Margaret Whiting

Margaret Whiting (July 22, 1924-January 10, 2011) was an American traditional pop music singer in the 1940s and 1950s.

Her musical talent may have been inherited; her father Richard Whiting, was a famous composer of popular songs. She also had an aunt, Margaret Young, who was also a singer and popular recording artist in the 1920s. In her childhood her singing ability was already noticed, and at the age of only seven she sang for singer-lyricist Johnny Mercer, with whom her father had worked on some popular songs. In 1942, Mercer started Capitol Records with two partners, and signed her as one of their earliest recording artists.

http://www.last.fm/music/Margaret+Whiting

Honoring "The Little Tramp"

ADIPUR, India (AP) — Canes in hand and bowler hats atop their heads, Charlie Chaplin impersonators tramped through the streets of a small port town in western India to celebrate the birthday of the Hollywood silent-film legend.

Chaplin has an odd resonance in this industrial town. Surrounded by salt flats bordering the Thar desert, Adipur's only claim to fame is the annual parade — now in its 40th year — to honor the filmmaker and comic actor known for his "Tramp" character.

More than 100 people participated in the parade that included brass bands, camel carts and open jeeps carrying life-sized cut-outs of Chaplin. Men and women dressed in crumpled black suits and carrying canes practiced the cheerful bowlegged walk of the Tramp as the parade made its way through the streets.

 

Read more: http://www.newstimes.com/news/world/article/Bowler-hatted-impersonators-mark-Chaplin-birthday-4437873.php#ixzz2Qkenxs2L

U.S. Navy's Laser Weapon System

The Navy plans to install a laser gun on a ship next year to zap dangerous swarming small boats and flying drones while in the Persian Gulf.

Officials say the $32-million high-technology system offers the Navy a weapon a fraction of the cost of its traditional arsenal -- cruise missiles, as well as rapid-fire Gatling guns.

"Our conservative data tells us a shot of directed energy costs under $1," Chief of Naval Research Rear Adm. Matthew Klunder said in a statement. "Compare that to the hundreds of thousands of dollars it costs to fire a missile, and you can begin to see the merits of this capability."

The laser’s power also can be scaled down, presenting the Navy a non-lethal alternative to ward off threats such as pirates, terrorists and smugglers.

http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-navy-laser-drone-20130409,0,4771550.story

2013 SRT

At $97,395, the SRT Viper is the most expensive car on the list of "Top Ten Collector's cars of the future.".  "The redesigned coupe has more power than ever with its 8.4 liter V10 engine, 640 horsepower and absurd 600 lb-ft of torque — 'the most torque of any naturally aspirated engine currently produced,' according to Chrysler. We applaud the Viper as one of the last living examples of the once-celebrated mantra of "there is no replacement for displacement.' " 

 

http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-autos-hagertys-2013-hot-list-photos,0,1281099.photogallery

For those who never saw any of the Burma Shave signs, here is a quick lesson in our history of the 1930's and '40's. Before there were interstates, when everyone drove the old 2 lane roads, Burma Shave signs would be posted all over the countryside in farmers' fields.   They were small red signs with white letters. Five signs, about  100 feet apart, each containing 1 line of a 4 line couplet......and the obligatory 5th sign advertising Burma   Shave, a popular shaving cream. Here are more of the actual signs:   DON'T STICK YOUR ELBOW  OUT SO FAR IT MAY GO HOME IN ANOTHER CAR.BURMA SHAVE TRAINS  DON'T WANDER ALL OVER THE MAP 'CAUSE NOBODY SITS IN THE ENGINEER'S LAP Burma Shave SHE KISSED THE HAIRBRUSH BY MISTAKE SHE THOUGHT IT WAS HER HUSBAND JAKE Burma Shave DON'T LOSE YOUR HEAD TO GAIN A MINUTE YOU NEED YOUR  HEAD YOUR BRAINS ARE IN IT Burma Shave DROVE TOO LONG DRIVER SNOOZING WHAT HAPPENED NEXT IS NOT AMUSING Burma Shave BROTHER SPEEDER LET'S REHEARSE ALL TOGETHER GOOD MORNING,  NURSE Burma Shave CAUTIOUS RIDER TO HER RECKLESS DEAR LET'S HAVE LESS BULL AND A LITTLE MORE STEER Burma Shave SPEED WAS HIGH WEATHER WAS NOT TIRES WERE THIN X MARKS THE SPOT Burma Shave THE MIDNIGHT RIDE OF PAUL FOR BEER LED TO A WARMER HEMISPHERE Burma Shave AROUND THE CURVE LICKETY-SPLIT BEAUTIFUL CAR WASN'T IT? Burma Shave NO MATTER THE PRICE NO MATTER HOW NEW THE BEST SAFETY DEVICE IN THE CAR IS YOU Burma   Shave A GUY WHO DRIVES A CAR WIDE OPEN IS NOT THINKIN' HE'S JUST HOPIN' Burma Shave AT INTERSECTIONS LOOK EACH WAY A HARP SOUNDS NICE BUT IT'S HARD TO PLAY Burma Shave BOTH HANDS ON THE WHEEL EYES ON THE ROAD THAT'S THE SKILLFUL DRIVER'S CODE Burma Shave THE ONE WHO DRIVES WHEN HE'S BEEN DRINKING DEPENDS ON YOU TO DO HIS THINKING Burma Shave CAR IN DITCH DRIVER IN TREE THE MOON WAS FULL AND SO WAS HE. Burma Shave PASSING SCHOOL ZONE TAKE IT SLOW LET OUR LITTLE SHAVERS GROW Burma Shave

Do these bring back any old memories?If not, you're merely a child. If they do - then you're old as dirt..LIKE ME

http://us.mc1255.mail.yahoo.com/mc/welcome?.gx=1&.tm=1365366869&.rand=e02grk7jvoph9#_pg=showMessage;_ylc=X3oDMTBvZ2VoZGRnBF9TAzM5ODMwMTAyNwRhYwNuZXh0TWVzZw--&pSize=200&sMid=1&fid=Inbox&mid=2_0_0_1_16352873_AHXiimIAAIMcUWGZigRAR3itASc&sort=date&order=down&startMid=0&.rand=2108561379&filterBy=&m=2_0_0_1_16352873_AHXiimIAAIMcUWGZigRAR3itASc%2C2_0_0_1_16349722_AHTiimIAAVkPUWDF9wOJbyj6h%2Bg%2C2_0_0_1_16348539_AHbiimIAATWvUWBikA3mxn9hm0Y%2C2_0_0_1_16347234_AHbiimIAAMv6UWBbrgPL%2FT50UhU%2C2_0_0_1_16346319_AHTiimIAAR%2BgUWBXSQC1czu9GV4%2C&fromId=&hash=dc38840b920f721b2c2ec379dba77a1c&.jsrand=7033729

Barra de Valizas

Portions of Coastal Uruguay seem to slip free of the outside world. That's especially true of Barra de Valizas, a remote village of 300 that lacks Wi-Fi or an ATM. Instead, its whispering beach offers such meditative sights as solitary fishermen and a tumbledown beach shack.

http://www.latimes.com/travel/la-tr-uruguay-20130407-photos-006,0,1607337.photo

New Library in San Diego still under construction

http://blog.studioearchitects.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/library_tilly.jpg

"The Japanese Gardens of North America"

Kendall Brown, professor of Asian art history at Cal State Long Beach has a book coming out this month. It’s titled “Quiet Beauty: The Japanese Gardens of North America."  Shown above is the Japanese Garden in Portland, Oregon.

The X-51A  Waverider is expected to fly at six times the speed of sound

The US air force is testing an experimental aircraft  designed to fly at six times the speed of sound, or about 4,600mph.

The X-51A Waverider will be dropped from a B-52 bomber at around 50,000ft over the Pacific Ocean before attempting to achieve speeds that would see it fly from New York to Los Angeles in 46 minutes.
It is the third test of the hypersonic aircraft in the last two years. The earlier incarnations failed to fly for the 300 seconds that engineers hope the X-51A will be able to sustain, leading to tweaks to the craft's engine ahead of the next launch.

The Los Angeles Times reported that the X-51A, which is unmanned, is expected to reach Mach 6 when it takes flight off the Southern California coast near Point Mugu. The aim of flying for five minutes is longer than the aircraft's personal best, which came in 2010 when it flew for more than three minutes.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/aug/14/us-air-force-test-experimental-aircraft

L.A.-Ontario International Airport experiencing decline

Two California congressmen Monday urged U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to have the Federal Aviation Administration take action to reverse the severe decline at L.A.-Ontario International Airport. Reps. Jerry Lewis (R-Redlands) and Ken Calvert (R-RiversidE) also wrote to Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, demanding that Los Angeles World Airports, which operates Ontario, take immediate steps to either improve business at the airport or turn over control to Inland Empire officials.

“We strongly urge the Department of Transportation to closely examine Los Angeles World Airport’s governance of Ontario International Airport,” the congressmen wrote to LaHood. “Without action, we are precariously close to losing the airport, a vital component to the economic health of San Bernardino and Riverside counties.”

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/.a/6a00d8341c630a53ef0162fcb5a2e1970d-640wi

"Venga! Arriba!"

MADRID — The horses trot softly across sandy terrain and scrubby oak brush on Spain's central plateau, their riders listening for a rustle in the leaves, searching for a patch of wiry black fur betrayed by the sun.
Finally, the hunters spot their prey. Ranch owner Ramiro Maura breaks the silence.

"Venga! Arriba!" Maura screams — "Come! Up here!" The riders yank their reins in unison, aim their spears and urge their horses up steep terrain laced with shriveled tree roots and boulders. Ducking low-slung branches, they race across Mother Nature's obstacle course, in feverish pursuit of a giant wild boar on the run.

  

Just 20 minutes' drive from downtown Madrid, Maura and other ancestral landowners are reviving the ancient hunting ritual of "pigsticking" — hunting wild boar on horseback with spears, rather than with guns. Hunters stalk the animal and chase it down, which sometimes takes all day, and then stab it to death with 9-foot, long-bladed spears.

The sport went unnoticed by animal rights groups until last summer, when the regional government of Castilla-La Mancha, south of the Spanish capital, included pigsticking in its updated hunting regulations. Rules now specify how many riders may be armed (four) and limit hunting to full-sized boar during certain periods outside the creatures' mating season. The region is also considering plans to sell off some public land to be converted into private hunting reserves.

"It's something I think most Spanish citizens are not aware of. If they were, I'm sure a great percentage of them would be against this kind of cruel sport," said Sharon Nuñez, a spokeswoman for the group Animal Equality.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-spain-pigsticking-20130401,0,1628200.story

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...

'White Zombie' starring Bela Lugosi comes to Blu-ray

The 1932 movie with 'Dracula' star Bela Lugosi as a sugar mill owner with a zombie workforce is on Blu-ray with a new digital restoration. 

 A year after his phenomenal success in 1931's "Dracula," Bela Lugosi delivered another iconic portrait of evil in the low-budget horror film "White Zombie." A new digital restoration of the film has just been released on Blu-ray. Lugosi plays Murder Legendre, the ruthless owner of a sugar mill in Haiti who uses zombie workers. He falls for a young bride-to-be (Madge Bellamy) and uses his black magic powers to make her his zombie lover. Considered to be the first Hollywood production featuring zombie characters, "White Zombie" has grown in reputation over the decades.

 Pictured: "The Black Cat" with Bela Lugosi, left, and Boris Karloff. 

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-classic-hollywood-side-notes-gallery,0,7700384.photogallery 

Will they ever build it ???

The proposed FARMERS FIELD in Los Angeles would be a $1.2-billion project that would seat 72,000 and loom large over the 110 Freeway.

https://www.google.com/search?q=farmers+field+in+l+a+times&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=ekV&tbo=d&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=iP0OUeCzJsa6iwLR7YCwAw&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAA&biw=800&bih=461#imgrc=IL1IF896eTrf6M%3A%3BwZ2HbDw_06moZM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.razorgator.com%252Fimages%252F2%252Fblog%252Fnfl-los-angeles-farmers-field.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fblog.razorgator.com%252Fnfl-in-los-angeles-aeg-releases-latest-render%3B560%3B232

The Magic Castle

The Magic Castle, one of LA’s most unique supper clubs, celebrates 50 years as a hub for magicians in Hollywood and magic.

Perched on a hill above Franklin Avenue, the castle has become a mecca for magicians and magic lovers everywhere and popular LA attraction. Founded by Milt and Bill Larsen, who grew up in a family of legendary magicians, The Magic Castle first opened its doors in January 1963, and now has more than 5,000 members.

The private club is open to members, guests invited by members and visitors staying at the Magic Castle Hotel.

The current President of the Magic Castle is Emmy winning actor, Neil Patrick Harris, a lifelong magician and magic enthusiast.

“It’s a remarkable feat for any club– for anything–to last 50 years,” Harris said in a statement. “We are all incredibly lucky to have Milt Larsen, not only as cofounder and designer and creative force behind the castle, but because he’s still making improvements, sharing stories and carrying the torch.”

http://www.losangeles.com/articles/the-magic-castle-celebrates-50-years-in-hollywood.html

El Monte's Time Piece

Time Piece: Iconic sculpture by Donald Lipski frames the entrance to the new El Monte Bus Terminal, which recently opened to the public.

Photo by Luis Inzunza.

http://thesource.metro.net/tag/el-monte-station/

Wave of bamboo ripples across desert garden

Landscape contractor Scott Sohn recalled the day when landscape architect Wayne Connor showed him a pencil sketch and asked for his opinion.

“I had to step back and say, ‘What the heck is that?'” Sohn said, chuckling.

That was the Bamboo Wave, a key element of a plant-free garden by a guesthouse in Rancho Mirage.

In a region where the temperatures hit 120 in the shade, a garden that requires no water and no fried-plant replacement is practical, but practicality was merely a side benefit to the goal here: an unusual design to help the guesthouse entry look and feel different from other parts of a large property.

http://www.latimes.com/features/home/la-lh-bamboo-wave-bamboo-sohnco-20130125,0,1648831.story

"Refurbished Airstreams showcase small-space living as lodging"

What is it about Airstream design that continues to engender such passion more than 80 years after the trailer first appeared?

Is it the alluring, streamlined aluminum shell? The cozy interiors? The nostalgia for a simpler era?

“It’s a part of American culture that transcends time,” said architect Matthew Hofmann, 29, who last month opened an Airstream hotel consisting of four tricked-out trailers parked midtown at the Santa Barbara Auto Camp  off De La Vina Street. “It symbolizes style and adventure. There is something very fundamental about getting in your car and driving across country. It’s in our blood."

http://www.latimes.com/features/home/la-lh-new-airstream-hotel-in-santa-barbara-plays-with-scale-20130130,0,2102098.story

EVITA CLOSED

The Broadway revival of “Evita,” costarring Puerto Rican pop singer Ricky Martin, closed Saturday night -- and it was squarely in the red.  It hadn’t earned back its $11-million investment, according to Bloomberg News.

With music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice, “Evita” -- which was also a 1996 feature film starring Madonna and Antonio Banderas -- is a high-profile musical brand by now; it might have seemed a sure-fire success,  especially with pop star power behind it.  But the production -- which also starred Argentinian performer Elena Roger as Evita -- may have set its sights too high.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/culture/la-et-cm-broadway-evita-closes-20130128,0,5804944.story

unfinished Miles Davis

by =Bobsmade

http://bobsmade.deviantart.com/art/unfinished-Miles-Davis-133334625

 

 

The Gatekeepers will surely be one of the most widely and hotly discussed films of the year.

Since its stunning military victory in 1967, Israel has hoped to transform its battlefield success into the basis for long-lasting peace. Simply put, this hasn’t happened: 45 years later, violence continues unabated while the mistrust between both sides increases daily. In what can only be called an historic achievement, filmmaker Dror Moreh has brought together six former heads of the Shin Bet, Israel’s Secret Service, who reflect on their successes and failures to maintain security while responding to the shifting politics and imperatives of the “peace process.” Each man weighs in on topics ranging from preemptive strikes to confronting terrorists both Palestinian and Israeli; their thoughts and responses are candid, well-informed and rarely short of remarkable. An insider’s guide—and what insiders!—to five decades of Israeli history, The Gatekeepers will surely be one of the most widely and hotly discussed films of the year.

Series: NYFF50: Main Slate

http://www.filmlinc.com/nyff2012/films/the-gatekeepers