Auction of disgraced financier Bernie Madoff's goods raises $1m Nov 15, 2009
Two pairs of his wife Ruth's Victorian diamond earrings went for $70,000 each - much more than their expected price. But there was one big surprise, our correspondent says. (BBC News -- Americas)
Dad to baby: Happy 1st birthday, world traveler Nov 14, 2009
Alex rode through the streets of Belfast with a former IRA Volunteer, was ejected from a Victorian pub and went to jail in Dublin. (To be honest and wreck Alex's street cred, I must admit the IRA guy was just leading us on a tour; baby was barred from the pub because of an age limit, and the jail was the historic Kilmainham Gaol in Dublin. (MSNBC -- Travel)
Former HSBC bank building has new owners Nov 13, 2009
Sullivan said he first met with the new owners, who are from the Los Angeles area, in January when they approached him while looking for a multi-acre site that could house a Victorian festival or fair. At the time, they also were interested in the New Century Club building. (Utica NY Obserer, NY)
‘This Old House’ marks 30th season by fighting back against housing crisis Nov 8, 2009
After working on his own house, Morash decided to make a 13-part series on the renovation of a Victorian house in Dorchester. It generated record ratings for WGBH, PBS s Boston affiliate. (Boston Globe)
A novel setting: The other life of the only British territory occupied by the Germans in WWII Nov 8, 2009
The grand Fort Hommet was built in the Victorian era to defend against the French, but the Germans cashed in on it and added on. (It s a hodgepodge, architecturally, but an impressive testament to their hubris. (Boston Globe)
Where the melting pot still simmers Nov 8, 2009
The ornate high Victorian Gothic church is a feast for the eyes, and the ears. The church s 172-foot spire features eight massive carillon bells made by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry in London (which also cast Big Ben and the Liberty Bell). (Boston Globe)
Holiday jeerThe world’s scariest accountant is back. Behold the teeth spaced... Nov 7, 2009
Unless the director was aiming for a Victorian "Black Christmas," though, he overshot his mark ... Unless the director was aiming for a Victorian "Black Christmas," though, he overshot his mark. (New York Post -- News)
Boise State pulls away to stay perfect Nov 7, 2009
Trailing, 27-7, at halftime, Tech (3-6, 2-4) made a game of it in the third quarter, starting with Josh Victorian s first career touchdown on Moore s third interception of the season. Boise State responded with a 15-play drive to set up Kyle Brotzman s third field goal on four tries, then Tech s offense suddenly came to life with a 73-yard scoring drive, capped by Ross Jenkins s 9-yard keeper that made it 30-21. (Boston Globe)
Sex ed gets another endorsement Nov 7, 2009
" With echoes of Victorian "child-saving" crusades, the article is titled "Child Savings Plans: Learning the Value of Self Control. " "For a New Thrift: Confronting the Debt Culture" -- a recent report from the politically diverse Commission on Thrift -- blames debt not on personal failings but on the influence of "anti-thrift institutions," such as payday lenders, predatory credit card issuers and state-funded lotteries. The report makes moral judgments only of institutional venality and... (Salon)
Luxury resort opening in depressed Rhode Island Nov 6, 2009
The 1916 silent movie "American Aristocracy" with Douglas Fairbanks was filmed at the towering Victorian hotel, known for its yellow facade and striking ocean views. But the 135-year old hotel, in need of extensive repairs and upgrades, was closed in 2003 and razed. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution -- Travel)
* FILM REVIEW: Scrooge goes 3D Nov 6, 2009
And the Victorian London that Scrooge inhabits is not the usual blend of studio sets and matte paintings, but a fully realized 3D environment, built from the ground up in the digital dimension. The film begins with a stunning demonstration of the effects made possible by this technique: The camera soars through the streets and byways of a vast, densely imagined city, dipping down to eye level to peer into the faces of individual passers-by, then flying up above the rooftops to capture a... (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World Business)
Schleicher landmarking moves ahead Nov 6, 2009
Friday November 06, 2009. Councilman Tony Avella and Schleicher tenants held a press conference last year about the problems they face at the College Point house. (Queens Chronicle, NY)
Technology helps director Zemeckis deliver a spirited ‘Christmas Carol’ Nov 6, 2009
The script sticks so closely to the Victorian speech patterns of Dickens s original that it may prove a challenge to audiences used to today s dumbed-down dialogue, but Carrey bites into the cadences with relish. Imagine: a blockbuster where you have to pay attention to what s being said. (Boston Globe)
Walking in Mt. Hope Cemetery Nov 6, 2009
Names such as Hosmer and Blanchard abounded, and Klauer pointed out others, including John Serman Hoar, who built the Victorian houses on Winslow Avenue, and JK Wetherbee, who owned what is now known as Exchange Hall in South Acton. Visitors admired the headstone s intricate designs and colors that ranged from white marble blackened by time to pink granite, which was in fashion for many years. (Acton Beacon, MA)
Brothers mark 20 years in collectibles biz Nov 5, 2009
Poor Grandma let go a houseful of pristine Victorian furniture for just over $1500 to a "helpful" gentleman who volunteered to take them off her hands. Not good for the family fortune. (Fresno Bee)
Great (Overlooked) Books -- A Symposium Nov 5, 2009
Smith, a Victorian archaeologist, unearthed thousands of stone tablets from a Chaldean library that dated back to the 5th century B.C. and found broken fragments that, pieced together, told the biblical story of Genesis in Babylonian form a gripping tale that shattered a lot of youthful illusions ... Doughty believed that the English language had been in decline since the time of Spencer, and his own style is an astonishing imposition of Victorian prose upon England s literary golden age. (The American Conservative)
Messages from the natural world Nov 4, 2009
He brings a modern aesthetic to the Victorian preoccupation with collections. He writes in an essay in the exhibition brochure that after Queen Victoria agreed to use chloroform during childbirth, butterfly collectors employed it to suffocate their prey. (Boston Globe)
Thorpe moves to scuttle doping claims Nov 4, 2009
November 04, 2009 10:11pm AEDT. IAN Thorpe has provided the country's drug testing agency with medical evidence in an attempt to clear his name of doping. (Yahoo News -- Swimming)
Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt reigns again Nov 3, 2009
Gardner s Cleopatra was based upon the play written by late 19th century French playwright Victorien Sardou, who among other works also wrote two plays for noted Victorian age British star Sir Henry Irving, and pieces for Sarah Bernhardt. Gardner s work and contributions to film went unacknowldged through most of the 20th century. (Catskill Daily Mail, NY)
Cemeteries breathe life into tourists Nov 3, 2009
This historic cemetery sponsors special events, such as Sunday in the Park, during which Victorian costumes are invited, and numerous tours for Halloween, lessons in African-American history and more. Also at Oakland is golfing great Bobby Jones. (CNN -- International)
Book: White House 'the American house next door' Nov 2, 2009
Teddy Roosevelt got rid of the Victorian furniture he considered in bad taste. And in the 1940s and 1950s as millions began moving into suburbs, President Harry Truman added a balcony and President Dwight Eisenhower barbecued on the third-floor terrace. (WSVN-TV Miami, FL)
Atlantic City teeters on edge Nov 2, 2009
Billed as a "great experiment" in urban redevelopment, legalized gambling was pitched to voters as an effort to reverse Atlantic City's long decline from a Victorian- and vaudeville-era destination of choice. When Resorts opened on Memorial Day 31 years ago, the singer Steve Lawrence, who, with his wife, Eydie Gorme, was the hotel's stage show, lost the first $10 wagered at the casino, according to a news report at the time. (San Francisco Chronicle)
Touristy but not tacky, St. Augustine carries its past with pride Nov 1, 2009
Architecture buffs will find Spanish Colonial (12 Aviles St.), British Colonial (55 St. George), Carpenter Gothic (232 St. George), Colonial Revival (32, 33 Sevilla St.), American Territorial (46 St. George), Romanesque Revival (30 Carrera St.), Spanish Renaissance (Flagler College), Moorish Revival (Casa Monica Hotel), Venetian Renaissance (36-38 Sevilla St.), Mediterranean Revival (Visitors Information Center, Avenida Menendez), Queen Anne (9 Carrrera St.), and Victorian (142 Avenida Menendez)... (Boston Globe)
The lore of insects and allure of eateries Nov 1, 2009
Her attempt to track down both the genesis and truth of this assertion causes her to mention, among other phenomena, the supposed universal left-handedness of polar bears, the porcupine s ability to float, and the time it takes to hard boil an ostrich egg - until she finally arrives at the Victorian banker, politician, and natural historian, Sir John Lubbock. The great man plied 41 ants with strong drink and observed that their sober brethren seemed somewhat puzzled at finding their intoxicated... (Boston Globe)
Microsoft attacks Google on books Nov 1, 2009
Victorian loos get revamp. Deep Sea Explorer. (Yahoo News -- Microsoft)
Weather whips up balmy brew as Halloween gets underway Nov 1, 2009
Two women in elaborate Victorian dress, who had traveled to Salem from Portland, Ore. paused to pose with the Ghostbusters. (Boston Globe)
Homeowners take haunting on Halloween to new frights Oct 31, 2009
Tonight in Marblehead, Roy and Heather Martin s gothic Victorian house will be transformed into Birthday Party Gone Bad, the theme of this year s annual horror show staged inside the Martin manse. For Heather Martin, it s not about buying the latest animatronic goblin or glow-in-the-dark vampire - virtually all her costumes and props come from flea markets and swap meets - but about fully embracing the Halloween spirit, which means putting on a show so hair-raising that trick-or-treaters have... (Boston Globe)
Growth slow but sure, says Tatts Oct 31, 2009
These include a sale of its South African gaming business and the entry into the Victorian market of the NSW Lotteries and Maxgaming business units ... Tatts Pokies' Victorian gaming machine operations are struggling to match the sales delivered in the past financial year. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Business)
Timbercorp faces class action Oct 30, 2009
More than 2000 investors representing $200 million of Timbercorp related investments filed an explosive statement of claim in the Victorian Supreme Court, alleging conflicts of interest, breaches of directors' duties, misleading or deceptive conduct, including pretending to investors the company was stable and viable in order to extract more money, and other breaches of the Corporations Act ... The class action coincides with a directions hearing in the Victorian Supreme Court today in related... (Sydney Morning Herald -- Business)
'Explosive' claims against Timbercorp Oct 30, 2009
More than 2000 investors representing $200 million of Timbercorp-related investments filed an explosive statement of claim in the Victorian Supreme Court, alleging conflicts of interest ... The class action coincides with a directions hearing in the Victorian Supreme Court today in related proceedings by Timbercorp Finance against some ''defaulting borrowers. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Business)
Boston Globe: Born Again Oct 28, 2009
Matyka, a public relations executive for a medical publishing company, made the decision three years ago to move out of her Dorchester Victorian rental and buy a downtown condo. She narrowed her search to Beacon Hill. (Somerville Journal, MA)
Going against the current climate Oct 25, 2009
In the central Victorian town of Ballan, Anthony Cappello runs a modestly sized independent publishing firm called Connor Court. He does a line in conservative books, religious biographies, that sort of thing. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Business)
The way we cooked Oct 25, 2009
The 1821 Phillips House in Salem, owned by Historic New England, was renovated extensively in 1911, but its kitchen, with many fixtures dating from the 1880s, was left in late-Victorian style ... The museum s 1885 Victorian kitchen includes a copper hot-water tank that is connected to the coal-heated stove and a possum-belly table with both a work space on top and a warm, draft-free compartment underneath where dough could rise. (Boston Globe)
Cutting Jim down to size Oct 24, 2009
In Australia there are at least three court cases in the Brisbane Supreme Court, Brisbane District court and the Victorian County Court against Penman or Jim's Group, plus several other pending cases. One master franchisor taking legal action, who like most other Penman critics refuse to speak out openly because they are afraid of jeopardising their franchises or of legal action, says Penman is quick to threaten termination against any franchisor that he feels is not complying with the... (Sydney Morning Herald -- Business)
Camille Paglia Oct 23, 2009
(I make much of that purse in my British Film Institute book on ) To add to the sadistic play in twitting girl Barbie collectors, this ad shows the haunting Victorian schoolhouse of Bodega Bay hovering on a hill in the background ... Wow, that's a real "moral" Victorian woman for you. (Salon)
New moon rising Oct 23, 2009
Their first Victorian show at Boogie, a boutique rural music festival this year, was underwhelming. Meanwhile, Wolfmother Mk II today release their ''difficult sophomore album'', Cosmic Egg. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Entertainment)
Lawsuit likely against PwC over Centro debt Oct 23, 2009
Slater & Gordon's Victorian head of project litigation, James Higgins, said a direct claim against the auditors could enhance the amount recovered for shareholders under the legal regime of proportionate liability introduced some years ago. If there's a basis for PwC to be found responsible in part for shareholders' losses and we don't join them, there could end up being a lesser sum payable to the plaintiffs,'' Mr Higgins said. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Business)
Sydney drops off the global dining map Oct 23, 2009
s Glen Davis worked with another Victorian, Geelong-region winemaker Nick Farr, to make their house pinot, a lovely drop that sits in harmony with the relaxed Italian flavours on the table. We need more cheesemakers, though. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Entertainment)
Author puts spin on ‘Wonderland' tales Oct 22, 2009
Using a portal, Alyss arrives in Victorian London where she meets author Lewis Carroll. Carroll agrees to document her story, but gets it all wrong, even misspelling her name. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution -- Living)
Hometta offers architects a chance for a modern approach to creating a house Oct 22, 2009
If you are looking for a traditional, standard cookie cutter house: a Victorian, a Georgian, you can find literally thousands of variations, Johnson says. But if you wanted to find architectural plans for a modern home with high design quality, there was virtually nothing out there. (Boston Globe)
America's coolest small towns Oct 20, 2009
The restored 1860s Victorian has a fitting soundtrack for the coastal town: the lulling surf. -- Mario L;pez-Cordero. (CNN)
The walls in our home do talk Oct 20, 2009
We re getting ready to downsize from our big Victorian house to a small modern one, and to get the old girl ready to sell, Jim and I have been inspecting her to decide how many contractors will be able to retire on our dime. In the living room I noticed a small screw tightly fastened into a windowsill, and when I remembered how it got there, I realized that I will have a difficult time performing plaster surgery on our family history. (Boston Globe)
Legacy Place tries to reinvent the suburban shopping center Oct 18, 2009
At its worst, Legacy Place looks like a Victorian Main Street where all the shops have been covered up by flat modernist rehab jobs. At its best, there s a pleasant sense of diverse storekeepers, and of many small initiatives jostling one another along the street frontage, the kind of sense you get in any up-and-coming ethnic neighborhood in any real city. (Boston Globe)
Letters to the Magazine editor Oct 18, 2009
This is something my maiden Italian aunts, who lived on the first floor of our Victorian home, did regularly. Each Saturday they made a large pot of broth for the week ahead while listening to the Metropolitan Opera. (Boston Globe)
Coco Before Chanel, Review Oct 17, 2009
It is hard to categorize director Anne Fontaine, whose work spans genres from thrillers to Victorian biopics. However, a thread which connects her work is the theme of destiny. (Suite101.com)
Frights and delights Oct 17, 2009
Victorian Horrors, with actors bringing authors such as Mary Shelly and Poe back from the dead in a lantern-lit, historic setting; 6:30-9 p.m. Oct. 24, Mission Houses Museum;$25, $20 members; 447-3929. "The Undead Invasion": participants will use gadgets, crack codes, follow clues and interact with actors to track down zombies in Honolulu, 7-10 p.m. Oct. 31, Aloha Tower Marketplace;$35; , 266-0478. (Honolulu Advertiser)
Dealmaker Wasserstein dies Oct 16, 2009
Dealmaker Bruce Wasserstein, Lazard's CEO, dies. Article:Dealmaker Bruce Wasserstein, Lazard's CEO, dies:/c/a/2009/10/15/BUN31A5OK4. (San Francisco Chronicle -- Business)
Antiques festival at Shiner’s Auditorium in Wilmington Oct 15, 2009
These and other treasures are available at the Greater Boston Antiques Festival, where more than 150 dealers will bring their Victorian furniture, sterling silver, estate jewelry, and expertise. Oct. 17 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Oct. 18 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. $8, free under age 17. (Boston Globe)
Painting outside the box Oct 15, 2009
They lived in different units of the same Victorian in Providence in the mid- 90s. Though he says he would never poster without permission, Hamawi declined to criticize Fairey. (Boston Globe)
Ronaldo no match for equine super stud Oct 15, 2009
It wasn't quite as controversial as the Hey Hey It's Saturday skit last week, but the Midgets' Cup dwarf racing stunt at Cranbourne races last Sunday did cause a bit of a stir and copped a massive serve from Victorian Racing Minister Rob Hull. At a time when the racing industry is striving for that discretionary dollar to get people back to the track, I would not have thought this event does anything to promote [it] as being sophisticated, as being innovative and as being modern. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Sport)
Senate hopefuls try for edge in face-off Oct 13, 2009
Each candidate spoke for a few minutes, standing on a staircase in the foyer of a Victorian home on Osborne Road, as more than 100 people crowded into the living room and the kitchen, and spilled onto the porch. Each pledged to improve the economy, health care, and public schools, and urged voters to send them to Washington to fill a seat that Kennedy had held for 47 years until his death in August. (Boston Globe)
Family travel five: Make a splash at historic seaports Oct 13, 2009
On the northeast tip of the Olympic Peninsula and on a bluff at the head of Puget Sound, Port Townsend is one of three National Victorian Seaports (along with Galveston and Cape May, N.J.) and the only one on the West Coast ... This unique community has carefully retained its Victorian heritage. (Fresno Bee -- Lifestyle)
A Bruising 'Oleanna' Tackles Political Correctness Oct 13, 2009
Designer Neil Patel provides a genteel display of Victorian buildings beyond the large windows in a college professor's office where the verbal sparring _ and more _ take place. In one corner: John, a nervous, distracted teacher, played by Bill Pullman, anxiously awaiting tenure and the closing on a new house. (Newsmax)
The new wave is brewing Oct 13, 2009
But then, I am comparing myself to the best in the business - Beaumont was the 2008 Victorian cupping champion, while Wood took out this year's crown last month. Every week, swags of coffee merchants visit St Ali in the hope of selling their beans. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Entertainment)
Tiny treasures Oct 12, 2009
Faith's favorite house was the pink Victorian house that the Quinns are in the process of completing. It will come with a secret room at the top of its tower. (Auburn Citizen, NY)
Playwright Sarah Ruhl has works set for Boston, Broadway Oct 11, 2009
A self-professed collector of strange facts, Ruhl says she was inspired to pen In the Next Room, or the Vibrator Play after a friend gave her a book, The Technology of Orgasm, in which she learned that in the Victorian era, doctors used to treat women diagnosed with hysteria with vibrators, and that prior to the use of electricity, they manually stimulated women as treatment. Ruhl feels such a play has resonance in today s world, where people compartmentalize their work lives from their... (Boston Globe)
Bring the family to the Discovery Museums Oct 10, 2009
It looks like a staid, 120-year-old Victorian House on the outside. On the inside it looks like a sprawling Victorian House as designed and decorated by a bunch of imaginative and artistic kids. (Boston Globe)
City secrets revealed in Open House Oct 10, 2009
View three centuries of architecture with a visit to a 17th-century farmhouse turned into a Gothic Victorian country cottage in the 19th century ... View three centuries of architecture with a visit to a 17th-century farmhouse turned into a Gothic Victorian country cottage in the 19th century. (New York Post -- Entertainment)
Michelle Williams on Life After Heath Ledger Oct 10, 2009
"I wish it were still the Victorian times, and we could go from black to gray to mauve to pink, and have rings with hair in them.") The photos are a memento of that caring momentmemento because Williams is now in a different place. "Friends never really left me alone when we came up here," she says. (ABC News)
Designing design careers in a recession Oct 9, 2009
According to Michael Cannell, also quoted in a New York Times article, the Great Depression gave rise to the flourishing movement of modernism, because it addressed the "middle-class need for a pared-down life without servants and other Victorian trappings" and "offered affordable, intelligent design for a broad audience." The lean years of the 1940s inspired furniture made of such cheap materials as plastic, resin and plywood. "The challenge will be about finding the sweet spot between... (Ontario Argus Observer, OR)
ANOTHER UP-AND-COMER: Michael Stuhlbarg of 'A Serious Man' Oct 9, 2009
After a few readings, friendship followed, and McDormand eventually brought her husband to see Stuhlbarg's Obie-winning performance in 's adaptation of the Victorian morality play The Voysey Inheritance. Then the real fun began. (USA Today -- Life)
Dread is palpable in Nora Theatre production of ‘The Caretaker’ Oct 9, 2009
However, when Davies echoes the criticism in a bid to curry favor, Mick chides him with almost Victorian primness: That s a bit of an impertinent thing to say. It seems inevitable that the two peculiar siblings will eventually close ranks, but that doesn t prevent Davies from bargaining, empty-handed, to the very end. (Boston Globe)
A culinary journey Oct 9, 2009
Every Christmas we d do Victorian teas and it was a chance for me and my wife to work together. He also worked as a chef for Fugazzis California Bistro in Visalia and after they sold the bed and breakfast he began working full-time as the managing chef at the restaurant s Clovis and Fresno locations, which have since closed. (Hanford Sentinal, CA)
'An Education,' ingenue soars to head of the class Oct 9, 2009
Despite the lingering aroma of Victorian rot shrouding 1961, An Education is excitingly young ... Despite the lingering aroma of Victorian rot shrouding 1961, An Education is excitingly young. (New York Post -- Entertainment)
Here comes the money? Oct 9, 2009
Danny and Alex, the D.C. Council has an offer for you: Victorian townhouses, granite countertops, at least half a dozen high-end cupcakeries and the opportunity for any same-sex couple to get legally hitched maybe even as soon as December. Councilman David Catania, I-At large, introduced on Oct. 6 the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act of 2009, which will expand a D.C. law that, as of this past July, recognizes same-sex marriages performed elsewhere. (Washington Business Journal, DC)
