velocci wrote.

For photos of Aikins' record jump: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3716528/The-Latest-Skydiver-wear-chute-aims-not-use-it.html

For a video of the jump: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qF_fzEI4wU

Photo: gizmodo.com. 

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.