there should be a movie category called “romantic tragedy”: the romanov family story

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now this was a real love story with a real tragic ending. not like the shit they write up in hollywood. the romanov family from left to right: olga, maria, nicholas II, alexandra, anastasia, alexei, and tatiana at the livadia palace in 1913

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exterior of the livadia palace in 1913

part 1 of 3

the romanov dynasty, and russias involvement in WWI against germany, ended with the arrival of lenin from switzerland, who was assisted by russias enemy, germany herself. ironically tzar nicholas of russia and germany’s monarch kaiser wilhelm II, who were at war with one another, were actually related (first cousins – don’t ever expect loyalty from any royal or rich man). after the arrival of lenin and the abdication of the russian monarch, the family was put under house arrest… but with in month of the revolution the entire family was shot at point blank in the basement of the house they were sent to in the north. this included the beautiful 4 daughters and nicholas’ young son alexi. from what i gather they were perhaps the best of monarchs… that is when you compare autocrats and dictators of the time. very sad and tragic life indeed, especially for the children who were completely innocent. by uh

most amazing country house upstate new york by wojr architects

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“your country cottage has just landed”

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its all about glass, glass, glass

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darth vader will be welcomed

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this house was clearly made to sit in the snow, just remember that flat roofs often leak

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renders? the glass is suspiciously one “piece-ed”

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two homes, created for two brothers

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that bike comes in handy in this snow

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nice but a bit too obvious and trendy… the usual suspect prouvé lamp and chairs : (

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a litte paragraph from the horses mouth: “the agricultural development of the land between the two houses separates them visually (to varying degrees depending on season) while linking them inextricably, both infrastructurally and communally.” you gotta love architects. i can’t understand a word in the last part of that sentence!

that said architecture studio WOJR designed ‘twins’, a site located in upstate new york that consists of two geometric buildings facing each other. created for two brothers, the two houses feature different shapes, a hexagon and a four-sided polygon, yet both are built from the same five structural components. additionally, the homes are linked to each other through an underground piping system for water supply and the like. beautiful and enviable all the same. love it. by dd

joseph stalin’s favorite music

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after his wife committed suicide, with a gunshot to her heart, stalin, the great dictator of russia, lived a lonely and isolated life.

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with his wife, nadya

mozarts piano concerto no. 23

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stalin and his beloved daughter svetlana alliluyeva

afraid of his own circle, and them afraid of him. imprisoning and committing to death, many of his very own relatives he became even colder after tanya’s death… he would escape the kremlin to his isolated private country home in the woods, dacha, guarded by 100’s of special forces. inside, no one was allowed, except his illiterate, but loyal governess. he slept in the day time and seldom at night, in various rooms in the house, and always on the couch with his shirt as his pillow. i found it fascinating and very melancholy to learn that in this house, often alone and yet all powerful, stalin (meaning steel/man) isolated from his people, family and the world, would listen repeatedly to his favorite song, mozart’s piano concerto no. 23 in a major, k. 488: II. andante… now that’s one fuckin’ state of mind… by uh

Alber Elbaz baring his sweet soul

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this monologue is not new, but is still so relevant. it expresses the man’s feelings, and attempts to expose the dilemma of the business of creative consumption in our contemporary world. exploring the trouble with the business infrastructure loosing worship of the creative that feeds it’s very existence. i am not a fashion designer, but it works for so many realms of creatives, this monologue reminds me to reassess what i love about what i do, what i should work with, against, for, etc. by kl

TOP 10+ GIFTS of 2015: our gift to you, great gift ideas for the holidays

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B&O A9 speaker in white $2,699.00by ars

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mink and cashmere socks from william abraham $160.00 each – by ac

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lelabo collaboration with ceft and company candle made in small edition and hand numbered $300.00by uh

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tom dixon elements scent air diffuser $115.00by cm

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joey roth’s latest bluetooth speaker design (pre-order) available in black but we’ll take the white $450.00by xy

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1:10 scale exoto die-cast model of the 1967 lemans winner, the ford gt40 MKIV was $5,500.00 on sale now for $2,747.00 one left – by dd

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monocle travel walnut studiolo dominos $75.00by lb

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sugar cube wireless speakers, skip songs by tilting the speaker and tap to play/pause… simple and stylish portable speaker $229.00by nwa

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 the ultimate modernist cuisine cookbook set $539.00by kt

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kristian stahl fossilized mammoth dice from crest & co. $1,000.00by kc

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pro-ject audio debut carbon record player $550.00by pr

happy holidays from everyone

at ts

the true cost: an every-season essential

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“the true cost” the movie: know what your cheap clothes, that you don’t need, are doing to this world

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behind the scenes with director andrew morgan explaining why he was led to make the  documentary film “the true cost”

yes this is an older film but i just saw it. a great movie for anyone in the fashion, design, advertising community but also for anyone who is a consumer of cheap things, from H&M, to gap, to zara, to forever 21. you will be thinking twice before you buy yet another item you don’t need. “in reality they are making us, and this world poor, yet giving us the illusion of being rich, by offering us cheap things we don’t need at cost we truly don’t understand“… a must see. by kl

70’s gems: ferrari 365 GTS4 daytona spider

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ferrari 365 GTS4 daytona spider in production from 1968-1973

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with a tipo 251, engine sporting 4.4 L, V12 and 365 cc per cylinder (thus the 365GTB)

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(above) later model retractable headlights vs (below) the original open headlights covered with glass/acrylic

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below the lamborghini miura (shape and proportions) in production between 1966-1973

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the ferrari 365 GTB/4, better known by the unofficial name ferrari daytona, is a grand-tourer produced from 1968 to 1973. the name daytona was given to the car by the press rather than ferrari officials at its launch during the paris auto show in 1968, possibly because of ferrari incredible 1, 2, 3 finish the year before at the datona race in 1967. its sharp-edged styling resembled a lamborghini (miura) more than a traditional pininfarina ferrari. early daytonas featured fixed headlights behind a glass cover. this particular setup was completely abandoned in 1971 favor of retractable pop-up twin headlights due to new safety regulations in the US, which outlawed headlights behind covers (think of the e-type and the like). we actually prefer the later models with the covered headlights but regardless either would be a dream to posses. price range low of $700,000 and up. by uh

who needs snow to ski: candide thovex for audi

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candide thovex ski on no snow

if you do an ad that is actually not about your product but rather about something truly interesting, then you have a chance for people to see it and share it. and in the end, you win, as they may like you for being a part of that experience. we will take that over an ad that spends time trying to convince you that one brand of luxury car is better than the next. by lz