The LaFerrari

The LaFerrari, unveiled this month in Geneva, has a V-12 engine making 789 horsepower and an electric motor making an additional 161 horsepower. A second, smaller electric motor powers the car's ancillary systems.

 (Laurent Cipriani, Associated Press / March 5, 2013)

http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=11976254#editor/target=post;postID=1974939004988710681 

"Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde"

With the statewide snowpack at only 52% of the norm for this time of year, state and federal water managers are expecting below-normal spring runoff and falling reservoir levels.

The last three months in California have been the driest of any January-through-March period on record, going back to 1895.

It has been a winter of extremes in the state, beginning with an unusually wet November and December and ending with a string of parched months.

"It's like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde -- the changes we've had," said climatologist Kelly Redmond of the Western Regional Climate Center.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-snowpack-20130329,0,4486315.story

twisting fluidity

Fondly dubbed the Marilyn Monroe towers by local residents, the Absolute Towers parallel the twisting fluidity or natural lines found in life.

This activation of flow forms an organic punctuation in the landscape and a desire for an urban acknowledgement of enthusiasm.

Like other suburbs in North America, Mississauga, near Toronto, has been quickly developing into an independent, urbanized area. Yet, the cityscape lacked a unique character. In response, MAD wanted to add something naturalistic, delicate and human in contrast to the backdrop of listless, boxy buildings.

http://www.arcspace.com/features/mad-/absolute-towers/

The Tower of Winds, Yokohama, Japan

It was designed 20 years ago, but it is a highly innovative form of architecture whose formal solutions and use of technology reveal all the contemporaneity of 21st century architecture: the Wind Tower is one of Toyo Ito's best-known projects. It earned him the 1987 Edwin Guth Memorial Award of Excellence from America's Illumination Engineering Society, a prestigious acknowledgement of the strong symbolic value of this work in its urban context.


The effect is truly original, because the reflective part can be seen beyond the volume of the tower with its monolithic shape.The tower is particularly spectacular at night, when the lights and neon rings make the Wind Tower into an architecture of light.

http://www.floornature.com/projects-commerce/project-wind-tower-yokohama-toyo-ito-1986-4761/#.UUeiKjen540

Blueseed – A massive ship will be the Silicon Valley of the high seas

The latest project to have the interest of a number of technology firms across the globe is the Blueseed, a floating city located in international waters outside of Silicon Valley. Touted to be the Googleplex of the Sea, the project is co-founded by Max Marty and Dario Mutabdzija and lead by venture capitalist and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel. The project is still in its finalisation stages with the company deciding between either a cruise ship or a barge to convert into a pirate island. The idea of the Blueseed project is to provide living accommodations, working space and entertainment facilities for approximately 1,000 customers paying between $1,200 and $3,000 each per month.

The vessel will reportedly be stationed 12 nautical miles from the coast of California, in international waters. This proximity to Silicon Valley is what is attracting non US start-up entrepreneurs as it will give them the opportunity to work so close to Silicon Valley without a US work visa. Through a tourist or a business Visa you can then easily travel to the mainland if the need arises or you can keep working on the Blueseed till your company grows large enough to make Silicon Valley its headquarters.

http://www.luxurylaunches.com/real_estate/blueseed_a_massive_ship_will_be_the_silicon_valley_of_the_high_seas.php

Apparently $1 was too high a price for one condo in Laguna Woods.

Apparently $1 was too high a price for one condo in Laguna Woods.

A fourth-floor unit in the Laguna Woods Village retirement community's The Towers complex failed to sell in recent months even though the owners were asking just a buck for the property.

The condo quietly came off the market without a buyer, said listing agent Cathy Flores of Century 21 Award.

Flores, who no longer represents the owners, said she doesn't know what their plans are for the condo. But while the listing failed to sell, it wasn't due to a lack of interest.

"I spoke to over 200 people. Most were not qualified," Flores said. "I had people call from Egypt. ... Out of everyone who called, there were only three viable, interested people."

Most people balked when told the condo is in a 55-plus retirement community, Flores added.

Some would-be buyers – many calling from out of state – either wanted to buy the condo as a vacation home or to use it as a rental, she said. Those uses were not possible for most of the callers because of the 55-year-old minimum age requirement.

Some people also didn't understand that they'd have to pay closing costs as part of the transaction, as well as substantial monthly homeowner association fees.

The condo's tiny size and large homeowners association dues turned off other potential buyers, Flores said.

The condo is 500 square feet and has homeowners association dues of $1,718 a month. The dues include one meal a day and maid service.


A fourth-floor unit in the Laguna Woods Village retirement community's The Towers complex failed to sell in recent months even though the owners were asking just a buck for the property.The condo quietly came off the market without a buyer, said listing agent Cathy Flores of Century 21 Award.Flores, who no longer represents the owners, said she doesn't know what their plans are for the condo. But while the listing failed to sell, it wasn't due to a lack of interest."I spoke to over 200 people. Most were not qualified," Flores said. "I had people call from Egypt. ... Out of everyone who called, there were only three viable, interested people."Most people balked when told the condo is in a 55-plus retirement community, Flores added.Some would-be buyers – many calling from out of state – either wanted to buy the condo as a vacation home or to use it as a rental, she said. Those uses were not possible for most of the callers because of the 55-year-old minimum age requirement.Some people also didn't understand that they'd have to pay closing costs as part of the transaction, as well as substantial monthly homeowner association fees.The condo's tiny size and large homeowners association dues turned off other potential buyers, Flores said.The condo is 500 square feet and has homeowners association dues of $1,718 a month. The dues include one meal a day and maid service.The three strongest buyers all purchased bigger units after viewing the $1 condo, Flores said.

A fourth-floor unit in the Laguna Woods Village retirement community's The Towers complex failed to sell in recent months even though the owners were asking just a buck for the property.The condo quietly came off the market without a buyer, said listing agent Cathy Flores of Century 21 Award.Flores, who no longer represents the owners, said she doesn't know what their plans are for the condo. But while the listing failed to sell, it wasn't due to a lack of interest."I spoke to over 200 people. Most were not qualified," Flores said. "I had people call from Egypt. ... Out of everyone who called, there were only three viable, interested people."Most people balked when told the condo is in a 55-plus retirement community, Flores added.Some would-be buyers – many calling from out of state – either wanted to buy the condo as a vacation home or to use it as a rental, she said. Those uses were not possible for most of the callers because of the 55-year-old minimum age requirement.Some people also didn't understand that they'd have to pay closing costs as part of the transaction, as well as substantial monthly homeowner association fees.The condo's tiny size and large homeowners association dues turned off other potential buyers, Flores said.The condo is 500 square feet and has homeowners association dues of $1,718 a month. The dues include one meal a day and maid service.The three strongest buyers all purchased bigger units after viewing the $1 condo, Flores said.

A fourth-floor unit in the Laguna Woods Village retirement community's The Towers complex failed to sell in recent months even though the owners were asking just a buck for the property.The condo quietly came off the market without a buyer, said listing agent Cathy Flores of Century 21 Award.Flores, who no longer represents the owners, said she doesn't know what their plans are for the condo. But while the listing failed to sell, it wasn't due to a lack of interest."I spoke to over 200 people. Most were not qualified," Flores said. "I had people call from Egypt. ... Out of everyone who called, there were only three viable, interested people."Most people balked when told the condo is in a 55-plus retirement community, Flores added.Some would-be buyers – many calling from out of state – either wanted to buy the condo as a vacation home or to use it as a rental, she said. Those uses were not possible for most of the callers because of the 55-year-old minimum age requirement.Some people also didn't understand that they'd have to pay closing costs as part of the transaction, as well as substantial monthly homeowner association fees.The condo's tiny size and large homeowners association dues turned off other potential buyers, Flores said.The condo is 500 square feet and has homeowners association dues of $1,718 a month. The dues include one meal a day and maid service.The three strongest buyers all purchased bigger units after viewing the $1 condo, Flores said.

Deutsche Bank

Deutsche Bank, now the world's largest, settled with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to resolve claims that subsidiary MortgageIT sold shaky loans to IndyMac Bank, which imploded under the weight of risky mortgages and construction loans. The FDIC collected $54 million from the settlement three years ago but never issued a news release to announce it. Above, the Deutsche Bank towers in Frankfurt, Germany.

 (Daniel Roland / AFP/Getty Images / January 31, 2013)

Epic Cruise Terminal

http://www.travelweekly.com/uploadedImages/All_TW_News/Cruise/2013/HongKongKaiTekTerminal-render.jpg

a "space-age flair"

Since its completion in 1980, Bob Hope and his family owned a well-known Palm Springs mansion fit for a king (or as some would argue ... an alien?). Now, the extravagant residence that used to belong to America's favorite star officially hit the market. Listed by Ann Eysenring of Partners Trust in Beverly Hills and Patrick Jordan and Stewart Smith of Windermere Real Estate in Palm Springs, Hope's legendary home is up for grabs at an asking price of $50 million. And judging by the sheer wow-factor of the home and its interiors, we think the hefty price tag does the colossal space justice.

The house is nothing short of magnificent. Built at the tail end of the 1970s, the massive, sweeping structure was designed by John Lautner, an influential American architect whose work has been regularly characterized as possessing a "space-age flair"-- which probably explains the mansion's UFO feel. The estate is perched atop Southridge with a 360 view overlooking the entire Coachella Valley, among other natural Southern Californian wonders. Covering 22,000 square feet, the list of luxurious amenities includes a pool, pond, tennis court, outdoor fireplace, 360 degree views and more. 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/04/bob-hopes-palm-springs-on-sale_n_2806531.html#slide=2179184

Lamborghini Veneno makes full appearance before Geneva debut

The Veneno is reported to mark Lamborghini's 50th anniversary, and will be built in a production run of just three, each with a price tag of around $4.6 million and each one bearing a color of the Italian flag (green, white or red). And no, Richie Rich, you can't have one, because all three are already sold.

http://www.autoblog.com/2013/03/04/lamborghini-veneno-makes-full-appearance-before-geneva-debut/

Frank Gehry

Whoa: starriest starchitect Frank Gehry is designing a 22-story tower on Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica, according to plans submitted today. The Santa Monica Daily Press reports that the tower will house a 125-room hotel and 22 condos, plus two stories of retail and restaurants, and a three-floor subterranean parking garage with 460 spaces. But wait! There's more. A 36,000-square-foot art museum, incorporating two landmarked structures, is planned for next door. Finally, there are also plans for a separate apartment building on Second Street to meet the project's affordable housing requirement (and replace 19 rent-controlled units that would be lost to the development). The project is being developed by M. David Paul Associates--which owns the site--and the Worthe Real Estate Group. *The tower would not actually be taller than the 21-story building recently proposed for the Fairmont Miramar Hotel site--despite having one more story, it would come in about 18 feet shorter.

http://la.curbed.com/archives/2013/02/frank_gehry_designing_hotel_tower_and_art_museum_for_samo.php

Australian International Airshow

An aerobatics team performs during the Australian International Airshow in Melbourne, Australia, March 1, 2013. The airshow is expected to have 180,000 patrons through the gates over the duration of the event staged at the Avalon Airfield.  

(Paul Crock/AFP/Getty Images)

http://abcnews.go.com/International/slideshow/today-pictures-18630853 

a glimpse of the heaven

One night on Mt. Wilson about 1908, a short, powerfully built man with a handlebar mustache looked through the largest telescope in the world. What he saw transformed him, and would put Los Angeles at the forefront of a movement to make astronomy the people's science.

We may never know whether Col. Griffith J. Griffith saw the rings of Saturn or another celestial object with the then-new 60-inch reflector telescope, but we can be sure that it inspired his vision of a world-class observatory for the people of Los Angeles, allowing the masses a glimpse of the heaven

Above is a sketch made by architect John C. Austin in 1932 for a science facility.  He later went on to design the iconic Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles.

http://articles.latimes.com/2013/feb/25/local/la-me-harnisch-observatory-20130226

redefining “extravagant.”

The current luxury real estate market is redefining “extravagant.”

First, a 8,930-square-foot house on nine acres in Northern California found a buyer for a state record-breaking $117 million. Then word came that financier Gary Winnick is quietly asking $225 million for his trophy home on an 8.4-acre knoll in Bel-Air.

Now, a Beverly Hills estate is being offered for lease at $600,000 a month, dwarfing the $150,000 a month asked for summer months at Malibu’s finest properties or the $100,000 a month paid by singing legend Michael Jackson for his last residence in Holmby Hills.  

In three decades of selling Westside real estate, it is the highest price for a lease that listing agent Jeffrey Hyland of Hilton & Hyland has seen. “It may be the most expensive lease in the country.”

The Mediterranean-style Beverly House was built by local banker Milton Getz in the 1920s but is more commonly remembered for its former residents: publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst and actress Marion Davies.

Later, it served as a honeymoon spot for Jacqueline and John F. Kennedy.

http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-beverly-hills-house-20130226,0,3187230.story 

HOLLYWOOD JAZZ

At the famed corner of Hollywood & Vine, there isn’t much left to see of Hollywood’s heyday but there is at least one instantly recognizable landmark near that intersection: the Capitol Records building, located on Vine Street, just north of Hollywood Boulevard. Capitol Records was the first West Coast based record company, and it promoted many famous recording stars such as The Beatles, the Beach Boys, Pink Floyd, Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Duran Duran, Bonnie Raitt, Tina Turner, and the list goes on.

Since 1956, Capitol Records has been located in the world's first circular office building. It has been said that the 13-story high-rise was purposely designed to resemble a stack of vinyl records topped by a stylus. (Rumor has it that Nat King Cole was the one who first suggested the unique design of the building). At the base of the building's southern face (overlooking a parking lot) is a large, colorful mural, painted by artist Richard Wyatt and titled "Hollywood Jazz." The mural features large portraits of Nat King Cole, Billie Holiday, Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Chet Baker, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Gerry Mulligan and several other jazz greats. Unfortunately, this wonderful work of art has been allowed to fade badly in recent years (see photo above). However, the photos below were taken many years ago when the mural was in its prime. Although memories of the old Hollywood have faded (along with he mural), the Capitol Records building still remains as one of the last original Hollywood landmarks.

P. S. -- The mural is being restored.

http://blog.risingstardom.com/2009/08/hollywood-landmark-jazz-mural.html

On King !  On you Huskies!

In 2012 at 25 years of age, Dallas Seavey became the youngest musher to ever win the Iditarod.  The Iditarod is considered to be the Granddaddy of all Mushing Events and is a 975-mile sled dog race across some of the nastiest and most difficult terrain in Alaska.

Seavey, who is the son of 2004 Iditarod Champion Mitch Seavey, spent some time in the Marquette, Michigan area training as a wrestler for a short time  at the US Olympic Education Center at NMU before shifting his focus to mushing on a full time basis.

Tesla's electric Model S is a truly competitive premium sedan

The Tesla Model S may be a silent car, but other automakers will no doubt hear it coming.

In its first crack at a premium sedan, the Silicon Valley electric-car maker has matched or beaten the likes of the Audi A7 or Mercedes-Benz CLS — products of a century of German engineering. Similarly packaged as a sleek four-door coupe, the Model S delivers the performance and polish implied by its $89,770 price.

http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-autos-review-tesla-20130209,0,6028264.story

New Billion-Dollar Project Proposed For Los Angeles

Downtown Los Angeles got a big boost this week with a proposal for a $1-billion hotel, office and retail project. The project from Korean Air is being developed by Thomas Properties Group. The two skyscrapers would replace the Wilshire Grand hotel and adjoining offices being used by Korean Air. The project would be the first time a South Korean developer has created a project this large in the U.S.

Los Angeles architect David Martin, a principal at AC Martin Partners, designed the towers which may have a photovoltaic skin to create solar power. One tower will host a 40-story hotel with as many as 700 rooms and several floors of condominiums. The other taller tower will be a 60-story building offering over a million square feet of office space and a plaza and shops on the ground level. What's really amazing is that this would be the first major high-rise office building constructed in Los Angeles since 1992.




http://www.luxist.com/tag/skyscraper/

"Pi" is an otherworldly experience of exceptional power that deserves its place in the sun

Somehow, "Life of Pi," even with 11 Oscar nominations — only "Lincoln," with 12, has more — seems as lost at sea as its Indian teen and Bengal tiger called Richard Parker. The film is finding an audience, especially overseas, but director Ang Lee's mystical work has dropped out of the conversation on the awards front. Honestly, I don't care about that any more than Joaquin Phoenix does, but I do wish that this finely adapted literary hit was causing more of a stir in Hollywood. Screenwriter David Magee managed what many thought impossible in adapting Yann Martel's novel. Newcomer Suraj Sharma was exceptional at portraying the shipwrecked Pi with all the pathos — and pique — you might expect of a teen with the odds stacked against him. The effects folks worked wonders putting real bite into Richard Parker's growl. But it was the director's imagination that brought this grand adventure to visually stunning life. With its groundbreaking 3-D, "Pi" is an otherworldly experience of exceptional power that deserves its place in the sun.

Copyright © 2013, Los Angeles Times

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-betsy-life-of-pi20130207,0,7552671.story 

$120 Million 19-Story Apartment Tower in Downtown Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES, CA - Related California started construction on a $120 million, 19-story apartment building at 225 N. Grand Avenue between 2^nd and 3^rd Streets, the first residential phase of its Grand Avenue Project. With 271 residences, including 20 percent affordable apartments, the building will bring the first apartments to Bunker Hill in downtown Los Angeles in more than a decade and add 500+ new residents. The project will create 417 construction jobs over the next two years.

http://www.multifamilybiz.com/News/4520/Related_California_Breaks_Ground_on_120_Million_19...