Atmosphere on Letterman

Atmosphere, sporting the 'Obama '08' t-shirt, played his single "You" from his new album entitled, "When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold."

Franklin, Tennessee: Estate of the Day

What does $33 million buy you in Franklin Tennessee? Let's find out with today's estate of the day. This over 20,000 square-foot manor house is on nearly 700 acres. The main residence with its porches and Corinthian columns was built in 2002 but aspires to an antebellum style. Because the land is mostly flat, the huge home can be seen from most parts of the property. The entry foyer is dominated by a grand staircase which rises to the 4000 sq. ft. master suite under twin Waterford chandeliers. There are 12' ceilings on the first floor, and 11' on the second floor. How's this for a figure, the window treatments for the 59 windows boast over 2000 yds. of imported fabric. The lower level is includes a billiards room/cafe,a columned surround sound movie theatre and a nine-car showroom garage/workshop. As you might expect, the home has state of the art surveillance and alarm systems. There is also a climate controlled kennel for your canine guard. There is a pool and the property also has a large maintenance shed, caretakers house, covered picnic area and a dock. [Luxist]

DiCaprio's Gorgeous Girlfriend Lands Hurley Campaign

Leonardo DiCaprio's gorgeous Israeli model girlfriend Bar Refaeli has landed the fall ad campaign for classic California surf company Hurley. The ads (above) which showcase Refaeli's ample charms will debut in magazines this fall, and she will also appear in the brand's Spring 2009 runway show during Los Angeles Fashion Week in October. You can watch a video of her shooting the campaign here. Refaeli, the first Israeli model to appear in Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Issue, was also recently named Best Body of 2008 by Arena magazine, and will appear in Tommy Hilfiger's Iconic America TV special this fall. [Luxist]

Obama: Time to Play Offense

John McCain has reversed yet again on his intention to run a positive campaign. In recent days, McCain released two negative campaign ads, spewing falsity that have taken his presidential into the slums of politics. The first one McCain asserts that Obama skipped a visit with troops to play basketball instead, although interestingly in the background of the video of him playing, you can clearly see troops. The reason he didn't visit the wounded veterans that day was because of the stated DOD policy of, "[a]ny activity that may be reasonably viewed as directly or indirectly associating the [Department of Defense] with a partisan political activity." 

The second ad, showing pictures of Paris Hilton and Brittany Spears, with the narrator saying, "He's the biggest celebrity in the world," over chants of "Obama, Obama." Attacking his leadership ability, claiming he will raise taxes and that he supports more foreign oil. 

The growing superficial negativity emerging out of the McCain campaign, you have to ask yourself, "From these ads, does McCain tell you what he's for?" 

John Kerry's mistake in 2004 was not responding to these negative ads. Kerry lost his opportunity to frame the 'Swift Boat' ads as attacks on a Vietnam veteran who served for his country honorably. Democrats have learned from this grave mistake.

Today Obama responded in kind with his own ad showing how low McCain will go to win the presidency as Bush did in 2000 and 2004. 

Euro Car meet in Miami / Hallandale Beach Blvd

EuroSunday© Miami: 7/27/08
Starbucks - 1725 E Hallandale Beach Blvd, Hallandale, FL, 33009
8:00am - 10:30am - Show and Shine
Drive and lunch following the Show and Shine

No Charge, No RSVP event for exotic, rare, vintage Euro cars and bikes. 

World's Largest Arch Bridge in Dubai by 2012

The mile-long bridge will be 670 feet tall at its highest point, encompassing 12 lanes of traffic with a metro line running down the center. Estimated to be able to carry over 2,000 vehicles per hour in each direction. 

Estimated cost $817 million dollars. 

Penta Pendant Lamp

Italian designer Luca Casarotto's Penta pendant lamp was developed during a Foscarini Lab workshop. The lights intensity can be adjusted depending on your mood with sliding flat shades made from a recycled polyethylene.[DesignDirectory]

Nea Studio Modern Twisted Sofa and Daybed

Here is another outstanding original furniture design from Nina Edwards and her Nea Studio collection that is sure to be the focal point of any room it graces. The Twisted Sofa appropriately named is perfect for a modern interior that is focused on great looks and versatility. The flexible fabric covered L shaped Twisted Sofa incorporates a daybed and seat on the backside for a most versatile seating concept. After much testing, two types of foam were chosen, a firm foam for the seats and a softer foam for the back rests making a surprisingly comfortable experience, uncommon for a sofa possessing such dramatic visual appeal.

List Top Party Schools

Following is a list of the top party schools in the nation, according to Princeton Review's survey of 120,000 students.

1. University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla.

2. University of Mississippi, University, Miss.

3. Penn State University, University Park, Pa.

4. West Virginia University, Morgantown, W.Va.

5. Ohio University, Athens, Ohio.

6. Randolph-Macon College, Ashland, Va.

7. University of Georgia, Athens, Ga.

8. University of Texas, Austin, Texas.

9. University of California-Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, Calif.

10. Florida State University, Tallahassee, Fla.

11. University of New Hampshire, Durham, N.H.

12. University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa.

13. University of Colorado, Boulder, Co.

14. Indiana University, Bloomington, Ind.

15. Tulane University, New Orleans, La.

16. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Ill.

17. Arizona State University, Tempe, Ariz.

18. University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tenn.

19. University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Ala.

20. Loyola University-New Orleans, New Orleans, La

Congratulations UF, now all you need is hot girls at those parties. 

In study, evidence of liberal-bias bias

The Center for Media and Public Affairs at George Mason University, where researchers have tracked network news content for two decades, found that ABC, NBC and CBS were tougher on Obama than on Republican John McCain during the first six weeks of the general-election campaign.  

During the evening news, the majority of statements from reporters and anchors on all three networks are neutral, the center found. And when network news people ventured opinions in recent weeks, 28% of the statements were positive for Obama and 72% negative.  

Conservatives have been snarling about the grotesque disparity revealed by another study, the online Tyndall Report, which showed Obama receiving more than twice as much network air time as McCain in the last month and a half. Obama got 166 minutes of coverage in the seven weeks after the end of the primary season, compared with 67 minutes for McCain, according to longtime network-news observer Andrew Tyndall. 

But the center's director, RobertLichter, who has won conservative hearts with several of his previous studies, told me the facts were the facts.

"This information should blow away this silly assumption that more coverage is always better coverage," he said. [LATimes]

Blowout or Trench Warfare?

Pollster.com has at the top of its front page a chart suggesting that the presidential election is all but over.

The public opinion experts who run the site say states with 284 electoral college votes - 14 more than the 270 needed to win - lean to or firmly support Barack Obama; states with 147 lean toward or are in John McCain's camp; and 10 states with 107 electoral votes are tossups.

In other words, the site suggests that Obama does not need to win a single tossup state -- Colorado, Missouri, Florida, Virginia, Arizona, Nevada, Montana, North Dakota, North Carolina or Indiana -- to take the oath of office on January 20, 2009.

There are some in the political science community (if community is the right word, perhaps it should be called a cauldron) who share this view and others who are less sanguine about the prospects of an Obama blowout.

One of the first shots is this dispute among academics was fired here on the Huffington Post. In an essay titled "The Myth of a Toss-up Election," Alan Abramowitz (Emory), Tom Mann (Brookings) and Larry Sabato (Virginia), jointly declared:

[V]irtually all of the evidence that we have reviewed - historical patterns, structural features of this election cycle, and national and state polls conducted over the last several months - points to a comfortable Obama/Democratic party victory in November. Trumpeting this race as a toss-up, almost certain to produce another nail-biter finish, distorts the evidence and does a disservice to readers and viewers who rely upon such punditry....

It is no exaggeration to say that the political environment this year is one of the worst for a party in the White House in the past sixty years. You have to go all the way back to 1952 to find an election involving the combination of an unpopular president, an unpopular war, and an economy teetering on the brink of recession....[I]f history is any guide, and absent a dramatic change in election fundamentals or an utter collapse of the Obama candidacy, John McCain is likely to suffer the same fate as Adlai Stevenson.

In a direct rebuttal to "The Myth of a Toss-up Election," James E. Campbell (SUNY-Buffalo) countered with an essay titled "Anybody's Ball Game." He makes these points:

*Dissatisfaction with President Bush does not necessarily translate into antipathy to Senator McCain...The McCain campaign would certainly prefer it if President Bush's approval ratings stood where they were in 2004, but their drop from that point does not put the election out of reach for the Republicans.

* Republicans have one clear advantage in this election. Despite the party's best efforts, Republicans will nominate the most electable candidate in their field....[W]e have recent and hard evidence that Senator McCain votes as a moderate conservative and Senator Obama votes as an extreme or consistent liberal.... If Americans are really looking for a moderate who can work in a bipartisan way to solve the nation's problems--from energy prices to international crises--McCain has the record they are looking for and Obama does not.

Vanderbilt's John Geer, in turn, is by no means convinced that McCain will lose as badly as Adlai Stevenson in 1952.

"We all know it is a Democratic year. But that does not mean Obama will win. Yes, the odds are in his favor. But there are at least 3 reasons why the election may be close, with either McCain or Obama winning," Geer said.

First, according to Geer, "we live in a post 9-11 world and the public has to be comfortable with a candidate's ability to deal with foreign policy. Many voters are not yet comfortable....Second, McCain is a good candidate....Third, the last two presidential elections have been very close. Yes, there have been Democratic gains in some quarters and turnout may be up. But turnout was up in 2004 from 2000 and Republicans had made gains right after 9-11 and yet the election remained close."

Robert Y. Shapiro (Columbia) also sees a close election, but he adds that the closeness means the quality of the two campaigns will become all the more crucial: "This is where I see Obama as the likely victor not only in the popular vote but in winning, perhaps by very close margins, in the past blue states he needs to hold on to, and in Ohio and states in the west and possibly a few surprises. This will happen if, as I expect, Obama outcampaigns McCain."

Along similar lines, Michael S. Lewis-Beck, of the University of Iowa, said he and a colleague, Charles Tien of Hunter College, City University of New York, have just written an essay forecasting "that Obama will win, but just by a hair. The reason the contest will be so close is because of what we call 'ballot box racism.' We estimate that about 11 or 12 percent of voters who would otherwise vote for Obama will not vote for him because he is black. Our forecasting model, if uncorrected for the race factor, predicts a landslide for Obama. But once the 'racial cost' is corrected for, we get a bare Obama majority (about 50.6% of the two-party popular vote)."

Helmut Norpoth of Stony Brook University has an even closer prediction based on his model: a virtual tie, 50.1 percent for Obama, 49.9 percent for McCain.

Colby College's L. Sandy Maisel, in contrast, argued:

The preponderance of the political science analysis leads to the Abramowitz, Mann, Sabato conclusion that Obama will win this election handily.... In my view, this election is Obama's unless he makes some very serious error--and I doubt that will happen. I cannot see what McCain can do to help his own cause appreciably.

Political scientists are not reluctant to add a little edge to their comments. Maisel, for example, said those who argue the election will be competitive "are grasping at straws." Norpoth, in turn, countered that the "Abramowitz et al. claim is the real myth here." [Huffingtonpost]

Mark Khaisman Packing Tape Art

Works crafted from packing tape by Ukraine born, philadelphia-based artist Mark Khaisman. These large archetypal images are made from layer upon layer of translucent packing tape, applied to plexiglass and then placed in front of a light box to give the image shadow and depth. Mark is inspired by people, places and things which have a classic style to them. He believes that reinterpreting these classics, using his medium and method, transforms these iconic figures and objects into a remarkable personal experience for the viewer.[RoadsideSchlar]

CHROMEO "MAMA'S BOY"

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ALEXIS LOPEZ

License Plates and the First Amendment

In May, the South Carolina Legislature passed a bill that approved a Christian license plate design featuring the image of a cross over a stained-glass window, along with the slogan “I Believe.”

According to The State newspaper in South Carolina, there would be no extra charge for the license plate. And if Gov. Mark Sanford signs the bill into law, South Carolina would become the first state to offer a religious-themed plate.

But before that happens it might have to survive court challenges from the American Jewish Congress and the American Civil Liberties Union.

‘’The whole issue here is that people are trying to get the state to endorse their religion, and that’s wrong,'’ Dr. T. Jeremey Gunn, director of the A.C.L.U. Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief, told The Times in June. ‘’It’s almost as if there’s insufficient support, and they have to go to the state to get it.'’

In a letter to Governor Sanford, Marc Stern, general counsel to the American Jewish Congress, argued that a state oversteps its bounds when it “creates special Christian plates by special legislation, with no assurances that other faiths could obtain similar legislative approval for plates of their faiths.”

Mr. Stern conceded in his letter that “private parties are free to display whatever religious or anti-religious symbols or slogans they wish on their vehicles, and perhaps even purchase ordinary vanity plates communicating religious messages.”

But even vanity plates, though protected under the First Amendment, are regulated by the states. For example, four-letter obscenities (or using clever syntax to insinuate obscenities) are not allowed. In Virginia, there are 6,000 prohibited words, according to this March 24, 2006 edition of NPR’s On the Media. The show’s host, Bob Garfield, said that “the list continues to grow, as state employees actually conjugate vulgarities to anticipate subsequent distasteful permutations.”

But some decisions are not so clear-cut:

• MPEACHW in South Dakota

• GETOSAMA in New York

• H8MICH in Ohio

• JN36NT in Vermont

All of the above were initially revoked by their respective states, though MPEACHW was eventually allowed. The top two are relatively obvious messages, though the reason why GETOSAMA was revoked is up for debate. H8MICH was banned because it was seen as an attack on University of Michigan sports teams. JN36NT was banned because it referred to a religious passage, John 3:6 New Testament; Vermont does not allow religious messages on vanity plates.

It’s a wonder states put up with all of this trouble to continue the service. Actually, not really. Vanity and speciaty plates generate millions of dollars in revenue for the states every year. So the debate goes on.

Governor Sanford has not announced whether he will sign the “I Believe” license plate bill into law. In April, a similar “I Believe” plate proposal was rejected by Florida lawmakers because of the debate it would provoke. 

[Autos NYTimes]

T.J. English - Havana Nocturne on The Daily Show

Highlights includes JFK orgy and more orgies, advertising of sex in Cuba and how the mob built up the Las Vegas of the Caribbean 

Havana Nocturne: How the Mob Owned Cuba and Then Lost It to the Revolution

2008 Hispanic Voter Attitudes

Hispanic registered voters support Democrat Barack Obama for president over Republican John McCain by 66% to 23%, according to a nationwide survey of 2,015 Latinos conducted by the Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center, from June 9 through July 13, 2008. In this new survey, three times as many respondents said being black would help Obama (32%) with Latino voters than said it would hurt him (11%); the majority (53%) said his race would make no difference to Latino voters.Obama is rated favorably by 76% of Latino registered voters, making him much more popular among that voting group than McCain (44% favorable) and President Bush (27% favorable).

Latino registered voters rank education, the cost of living, jobs and health care as the most important issues in the fall campaign, with crime lagging a bit behind those four and the war in Iraq and immigration still farther behind. On each of these seven issues, Obama is strongly favored over McCain—by lopsided ratios ranging from about three-to-one on education, jobs, health care, the cost of living and immigration, to about two-to-one on Iraq and crime. 

In addition to their strong support for Obama, Latino voters have moved sharply into the Democratic camp in the past two years, reversing a pro-GOP tide that had been evident among Latinos earlier in the decade. Some 65% of Latino registered voters now say they identify with or lean toward the Democratic Party, compared with just 26% who identify with or lean toward the GOP. This 39 percentage point Democratic Party identification edge is larger than it has been at any time this decade; as recently as 2006, the partisan gap was just 21 percentage points. 

The movement to the Democrats appears driven in part by an overall dissatisfaction with the state of the country—70% of Latino registered voters say the country is going in the wrong direction—and also with a growing view among Latino voters that the Democratic Party is better attuned to the concerns of their community. More than half of Latino registered voters (55%) say this, while just 6% say the Republican Party is more concerned about Latinos. 

Also, some 78% of Latino registered voters say they are following the election very closely or somewhat closely this year, up from the 72% who said the same thing at this stage of the 2004 campaign. These poll findings, coming on the heels of a spirited Obama-Clinton nomination fight that led to rises in the Latino share of the vote in many Democratic primaries, suggest that the Hispanic community is politically energized heading into the fall election campaign. 

Hispanics are one of the most sought-after voting groups in the 2008 election—not so much because of their absolute numerical strength (they comprise about 15% of the total U.S. population but only 9% of the eligible electorate), but because of their strategic placement on the Electoral College map. At least four states where Hispanics are heavily concentrated—Florida, Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada—are expected to be battlegrounds in the presidential campaign. 

2008 National Survey of Latinos: Pew Hispanic Research Report

McCain Campaign Running Obama-Castro Ad

The McCain campaign has a new web ad out placing Barack Obama, for the second time, side-by-side with a foreign dictator. This time, it's Fidel Castro.

A Democrat in south Florida alerted the Huffington Post to the image, which shows Obama and Castro, profiled side-by-side, above a quote from the Cuban leader praising the Illinois Democrat as "the most advanced candidate."

Picture association is a time-honored tool in political campaigns (think: former Georgia Sen. Max Cleland having his mug pasted beside Osama Bin Laden's during the 2002 congressional elections). And indeed, this is not the first time that the presumptive Republican nominee has used the tactic. Early in June, McCain's campaign launched a web ad placing Obama beside Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad underneath the caption: "Is it OK to unconditionally meet with anti-American foreign leaders?"

Unlike that spot, the Castro advertisement actually uses the foreign leader's words against Obama. But the quote is misleading in regards to the actual political dynamics in play. For starters, since Obama became the de facto nominee, Castro has been critical of his candidacy, arguing that he has not called for serious alterations to U.S.-Cuban relations and would willingly allow the island nation to suffer from hunger. Obama, meanwhile, has criticized Castro as a repeated abuser of human rights and a tyrant whose time has passed.

Moreover, the guilt by endorser meme is something that even McCain has disavowed. When questions started being raised about his supporter, John Hagee, the Senator washed his hands of the pastor's controversial statements. "When he endorses me," McCain said, months before he rejected Hagee's endorsement, "it does not mean that I embrace everything that he stands for and believes."

For now, it seems the McCain camp is using its Castro ad on sites catering to South Florida - obviously a politically important geographic region. An email to McCain staffers went unanswered. [HuffingtonPost]

IDENTITA LOUNGE

By furniture/industrial designer Hankan Bogazpnar.

3D Street Paintings Of Kurt Wenner

Kurt Wenner, born in Ann Arbor, Michigan and raised in Santa Barbara, California, produced his first commissioned mural at the age of sixteen and by seventeen was earning his living as a graphic artist. He attended both Rhode Island School of Design and Art Center College of Design. He was employed by NASA as an advanced scientific space illustrator, creating conceptual paintings of future space projects and extra-terrestrial landscapes according to the latest scientific information provided by the Voyager spacecraft. 

In 1982, he left NASA and sold his belongings to go to Italy and study art. Living in Rome, Wenner studied the great masters and drew constantly from classical sculptures in the museums. The drawings he made brought him in touch with the language of form in Western figurative art and provided him with the neoclassical training necessary for the style he was pursuing. Through his studies Wenner became particularly interested in the direction for his own artistic expression. He traveled extensively in order to experience firsthand most of the major masterpieces and monuments in Europe. During these first years abroad he experimented with traditional paint media: tempera, fresco, and oil painting. He also executed large permanent works including several altarpieces and a chapel in Puglia (southern Italy) for patrons he met on his travels.

Wenner's work has received global media attention. Newspaper and magazine articles have appeared in Italy, Germany, France, Switzerland, the United States, and Mexico. His artwork has been seen on ABC's World News Saturday, Good Morning America, and Pan Am and TWA's in-flight programs. In 1987, Masterpieces in Chalk the National Geographic documentary featuring Wenner's work in Europe, won first place in the fine arts division at the New York Film Festival. In 1991, Swiss-German Television created a 45-minute documentary on his work in Italy, which aired in Switzerland and Germany. His work has also been seen world-wide on Televisa, the international Spanish broadcast station.

http://www.kurtwenner.com/

Beam Bed

Instead of waking up to the sunrays beaming in from your window at dawn, the Beam bed lets you sleep or rest over a sunburst arrangement. I’m sure you won’t lose sleep over this radiant Beam Bed designed by Ewan Robertson for Lagostudio. Practical and robust, it aims to enhance bliss factor of your paradise. Inspired by a figure of elementary simplicity and beauty, the sun, it generates brilliant illuminating effect. The source of light at the base irradiates beams of light like a sunburst through the sun-rays-like opening resulting in a seductive light-shadow. However to sleep comfortably, this light needs to be put off. Board forms the base for the mattress which crafted in a sunburst arrangement from the central fulcrum. This supports the mattress in innovative and untraditional, yet functional and practical manner. Crafted out of lacquered wood, comfort is the name of this Beam Bed and that includes a treat for eyes too. [CribCandy]

DROOG AALTO

By designer Jan Ctvtnik. 

Czech designer Jan Ctvrtník has won the Climate Competition organised by Droog with a vase based on Alvar Aalto’s famous design, but modified to express the effects of global warming.

The Aalto vase was inspired by the outline of a Finnish lake and Ctvrtník’s design suggests how the lake’s shape could change due to climate change.

President Pryor

Skybar Miami's Cool New Cocktails

The poolside Skybar at the luxe Shore Club in Miami Beach (above) has revamped their chic cocktail menu in time for the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week swimwear shows (check out a sizzling slideshow of bathing beauties here). The indoor/outdoor oasis, which is comprised of four different settings - the Redroom, Redroom Garden, Sandbar, and the Rumbar, which has 75 different varieties of rum - is intertwined with lush gardens ad secret passageways. Check out the gallery for photos and recipes of the new libations, but you'll have to actually go there to get the special Skybar Bento Box prepared by the Shore Club's own branch of Nobu. [Luxist]

Cocktail Recipes

Positive Psychology by Martin Seligman

Positive psychologist Martin Seligman talks about psychology -- both as a developing field of study, and as it works one-on-one with each patient and each practitioner. As it moves beyond a strict focus on curing mental disorders and dis-ease, what can modern psychology help us to become? (Recorded February 2004 in Monterey, California. Duration: 23:41.)

Leopard savaging a crocodile caught on camera

The astonishing spectacle of a leopard savaging a crocodile has been captured for the first time on camera.

All pictures by Hal Brindley/SOLO Syndication

A series of incredible pictures taken at a South African game reserve document the first known time that a leopard has taken on and defeated one of the fearsome reptiles.

The photographs were taken by Hal Brindley, an American wildlife photographer, who was supposed to be taking pictures of hippos from his car in the Kruger National Park.

The giant cat raced out of cover provided by scrub and bushes to surprise the crocodile, which was swimming nearby.

A terrible and bloody struggle ensued. Eventually, onlookers were amazed to see the leopard drag the crocodile from the water as the reptile fought back.

With the crocodile snapping its powerful jaws furiously, the two animals somersaulted and grappled. Despite the crocodile's huge weight and strength, the leopard had the upper hand catching its prey by the throat.

Eventually the big cat was able to sit on top of the reptile and suffocate it.

In the past, there have been reports of crocodiles killing leopards, but this is believed to the first time that the reverse scenario has been observed.

Mr Brindley said: 'I asked many rangers in South Africa if they had ever heard of anything like this and they all said no.

"It just doesn't make sense. The meat you get out of a crocodile is just not worth the risk it takes a predator to acquire. The whole scene happened in the course of about 5 minutes. Then the leopard was gone.

"I drove away, elated in disbelief. It may have been the most amazing thing I've ever seen."

Ellie Rose, a reptile keeper at London Zoo, said: "Normally, crocodiles are well able to defend themselves against attack. I can't think of any examples of this happening before."

Audi introduces the next MMI

If you're buying an A8 this year, prepare to spend a lot of time getting to know your new MMI system. We have consistently thought that Audi's buttons-and-knob interface is the best, and it looks like they've put an entire NASA team on the job of making it better. A seven-inch TFT screen with 800x400 resolution is now controlled by an 8-position joystick. Moving from one screen to another is done via "elegant crossfades," which sounds a bit PowerPoint-ish, but we'll wait until we see it to judge. And among other improvements, navigational maps can be rendered in "birds-eye perspective" 3D, with topographical map coloration. The only thing missing is the Encyclopedia Britanica. You can check out the exhaustive press release after the jump. [AutoBlog]

George W. Bush's Shitty Legacy

Reagan has his highways. Lincoln has his memorial. Washington has the capital (and a state, too). But President Bush may soon be the sole president to have a memorial named after him that you can contribute to from the bathroom.

From the Department of Damned-With-Faint-Praise, a group going by the regal-sounding name of the Presidential Memorial Commission of San Francisco is planning to ask voters here to change the name of a prize-winning water treatment plant on the shoreline to the George W. Bush Sewage Plant.

The plan, naturally hatched in a bar, would place a vote on the November ballot to provide “an appropriate honor for a truly unique president.”

Supporters say that they have plenty of signatures to qualify the initiative and that the renaming would fit in a long and proud American tradition of poking political figures in the eye.

“Most politicians tend to be narcissistic and egomaniacs,” said Brian McConnell, an organizer who regularly suits up as Uncle Sam to solicit signatures. “So it is important for satirists to help define their history rather than letting them define their own history.”

Not surprisingly, those Republicans in a city that voted 83 percent Democratic in 2004 are not thrilled with the idea. Howard Epstein, chairman of the ever-outnumbered San Francisco Republican Party, called the initiative “an abuse of process.”

“You got a bunch of guys drunk who came up with an idea,” Mr. Epstein said, “and want to put on the ballot as a big joke without regard to the city’s governance or cost.”

The renaming would take effect on Jan. 20, when the new president is sworn in. And regardless of the measure’s outcome, supporters plan to commemorate the inaugural with a synchronized flush of hundreds of thousands of San Francisco toilets, an action that would send a flood of water toward the plant, now called the Oceanside Water Pollution Control Plant.

“It’s a way of doing something physical that’s mentally freeing,” said Stacey Reineccius, 45, a software consultant and entrepreneur who supports the plan. “It’s a weird thing, but it’s true.” [NYTimes]

Here’s what Chicken sent to his mailing list yesterday:

OK. So today you get to live in the City of Art and Innovation. And by being a good citizen of San Francisco, I implore you to take action.

We have a ballot initiative that you will be able to vote on come November 2008.

We have put forth the following question to all San Fraciscans:

“Should the city and county of San Francisco reanme the Oceanside Water Pollution Control Plant the George W. Bush Sewage Plant?

If we’re lucky, it’ll be Proposition H.

Go here:

http://presidentialmemorial.wordpress.com/

Presidential Memorial Commission Signature Drive is now in full swing. Like 15,000 signatures are needed to make this happen. That’s 15,000 signatures of San Francisco residents who both live somewhere and are registered to vote AND know the address of where they are registered to vote and can remember how to sign their names because the Election Commission checks each and every signature.

So.

I need all of you (who live somewhere and are registered to vote) to sign. But that’s not enough. I need all of you (that’s ALL of you) to activate. I need a bunch of you to commit to collecting 50 signatures. It’s easy. In the next month you get 50 people you know to sign a ballot initiative form that takes 20 seconds. You know 50 people. Easy. Your work, your roomates, that party you’re going to… in no time at all you’ll be a functioning citizen of the City of Art and Innovation.

Write me an email, I’ll mail you a canvassers button and email you the PDF forms. Easy. But ya hafta do it.

After running for mayor, I can assure you this is a much better way to spend your time activating to local politics. And since we are not collecting a dime, the ethics commission can’t toy with us.

Just write me an email and tell me you wanna help get some signatures together. We’ve got like 1,200 so far. But likely 50% of them will be rejected.

This from the accurate and astute Fox News Network:

Virginia-born activist and ordained minister John Rinaldi, a co-sponsor of the petition who ran unsuccessfully for mayor last year under his nickname “Chicken John,” said the initiative would turn “every toilet in San Francisco into basically a shrine for George W. Bush and all his great achievements in his eight years as our commander in chief.”

Rinaldi — flush with pride about the idea — said renaming the plant is “the highest honor available to us.”

May the shitstorm begin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

chicken

Chicken John
Showman
San Francisco, California
chickenjohn AT chickenjohn DOT com

Jennifer Walcott

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Porsche's PDK Gearbox in Action

Porsche's unveiling of the 2009 911 Carrera also came with the introduction of the new PDK seven-speed twin-clutch gearbox. It can shift 60-percent faster than the Tiptronic system, and reportedly helps the 911 S lap the Nurburgring eight seconds faster than the six-speed variant. Porsche has released a video explaining more about how the PDK works, showing off the dual wet clutches that are simultaneously connected to two gears so that when gear is engaged the next gear has been selected, essentially providing instantaneous shifts. [Autoblog]

LOUISE GLOVER

British model who has worked with FHM, Bizarre, Maxim, Loaded, News Of The World, The Sun and The Daily Star and Playboy.

Video: SL65 Black Series at Full-Tilt

Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG Black Series

After months of spy shots and speculation, the Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG Black Series is finally out in the open. And with a $320,000 price tag, a twin-turbocharged 6.0-liter V12 and only 200 units on their way to the U.S., it's a serious stopgap between the deceased SLR and Mercedes' 2011 SLC gullwing supercar.

Mercedes' in-house tuners applied their tried and true philosophy to the SL65 AMG Black Series, beginning with a carbon fiber hood, fenders and trunk, along with nixing the retractable hard top in favor of a fixed carbon fiber roof with an integrated roll cage. As such, the Black is 550 pounds lighter than the stock SL65, coming in at 4,122 pounds.

Seven vents - three in the bumper, two on the hood and two in the fenders - feed copious quantities of air to the 6.0-liter V12, fitted with a duo of upgraded turbochargers. Power is up to 661 hp available at 5,400 rpm, while torque remains the same at 738 lb.-ft. With a five-speed automatic gearbox equipped with AMG's speedshift software, the Black can hit 60 mph in 3.9 seconds on its way to a gearing-limited top speed of 199 mph. 

Expect the SL65 AMG Black Series to debut in Paris, with sales beginning in the U.S. early next year. [AutoBlog]

Le Provençal Apartments

If walls could speak, those of Le Provençal Hotel on the Côte d'Azur, would have plenty of tales to tell. The 256-bedroom Art Deco palace and its "bright tan prayer rug of a beach" were, in the 1930s and 1940s, the symbol of the French Riviera. Coco Chanel and Marilyn Monroe ranked among the sun-worshippers; and on one balmy July evening, Ella Fitzgerald threw open an upstairs window and sang to the crowds at the world-famous Jazz à Juan festival in the park below.

"I saw Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder," says John Baker, a property developer who enjoyed family holidays at the hotel from the 1950s to the 1970s, along with Jackie and Joan Collins. Edith Piaf danced in the ballroom; Charlie Chaplin, Winston Churchill, Ernest Hemingway and Valentino lounged in the bar; it was an inspiration for F Scott Fitzgerald's Tender is the Night.

Built by an American millionaire Frank J Gould in 1925, with tennis club and jetty, restaurants, bars and luxury suites, the hotel marked a new way of life: la dolce vita.

Fast-forward 75 years and Le Provençal is a haunting sight. The building, which occupies la ligne de demarcation between lively Juan-les- Pins and super-pricey Cap d'Antibes, has been derelict since 1973. There are 12ft weeds growing over the tennis courts. While property prices in the area have topped €200 million (£160 million), Le Provençal has been left to squatters and pigeons.

"It's a sleeping beauty," says developer Cyril Dennis, "waiting for someone to breathe life into it again." Which, in true Gatsby style, is exactly what he is doing: 56 luxury apartments will have access to spas, beach teepees, helicopters, powerboats, tennis, golf and a ski chalet in Courchevel. "Everything you ever dreamt of."

It was money that made Le Provençal what it was: the guest's businesses ranged from "manufacturing eye wear, to bird seed and furniture", says Baker. But money was also its downfall. When staff petitioned over pay in the 1970s, the owner locked the door and declared Le Provençal closed. He never returned, yet refused to sell up until recently. "It is the last jewel in the Cap d'Antibes," says Dennis.

Note the reference to Cap d'Antibes rather than Juan-les-Pins. Since those heady days of high jinks and jazz, when F Scott Fitzgerald took the Le Provençal orchestra hostage and Charlie Chaplin entertained his lover, May Reeves, on the beach, the town has lost its star appeal. While Cap d'Antibes smoulders with sprawling villas, electric gates, and high hedges, the pine forests at Juan les Pins have been replaced with ugly 1970s apartment blocks, and the rich and famous (yes, they still visit) have no choice but to sunbathe on concrete pontoons in front of the sadly decaying Le Provençal. "Nothing has changed in 40 years, yet people still come here and sit on the concrete like sardines," says Dennis. In the richest holiday area in the world, money cannot buy luxury beach property equivalent to that of the Caribbean or Maldives because, he says: "It is simply not offered."

But there is only one Côte d'Azur, he points out, as we stand on the roof of Le Provençal, the twinkling Mediterranean before us, Cannes to one side, Nice on the other, and the snow-capped Alps behind. "When anyone makes a few pounds they think they should go to the south of France for a boat or a villa," says Baker. "It will always have that je ne sais quoi."

Which is why Dennis has forked out for "the building that everybody talks about". Behind the graffiti and pigeon droppings, the Art Deco detailing is intact, and the 45,000sq ft development potential and four-acre gardens are a one-off on the Côte d'Azur.

It is hoped that the rebirth of Le Provençal will also regenerate the surrounding area. Juan-les-Pins was the world's first water-skiing beach. "Lessons were £1 a minute: we were allowed five minutes a day – God forbid we fell over," says Baker. It was where the world's greatest jazz musicians would congregate; Tom Jones made his debut in the nightclub, and in 1949 the town was the perfect backdrop for a film of The Great Gatsby.

Dennis is overhauling the beach to include a sushi bar and restaurants and is creating a boutique hotel in a neighbouring building, which will run the concierge, and spa facilities of Le Provençal apartments. On another site, also owned by Le Provençal, there will be more "affordable" apartments, priced from €1.5 million to €6 million - cheap by local standards.

Devising a pricing scheme for Le Provençal, where properties will cost between €2million and €40million, was a challenge, according to project director Les Willimont. "We haven't been able to base them on average square-metre rates because it is unique. We have looked at each apartment separately," he says.

Some have 360-degree views, and indoor pools, as well as outdoor pools and gardens; they will be fitted out with Porche kitchens, marble floors, Turkish baths, aquariums and separate staff lifts and entrances. Music, heating, lighting, flowers and shopping can be computer-controlled. Landscaped gardens, replanted each season, will feature fountains, ponds and an infinity pool with 360m terrace.

‘You won't be buying an apartment, you will be buying a lifestyle," says Dennis. "A fingerprint recognition system will access the garage and your clothes will be unpacked and pressed when you arrive." You can be met by helicopter or limo at Nice airport, and a 30m Leopard yacht at Le Provençal pontoon could whisk you off to parties in St Tropez, Cannes or Monte Carlo.

In winter, there will be direct flights to Le Provençal chalet in Courchevel. "You can get individual villas up to €200million on the French Riviera but you can't get an apartment in a building of this prestige, with this level of service finish and quality," says Willimont.

Unsurprisingly, the Côte d'Azur is a sophisticated and robust market and expected weather the current property market downturn. "The market is exactly the same as last year," says Harry Lewis, from Savills. "We shouldn't see any reduction in demand." Last year Antibes was the only area of France where prices doubled. Fabien de Garidel, of Riviera Estates, says: "We've recently sold several villas at over €20 million. And in Monaco there are penthouses for sale in excess of €100million." Le Provençal, he believes, will sell particularly well as it is a unique product. "There's a big gap in the market," he says. "The penthouses in Le Provençal cost the equivalent of an exclusive villa in Cap d'Antibes, but they have many more facilities and don't need full-time staff."

So, will the opening of Le Provençal mark the renaissance of the Côte d'Azur? "You can never go back," says Baker. "It will all depend on who the crowd will be." Only the top 5 per cent of buyers can afford these prices. They will be Russians rather than royalty, actresses and musicians, one might imagine.

But Dennis is committed to ensuring that the "right mix" of buyers savour the beauty and prestige; Boris Johnson and F1 boss Flavio Briatore have been invited to next week's launch and David Beckham is said to have expressed an interest. "Every potential purchaser will be vetted," he says.

If you're planning, on a cloudy day in Provence this summer, to have a nose around the show apartments, think again. You will be means-tested even for this. But don't cancel your trip to Juan-les-Pins altogether; the new jazz museum underneath Le Provençal will be open to all - a gift from Dennis to the town

And the beat goes on at the Jazz à Juan Festival (July 10-20). The world's greatest jazz musicians "suspended in the moonshine" in what was once a swampy pine forest.

Apartments with one to five bedrooms in Le ProvenÇal are available through Savills. For more information: 0207 016 3740/ +33 (0) 493 333 222; www.provencal-residence.com.

What does €40 million buy you?

Private lift and entrance/ staff lift and entrance

360-degree panoramic sea and mountain views

Interior designs by renowned designers

Porche kitchens and Louis Vuitton furniture

Glass fireplaces, mosaic stone floors

Five bedroom suites with balconies

Indoor pool/ Turkish bath

296m garden with pool

Valet parking/ underground car park

Private beach with watersports and restaurant

24-hour concierge and room service

Wine cellar

Communal spa and pool

Tennis club

Use of a helicopter, power boat, yacht and Courchevel chalet

Golf club

[Telegraph]

Pete Harrison

Harrison is a graphic designer from London. [KayneWest]

Batman Takes on Formula 1

PRESS RELEASE

Panasonic Toyota Racing joins forces with The Dark Knight at Silverstone 

Thanks to a partnership between Panasonic Toyota Racing and Warner Bros. Pictures, Hollywood is coming to Silverstone for the British Grand Prix weekend to celebrate the release of the event movie of the summer: The Dark Knight.

The much-anticipated film, which releases in cinemas across the UK on 25 July, is the follow up to the 2005 action hit Batman Begins. The Dark Knight reunites director Christopher Nolan and star Christian Bale, who again portrays the dual role of Bruce Wayne/Batman.

To mark the release of The Dark Knight, Panasonic Toyota Racing will adopt a new look at Silverstone this weekend. The Dark Knight artwork will feature on the TF108s and the overalls of Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock, as well as the team's motor home.

But The Dark Knight theme does not stop there. On show at Silverstone will be the iconic Batmobile and Bat-Pod vehicles, while some very special media events will bring the excitement of The Dark Knight to life.

The Batmobile will even take to the Silverstone track on Thursday evening for a demonstration run alongside the TF108, followed by some unique photo opportunities with the Bat-Pod and Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock.[AutoBlog]

World's Largest Water Fountain Planned for Dubai

Emarr Properties plans to build a water fountain as the centrepiece in Downtown Buji Dubai project. Will be capable of shooting water over 150 metres into the air--the height of a 50-story building. It will be the as wide as two football fields, which is 25% larger than the iconic fountains at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas. $218 million dollars later and you have a integral light and sound show that will shoot 22,000 gallons of water in the air at any given moment and feature over 6,600 lights and 50 color projectors. Due in 2009. [Gizmodo]

Insa “Dirty Cash” Exhibition in London

Insa's Blog

Living on the Edge!

Endless Water

Architects: Corona y P. Amaral Arquitectos
Location: Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain
Project year: 2005
Consultants: DD7 Aparejadores, S.L. (José Manuel Alonso Delgado y Fermín Gutiérrez Hernández ), Diego Estévez
Client: Arsenio Pérez Amaral
Contractor: Construcciones Francisco Rodríguez 
Structures: Arquiestructuras Tenerife (Benjamín Cova), Dionisio Castro
Garden: Poa Jardinería (Eduardo Zárate)
Site Area: 626,79 sqm
Constructed Area: 388,97 sqm

Hat tip to ArchDaily

Loopita

Designer: Victor M. aLEMAN (Mexico) 
Manufacturer: THE SIGNERS. (Mexico)

Hat tip to DesignSpotter

Happy 4th of July!

SERENO HOUSE

By Architect Jaime Rendon.

Location: Medellín, Colombia

This house is located at the suburbs of Medellín (Colombia), 2,150 meter AMSL (Above Mean Sea Level).

The built-in white concrete volume encloses the social and the service zones, as well as the bedrooms. The built-in black stone volume surrounds the master bedroom and the private study (wood-box), both are linked by a iron built-in bridge.

from: www.archdaily.com

Hat tip to Kanye West

Bianca Holland

Bangkok House

Located in Bangkok, Thailand. 

Designed by JacksonClementsBurrows. 

Two story residence divided across two wings, one for children and one for parents. The house explores a courtyard typology where living and entertaining surround an expansive swimming pool blurring the distinction between indoor and outdoor space.