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Wallpaper That 'Tricks The Eye' Is Coming Back Into Style

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Wallpaper designed to look like wood, concrete, tiles, or marble is an easy fix for blank white walls.

This so-called tromp l'oeil style — or art that creates the illusion of being real — has been popular throughout history, and is gaining prominence again in home blogs, on Pinterest, and in apartments where faux texture can break up an otherwise boring space.

One recent example is Andrew Martin's Lumber Jack wallpaper ($107, Rose & Grey), which adds a rustic feel with detailed sawed wooden log piles that line the wall. It would look fantastic in a bachelor pad.

Andrew Martin Lumber Jack wallpaper

Perhaps the most popular version of the tromp l'oeil wallpaper is brick-patterned, exemplified by York Wallcoverings' Wall In A Box Bricks Wallpaper ($99, Amazon). This one is sold as a single kit with perfectly matched double rolls.

Brick Wallpaper

And Vertigo Home also sells a lot of these designs, but my favorite is the sophisticated industrial Marble Wallpaper by Ferm Living ($110, Vertigo Home). It's unique without being over-powering.

ferm living marble wallpaper

Most of these wallpapers are sold as pre-pasted paper that are fast to hang, and easily strippable. So if you're looking to update your space, this is something to seriously consider.

Want to nominate a cool product for Stuff We Love? Send an email to Megan Willett at mwillett@businessinsider.com.

DON'T MISS:  Freeze Popsicles In Under 7 Minutes With The Zoku Quick Pop Maker

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10 Tourist Attractions That Are Worth A Visit On Your Next Business Trip

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chimney rock state park charlotte north carolina

Business trips are often nothing more than a blur of airport terminals, taxis, and hotel lobbies. 

The next time you're on the road, do yourself a favor and carve out some time to indulge in a healthy dose of sightseeing. 

We've compiled a list of must-see tourist attractions in some of the most popular cities for business travel. 

New York – 9/11 Memorial

Cost: Free

If you're looking for a quiet place to reflect, stop by the newly opened 9/11 Memorial the next time business takes you to Manhattan.

The twin reflecting pools are stunning either by day or night, but we recommend opting for a later time slot if you want to avoid the crowds. 



Las Vegas –– Le Rêve

Price: $115 - $250

If casinos and nightclubs aren't exactly your idea of relaxing after a long workday, treat yourself to seats at Le Rêve at the Wynn Las Vegas.

It's a stunning production that marries acrobatics with an underwater adventure. The theater is specially designed so that no seat is further than 42 feet from the stage. Bring your floaties. 

Showtimes are Friday through Tuesday at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.



Chicago –– Shedd Aquarium

Price: $8 - $32

Feast your eyes on more than 25,000 species of fish and water mammals at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago.

It's great for browsing solo or with the family, with interactive exhibits, shows and 4-D movies. 



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16 Spectacular Corporate Headquarters Around The World

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Aldar Headquarters

Some of the world's most architecturally impressive structures are actually the same buildings where thousands of people work every day.

Giants like Apple, Google, and Facebook have built lavish campuses for their employees, but they aren't the only companies with eye-catching corporate structures.

Emporis, a database of construction projects, just released a list of the most impressive company buildings around the world, selected by a panel of experts.

From BMW in Munich to petroleum conglomerate Petronas in Malaysia, these are 16 of the most visually-appealing global headquarters.

The Bow in Canada is the headquarters of the Canadian petroleum and gas producer EnCana. The crescent-shaped building looks out at the Bow River.

Source: Emporis



The BMW Building in Munich is made of four linked tubes designed to look like a four-cylinder engine.

Source: Emporis



The BMW Welt is the event location for handing over new cars in Munich. The building has a double cone design and sits right next to the BMW building.

Source: Emporis



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HAMPTONS BROKER: Two Wall Streeters Tried To Screw Us Out Of Commissions By Secretly Dropping These Handwritten Notes

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A Hamptons real estate brokerage firm just got the ultimate revenge on a pair of Wall Streeters. [via Curbed]

Broker Rosehip Partners, which has the blog Hamptons Marketwire, writes that Jon Terracciano, an attorney, and Jon Shechtman, a hedge fund portfolio manager, tried to cheat one of its agents out of earning a $3,000 commission fee for a summer share.

Terracciano is a Wall Street attorney, according to his LinkedIn.  You can see Terracciano partying it up in the Hamptons in this Guest of a Guest photo. Shechtman is a portfolio manager at Axonic Capital, according to his LinkedIn.

Anyway, the pair inquired about some high end rental properties promising "all cash for a quick deal," according to the blog.  

We're told that they were asking about 25 homes in the brokerage firm's system and an agent worked really hard making calls and arranging tours. 

The agent took the two Jons to some houses last Saturday. He felt confident that they would put in an offer. 

According to the brokerage, the pair were leaving handwritten notes in the homes telling the homeowners that they would like to do an all cash deal directly with the owner, while cutting out the agents. Two homeowners found the notes and turned them over to Rosehip Partners, says the firm.

We have tried reaching out to both individuals to get their side of the story. We will update this post as warranted.

The notes have been posted on Rosehip Partners' blog.  They gave us permission to run them. 

hamptons note

jons hamptosn

Hamptons Jons

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Young Saudis Love This Super-Dangerous Driving Trick

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Young men in Saudi Arabia take joyrides to a whole new level.

A popular stunt among young drivers is "sidewall skiing," which entails driving on the two side wheels of the car only. 

To make the experience even more extreme, the driver may high-five a spectator on the curb, passengers ride outside the vehicle, barely hanging on to the windows or the chassis, and other thrill-seekers lie on the road as the car passes over them.

Check out the photos.

Young men in Saudi Arabia perform a sidewall skiing stunt, driving a car on two wheels.

Performing stunts such as sidewall skiing and drifts is a popular hobby amongst Saudi youths.

Sidewall skiing stunt performed by young male drivers in Saudi Arabia.

The stunt is not only a thrill for the driver. Passengers, hanging out of the car's windows and taking off the wheels of the car while in motion (!), or spectators, lying in the middle of the road, can also be part of the stunt.

Passengers hanging out the vehicle during a sidewall skiing stunt performed by Saudi youths.

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HOUSE OF THE DAY: Buy Katy Perry's Opulent LA Home For $6.9 Million

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Katy Perry Park Hill LA Home

Katy Perry is selling the home she bought with ex-husband Russell Brand back in 2011 for $6.925 million, according to celebrity real estate blogger The Real Estalker.

The mansion, known as Park Hill, sits on a double-gated, three-acre compound with private lagoon pool and sweeping views of West Hollywood from the backyard.

In addition to the 7,000-square-foot main home, there are also two guest houses and a carriage house for auto storage.

Perry and Brand originally bought the Mediterranean-style estate from former National Lampoon chief executive Daniel Laikin back in June 2011. Neither ever moved into the home, which according to The Real Estalker's sources Brand gave to Perry during their divorce.

Katy Perry and Russell Brand bought this three-acre property in 2011.

Source: Teles Properties



It has two guest houses, and a carriage house for car storage.

Source: Teles Properties



Inside, the main home is 7,000 square feet.

Source: Teles Properties



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The Best College Bars In America

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college students drinking

Writer David Wood once joked that college was an amazing time—when parents fork over their savings to let kids go to a strange town and spend four years in a bar.

See the best college bars in the US >

Seriously, though, the best college bars offer more than cold beers and hot cheese fries. They’re fan headquarters for away games. They’re stages where college bands become national acts. They’re divey, not sleazy, and give visitors an insider’s perspective and memorable stories, like this one from the All-American Rathskeller at Penn State.

“On a Sunday, when we were closed, someone knocked,” recounts owner Duke Gastiger. “The guy said, ‘Do you mind if my grandfather uses your restroom?’ I let them inside. His grandfather shuffles to the restroom, comes back out and yells, ‘Yep, it’s still there!’ He had carved his initials into the bathroom wall on the bar’s opening day in 1933.”

Many of our favorite college bars are steeped in such lore, while continuing to make history and win over newcomers. Ole Miss keeps an open tab at Proud Larry’s, which stocks local beer labels and celebrated its 20th anniversary in April 2013 with a live music act each day. Eskimo Joe’s in Stillwater, OK, is so beloved that Oklahoma State University recently co-branded with the bar’s mascots, who now take the field on game days.

Football isn’t the only competition that draws folks to college bars. Trivia contests, open mic nights, and retro video games add to the sense of community. Regulars may even be rewarded for their attendance records. At Nashville’s Flying Saucer, those who sample 200 different brews get their names engraved on plates. It’s the kind of quality college-town bar that makes you feel welcome, even decades later and even if you’re not a Vanderbilt alum.

So here’s a toast to the mayhem of college and those bars that make it a great four years (or, in some cases, five…or six). To round out your campus visit, check out the most beautiful college libraries and check in to one of these top college hotels.

See the best college bars in the US >

More from Travel and Leisure:

Proud Larry’s: Ole Miss

One of Mississippi’s premier live music venues, Proud Larry’s was opened by a few graduates in 1993 and has been going strong ever since. By strong, we mean lines around the block on game days and sold-out shows with musicians like Shannon McNally and Iron & Wine.

The University of Mississippi’s alumni association has an open tab here, and the cooler is lined with state-based labels like Lazy Magnolia Brewery and Cathead Vodka. For its 20th anniversary, Proud Larry’s celebrated with a live band every single day of April 2013.



The Tombs: Georgetown

Down in the Tombs, plaques gleam with the names of the 99 Days Club members, who rose to the challenge of purchasing something daily in the countdown to graduation. Early in the evenings, professors and Jesuits can be spotted among tables crowded with beer pitchers, served by waiters, often students, in preppy oxfords and bow ties.

Comfort food options include the Bulldog burger: organic grass-fed beef, slathered in beer-braised onions, smoked bacon, cheddar, and mustard on a pretzel roll. The Tombs shares a kitchen with 1789, a jackets-preferred, antiques-filled restaurant upstairs that attracts visiting parents.

tombs.com

 


The Albatross: UC Berkeley

Berkeley’s oldest pub sees a lot of the youngest legal drinkers—along with grad students, faculty, and local book clubs and sports teams. Once called “a community center that happens to sell alcohol,” this is one bar where you can walk in with a stack of pizza boxes and plop down in a booth like it’s your living room.

There are even classic games like Scrabble, Taboo, and Trivial Pursuit. While popcorn is the only food sold, the bottled beer list is 60 labels long, and the 14-handle draft lineup has a sweet spot for Belgians.

albatrosspub.com



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Victoria's Secret Fans Hate Karlie Kloss's Short Hair In A Recent Ad Campaign

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karlie kloss victoria's secret

When Karlie Kloss walked the runway at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show last year, she wore hair extensions that lengthened her signature bob. 

But Victoria's Secretrecently showcased the highly popular haircut, now branded "The Karlie," in its most recent ad campaign, and fans weren't happy about it. 

"Short hair isn't sexy," fumed one self-described Victoria's Secret fan on the forum site Fashin

"I think Karlie is kind of a modest sexy but I don't think her current librarian hair is really doing her any favors," another shopper wrote on the forum. "She clearly sticks out like a sore thumb next to these more bombshell types." 

Kloss originally cut her hair for a Vogue photo shoot.

Victoria's Secret hasn't featured short-haired models in the past, and featuring Kloss's short hairstyle is a bold move. 

The retailer was so desperate to give Kloss the appearance of long hair at its fashion show that it reportedly spent $75,000 on expensive extensions. 

Victoria's Secret probably felt emboldened by the popularity of Kloss's cut, and decided to feature her shorter hair in the campaign. 

Kloss told People magazine she hopes her haircut makes other women more confident. 

"There are girls out there with every body type and there are girls out there with every hair type," Kloss said. "You can be sexy with short hair!"

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HARVARD VS. YALE: Which Is REALLY The Best Ivy League School?

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yale vs. harvard football game

Harvard vs. Yale. The two universities regularly battle for the top spot on college rankings and claim some of the most powerful alumni networks in the world.

But which school is really better?

To answer the question we compared them across six categories  — cost, academics, job prospects, campus, student body, and student life — which together describe everything that should go into one's college choice.

Here's what we found:

Cost

Annual tuition including room, board and personal expenses at Harvard costs $57,950, while Yale costs $58,600— a slight edge for Harvard but not much of a difference. When you factor in financial aid, however, Harvard still comes out ahead.  At Harvard, about 60 percent of undergrads receive about $182 million in need-based financial aid, while at Yale approximately 55 percent of undergrads receive $120 million in need-based financial aid. At both schools, students whose families earn under $65,000 per year can qualify for financial aid.

Harvard has a slight advantage in cost.

Academics

Harvard and Yale are both elite institutions that offer world-class academics.

Both schools stress the importance of a balanced liberal arts education. Harvard has a Core Curriculum, which requires students to take a variety of classes. Yale's distributional requirements mean that students have to take classes in certain categories like the humanities, social science, and natural science. Both schools have strong economics and political science programs. Yale excels in drama and the arts, while Harvard is arguably slightly stronger in the sciences.

Harvard offers about 3,900 courses and more than 40 majors for undergrads. Yale offers 2,000 courses and more than 75 majors. Let's call that a tie.

Both schools have world-renowned faculty members and a similar faculty-to-student ratio. (Harvard has a 7:1 ratio and Yale has a 6:1 ratio.) At Harvard, 78 percent of classes have fewer than 20 students, while at Yale 72 percent of classes have fewer than 20 students, according to the US News & World Report. Again it's a wash.

harvard

Harvard has 47 Nobel Laureates who are faculty or alumni, while Yale counts 25 Nobel Laureates among its faculty and alumni. Harvard faculty or alumni have won a total of 47 Pulitzer Prizes, while Yale comes out ahead with a total of 56 Pulitzer Prizes awarded to faculty and alumni.

Students who rate professors on Ratemyprofessors.com gave Harvard professors an average rating of 3.84 and Yale professors an average rating of 3.8—a nominal difference.

In short, the schools are about equal, with similar course offerings, class sizes and high-quality professors and alumni.

Academics are a tie.

Job Prospects

Both Harvard and Yale have strong brand recognition that almost guarantees jobs for future students, but one school appears to have an advantage.

Harvard grads will earn slightly more money. According to PayScale, the average starting salary for Harvard grads is $50,700, while the average starting salary for Yale grads is $48,900. The mid-career salary for Harvard grads is $111,000, while the mid-career salary for Yale grads is $105,000, according to PayScale.

In our poll to determine the 50 Best Colleges in America — which focused on future job prospects — Harvard was ranked the the number three school in the country, while Yale came in behind at number four. Similarly, the Times Higher Education ranking of universities by reputation gave Harvard the number one spot last year, while Yale came in at number 10.

Yale campus, studentsAs for alumni networks, another critical factor in getting a job, both schools are excellent. Eight U.S. Presidents graduated from Harvard, while only five graduated from Yale. Twenty U.S. Supreme Court Justices attended Harvard, while 10 Justices attended Yale.

According to US News, Harvard topped the list of 2012 Fortune 500 CEO degree granters with 65 total degrees. Yale didn't even make the list of the top 13 schools for CEOs.

Harvard's notable contemporary alumni include CEOs and financial bigwigs like Lloyd Blankfein and Ben Bernanke; foreign leaders like Mexico's Felipe Calderon; and actors like Ashley Judd and Natalie Portman. Yale's include writers like Harold Bloom and Tom Wolfe; actors like Paul Newman and Meryl Streep; and political figures like Hillary Clinton and Dick Cheney.

The bottom line: Both schools have strong alumni networks and brand recognition that will land students great jobs, but Harvard takes the lead in brand value.

Harvard has a slight advantage in job prospects.

Campus

Harvard is located in Cambridge, Mass., a bustling district outside of Boston that's been called one of the best communities for young people and the healthiest city in America by Self magazine.

Yale is in downtown New Haven, Conn., which has a reputation for having some unsafe neighborhoods. But the area surrounding the college is filled with shops, restaurants, and bars, and students feel right at home there.

When it comes to architecture, it's tough to pick one over the other. Both Harvard Yard and Yale's campus are known for their centuries-old stone buildings, leafy quads, and high-tech laboratories. Harvard's libraries hold around 17 million volumes, while Yale's have 12.99 million.

Neither college has a central undergraduate student center, though Harvard students launched a campaign to build one in 2011.

Both have great athletic facilities: Yale's 9-story Payne Whitney Gymnasium has training centers for crew, gymnastics, swimming, and a state-of-the-art fencing salon, while Harvard's 5-floor Malkin Athletic Center has three pools, a cycling studio, and two cardio rooms.

As for future spending, Harvard has the largest endowment in the world at $30.7 billion. Yale's endowment is still impressive but not as high at $19.3 billion.

While students on both campuses are satisfied with their surroundings, we'll give Harvard the edge for its cool neighborhood, proximity to Boston, and the classic beauty of Harvard Yard.

Harvard has a slight advantage in campus.

Student Body

Yale and Harvard are two of the most competitive schools in the world. Yale admitted 6.7 percent of applicants for the class of 2017, while Harvard accepted 5.8 percent, giving Harvard the slight edge.

Both colleges have also admitted an increasingly diverse group of students in recent years. For the class of 2016, Harvard's admitted students were 21 percent Asian American, 10 percent African American, and 11 percent Hispanic or Latinowhile Yale's were 21.1 percent Asian American, 9.5 percent African American, and 10.5 percent Hispanic. 

harvard basketball beats new mexicoStudent reviewers on College Prowler gave both schools an A+ for diversity.

Yale's average SAT score is slightly higher than Harvard's. The SAT range at Yale is 2120-2390, compared to Harvard's 2080-2380, according to College Prowler.

Both schools have standout students within their current undergraduate ranks. Harvard's include undergrads who are making strides towards curing cancer and have played at Carnegie Hall, and even the daughter of the head of China's Communist party.

Yale's student body includes Rhodes Scholars, entrepreneurs, a composer of classical music, and a professional magician.

Harvard's undergraduate student body is slightly larger at around 6,650, compared to Yale's 5,322.

Both schools fared well, but we'll give Harvard the category for its slightly lower admission rate  when you're talking single-digit percentages, one percent matters.

Harvard has a slight advantage in student body.

Student Life

Both colleges offer tons of extracurriculars and vibrant social scenes for undergraduate students. Yale's student life revolves around the residential college system, in which incoming freshmen are assigned to one of 12 residential colleges, where many students live, eat, and make their closest friends.

Harvard also has a house system. Freshmen live in dorms and join one of 12 houses at their end of their first year. Houses also have dorm rooms, dining halls, and common spaces.

yale university student

Harvard does not have a formal Greek system, but its eight all-male "final" clubs serve a similar social purpose. Around 10 percent of Yalies participate in Greek life. Fifty percent of seniors are also members of the school's famous "secret societies."

Both schools offer tons of extracurriculars: Yale has more than 400 organizations on campus, including over 50 performance groups and 60 cultural associations. Harvard also has more than 400 campus organizations for students with any interest under the sun.

When it comes to the dining halls, Harvard has Yale beat; Harvard, with 13 undergrad dining halls, ranked #12 on The Daily Meal's latest list of the best colleges for food, while Yale was #21.

But Yale bests Harvard when it comes to nightlife. College Prowler's reviewers gave Yale's nightlife an A+ for its variety, from campus-wide theme parties to frat parties to the dance floor at local nightclub Toad's. Harvard, where nightlife is centered around the finals clubs and local bars, got an A. 

Overall, Yale seems to be a happier place to be. According to The Daily Beast's latest ranking of the happiest colleges — based on student opinion data and retention rates — Harvard ranked #11 and Yale was #3.

This one was almost too close to call. Both offer tons of clubs, ways to socialize, and house systems. But since Yale ranked higher in terms of nightlife and student happiness, we'll give it the edge in this category.

Yale has a slight advantage in student life.

THE WINNER 

While both universities are excellent, Harvard is the winner, coming out slightly ahead in  cost, job prospects, campus, and student body.

SEE ALSO: 25 Colleges Where The Students Are Hot And Smart

SEE ALSO: America's Most Intense Colleges

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Why China's Copycat Buildings Are Actually Good For Architecture

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Wanjian SOHO HadidWhen we see another Eiffel Tower, idyllic English village, or, most recently, a Zaha Hadid shopping mall, copied in China, our first reaction is to scoff. Heartily.

To suggest that it is – once again – evidence of China’s knock-off culture, its disregard for uniqueness, its staggering lack of innovation.

Even I, reporting on the Chinese copy of the Austrian town of Halstatt, fell into the rhetorical trap: “The Chinese are well-known for their penchant for knock-offs, be it brand-name handbags or high-tech gadgets, but this time, they’ve taken it to a whole other level.”

Moreover, as Guy Horton has noted, we are keen to describe designers in the West as “emulating,” “imitating,” and “borrowing”; those in the East are almost always “pirating.”

However, when we allow ourselves, even unconsciously, to settle into the role of superior scoffer, we do not just the Chinese, but ourselves, a disservice: first, we fail to recognize the fascinating complexity that lies behind China’s built experimentation with Western ideals; and, what’s more, we fail to look in the mirror at ourselves, and trouble our own unquestioned values and supposed superiority. In the next few paragraphs, I’d like to do both.

“The Happy and Harmonious Dream” 

According to Thomas L. Friedman in his opinion piece for the New York Times, since China’s embrace of consumer culture in the 1980s, the Chinese people have been in a state of flux, consuming, along with products, the American ideals of individual wealth, identity, and uniqueness.

But at the same time, they’ve been negotiating these concepts with their traditional values of collectivism, harmony, and balance. This negotiation has resulted in a yearning for a defined, modern Chinese identity – a Chinese Dream, if you will, that, while referencing the American dream, better aligns itself with traditional Chinese values.

Friedman reports that this Dream is referred by some as a “Harmonious and Happy Dream,” one which allows for the Chinese people to express their individuality (sorely needed after so many years of suppression) but also emphasizes the collective, not just individual, access to improved goods and services.

These contradictory desires reveal themselves in China’s new cities, many of which are moving away from the bland, chock-a-clock housing that traditionally characterized Chinese cities, and towards something … rather familiar.

By choosing to live in a “copied” built environment, with the Italian or British or Austrian connotations of wealth or refinement or quaintness it may have, a Chinese person is not just aligning himself with a certain identity, but also to an entire group that ascribes to that identity. Individual choice, in collective form.

“Never Meant to Copy, Only Want to Surpass” 

When Ollie Wainwright reported on the copy of Zaha Hadid’s Wangjing Soho in Beijing, he mentioned that the slandered developers launched an advertising campaign, headed by this slogan: “Never meant to copy, only want to surpass.”

The slogan is important to keep in mind. Despite the pain-staking detail in which Chinese copies are reproduced, from using the same exact Chantilly stone for a French chateau or replicating the Winston Churchill statues in a British town, it’s important to note that there are certain adaptations, changes,and “improvements” made upon these clones.

In Original Copies: Architectural Mimicry in Contemporary China, author Bianca Bosker notes that European cities’ typical, winding streets and tiny apartments, which don’t align with Chinese desires for order and space, are generally not incorporated into the Chinese versions.

Moreover, developers, responding to the demand for the fantasy of Western built environments, are beginning to invest not just in copies, but in new interpretations of Western models (designed with the Chinese wants in mind). Michael Ellis, a partner at 5+designwho has, beyond working on a retail expansion of The China World Trade Center (CWTC), developed residential projects in China, describes his firm’s strategy as “going vertical with the American Dream.”  As Ellis puts it: “density does not have to preclude individuality.”

Their project, called Luxehills (a name which reflects the homes and hills of California), is series of California-style high-rises that are “authentic” (using stones, stucco and tile) and provide plenty of public space  (including a lagoon, plaza, and many galleries). It’s a “copy” of an American model, which is in turn a “copy” of an Italian model, that perfectly encapsulates the negotiation of values happening in China now: a Western look, individualized units, density, and the collective access to amenities that serve the neighborhood as a whole.

The Architectural Rift

But let’s turn the mirror on ourselves for a moment. Really, the modified-copy shouldn’t feel foreign to us at all – it has been common practice in development all across the United States. We need look no further than Las Vegas (although we certainly could).

Of course, you could make the argument that there is an inherent difference between copying villages, especially ancient villages where the original architects have been lost to obscurity, or copying certain typologies, and copying Architecture (with a capital A), which is, according to our system of beliefs, the intellectual property of the Architect who designed it. Thus, while most of these odd-ball copies remain largely laughable in the West,the case of Hadid’s Galaxy Soho invoked ire, outcry, and considerable debate on the ethics of copying.  In an article for ArtInfo, author and architectural historian, Mario Carpo explained it this way: it is “‘the rift between the new media and technologies we use and the old cultural frame of mind we have inherited and not yet updated’ that inspired this disquieting case of architectural mimesis.” I would agree with Carpo: there is certainly a rift between our “old cultural frame of mind,” one which holds as sanctified the purity of the architectural form and the ownership of the architect, and our modern day reality (in which computer technology make copying and manufacturing a design simpler every day); however, I don’t think the rift can be explained entirely by technology. Much of it comes from the confrontation with another cultural frame of mind, in this case that of China, which does not hold the same values dear.

And while the idea of intellectual copyright for architecture is of course valid, it’s important to remember that this construct – of one’s ownership of an idea (that then becomes functional form) – is a relatively recent one. In fact, architecture wasn’t even covered undercopyright law in the United States until 1990. As Guy Horton wrote in his article “Architecture and Crime”: “While we like to maintain the legal and moral high-ground, the protection of ‘original’ works or the rights of copy are, having developed in the eighteenth century, relatively recent creations in Western civilization. We haven’t been at it all that long and it came into being largely in order to protect commercial interests. It had nothing to do with any sudden moral epiphany about the sanctity of the original.”

Moreover, the line between copy and original, even in the eyes of the law, is awfully nebulous. As Michael Graves has noted, copyright protection is not for the pragmatic/technical characteristics of a building but only for the ”poetic language” of architecture. But when form follows function, whose to say where pragmatism ends and poetry begins? And with “copying”, from the masters who came before you or a colleague with whom you’ve shared ideas, being a foundational part of architectural design – does it really matter? So the next time we scoff at China’s “copies,” with no thought to their context nor history, I suggest taking a long, hard look at ourselves. We may recognize that what China is doing now is not so different from what we ourselves have done in the past (and what, with the improvement of digital technology, will only happen more in the future). Rather than sitting comfortably on our high-horses, we should begin to see the Chinese adaptation of architecture (and, for that matter, Architecture) as an opportunity to update our own beliefs and begin traversing the rift we have made for ourselves.


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What To Bring If You're Camping Out At Coachella

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coachella

If you bought a car camping pass to Coachella, congratulations. For $85 more, you purchased twice the festival as the hotel heathens.

They’ll be spending their mornings desperately looking for a taxi wait under two hours and wondering why they didn’t get a hotel closer to a shuttle line. You’ll be spending yours deciding between the slip-n-slide and the mini-carnival.

But that kind of freedom comes hard-earned, and there’s a lot of planning to do before you go if you want to have the kind of kickass campsite worthy of the modern-day Woodstock.

First thing’s first: Know who you’re camping with. That way, you can split up who brings what and save some money because, let’s face it, Coachella ain’t cheap. Each camping spot is 10′x30′, and you can pack a fair amount of people in there. For a better solution, have multiple people with their own car camping passes in your group. You only need one per space, so getting a second one doubles the number of people you can camp with, not to mention doubling the room to set up your dream campsite.

If you have multiple campsites, you’ll have to caravan down to Indio to ensure you drive in right next to each other. Otherwise, there’s no guarantee you’ll get spots next to each other. If you’re not leaving together or it’s a longer drive, set a meeting point at a grocery store near the grounds to reconvene. You can also stock up on supplies there. Some things to pick up:

  1. Fruit and vegetables, and lots of them. Nothing like eating healthy to stave off the guilt for the drugs you’re doing.
  2. More specifically, avocados. They’re a super food, they turn into bowls when you finish them, and you can play mini croquet with the pits.
  3. Goldfish, jerky, and other salty foods. That water retention will be worth the puffy face.
  4. Gatorade. Bring water if you want (it’s readily available all over the grounds), but Gatorade and Gatorade powder will do a lot to help your electrolytes. Coachella is as hard on your body as any sporting event.
  5. Booze. Cases of beer are fine, but if you get liquor, make sure you either put them in plastic or hide them well. No glass allowed in the lot.

If you’re bringing a camping stove (propane only on the grounds), you can also pick up stuff like pancake mix, eggs, maybe even some steak. It’s a little extra work, but there’s nothing like coming back to the campsite after a long day and having a full, home-cooked meal. Share with the neighbors, and they’ll hit you back. If you run out of food, there’s an on-site store with some options, and a shuttle that’ll take you to the grocery store in the mornings.

Once you arrive, you’ll appreciate having that case of beer. The security line is just one big tailgating party. Guards are tearing apart entire cars, in some cases taking off paneling to check inside (so make sure you hide your stash well), which takes a little bit of time. Get out of your car and meet some people, and pray you chose the line with the lazy volunteer who’s not being paid enough to care.

You should fill up your gas tank again before you go into the grounds, since you never know when you’ll need to run your car and you can’t leave once you’re there. The campground opens at 9am the day before the festival. If you’ve done everything right so far (and if you’ve read to here, you should) and you’ve arrived early enough, you’ll get a prime spot close enough to the festival to avoid too much walking, but far enough away from the gates that you avoid the casual looters and the crowds of the main pathways.

Set up your camp however you’d like. I’m not an architect. Really though, go crazy guys. Make your camp recognizable. Put up strings of lights and inflatable toys — this will look cool as shit, but it’ll also make camp easier to find, especially in the dark when you’re stumbling back with a ringing in your ears. Also, stake down your tents and canopies! If the weather acts up like it did in 2012, it’ll be more than the answers blowing in the wind.

Ideally, you’ve brought car paint to decorate your ride. Write “Carpoolchella” in a visible spot in the best design you can come up with, because officials wander the grounds looking for that specific word. If they like your style, you have the chance to win free VIP tickets for life. What have you got to lose? Make sure you only draw on the windows though, as car paint can fuck with the actual paint job.

Inside the campground there are lots of shower trucks, but lines can get insanely long in the mornings. Shower in the evenings if you’re willing to miss a set. Alternatively, bring a Sun Shower, a little bag of water you can hang in your campsite. Or there’s always baby wipes and dry shampoo.

Once you’ve got everything set up and you know where everything is, you’re on your own. Goldenvoice loves to keep people guessing when it comes to their plans. One minute you can be riding a little carnival in a back corner of the lot, the next you can be rocking out at a silent disco. Don’t get too caught up in what you think you should be doing. Follow your nose. And when your non-camping friends arrive, try not to rub in how much better your morning has been than theirs. But hey, don’t be afraid to rub it in a little.

Your packing list, from someone who cares:

To live

  1. Tent – Duh. If you’ve got a big car, you could sleep in the back, but then you have to decide between privacy and airflow. Coachella is hot and sexual enough as it is without choosing between one or the other.
  2. Canopy – It’s like a tent you shouldn’t be naked in, but that’s okay. Great for shading the rest of your camp.
  3. Tarps – You can use them on the side of the canopy to make shade, or to block off the windows in your car to cool them down.
  4. Folding chairs – Sit on these. Or just look at them. I don’t care.
  5. Folding table – They’re not just for beer pong anymore. Although they are also for beer pong.
  6. Camping stove – You don’t necessarily need it, but nothing beats a hot, home-cooked meal after destroying your body all day. Propane only allowed.
  7. Pot and skillet – For use on the stove.
  8. Plates and utensils – Disposable is best.
  9. Cooler and dry ice – For keeping your food and drinks.
  10. Air mattress with battery-powered inflator – You’ll be so tired you could sleep on broken glass by the end of the day, but glass isn’t allowed in the campground, so this will have to do.
  11. Sleeping bag or blankets – It doesn’t get too cold at night, but it’s nice to have in case.
  12. Pillow – Unless you’re that hardcore.
  13. Battery packs – Your phone is going to die. If you don’t want to run your car to charge it, this will be a good alternative.
  14. Jumper cables – Just in case. Stick around Monday morning and count the number of people who need them, then come back here so I can say I told you so.
  15. Fan – It’s nice to have. Combine with a mister to beat the heat.
  16. Wet wipes – They’re a godsend replacement for toilet paper in the desert environment, and can be used as a shower if the lines are too long.
  17. Saline nose solution – For getting rid of that giant dusty booger you don’t want to pick in front of your neighbors.
  18. Sunscreen – It’s the desert. I hear it’s sunny there.
  19. Toothbrush/toothpaste – For your mouth, yo.
  20. Ibuprofen – Your body will hurt. It doesn’t have to.
  21. Baby powder – If you’re a heavy sweater, this stuff will keep the chafing at bay.
  22. Earplugs – I don’t care if you’re up until 5 in the morning. There will be somebody with a sound system up until 6.
  23. Spare keys – Your friends might need them. You might need them.
  24. Duct tape – For when everything goes to shit.
  25. Trash bags – Don’t be that guy.

To enjoy living

  1. El-wire strings – Good for lighting up your campsite to make it easier to find, and to make it cool as fuck. Get the battery-powered kind to make it nice and portable, since you might want to bring some into the grounds to make yourself easy to find as well.
  2. Inflatable toys – Mostly just for fun, but if you bring one into the grounds, it can be your totem so your friends can find you.
  3. Inflatable pool – The least necessary. The most fun.
  4. Flag – If you can set one up, it’s a good way to identify your campsite.
  5. Body paint – A fun way to get ready for the day.
  6. Car paint – To win that Carpoolchella award.
  7. Cards – King’s Cup is a great way to pass some time.
  8. Speakers – Drown out the tinnitus when you get back at night with a little more music.
  9. Camera – You can’t bring a DSLR into the festival itself, but you can take some sweet pictures of yourself going down the slip-n-slide next door.
  10. Condoms – Better safe than sorry, ya know?

For the festival

  1. Phone – It doesn’t work half the time, but it’s your phone. Just in case.
  2. Canvas shoes – It’s nice to go barefoot during the day, but you’ll need arch support eventually, and flip flops won’t provide the protection when you’re in the middle of the Sahara Tent.
  3. Light clothing – Somehow, flowing clothes keep you cooler than none at all.
  4. Small sweatshirt – It can get chilly at night, especially when you’re not in the crowds.
  5. Money clip – You don’t want to bring a whole wallet that can get lost. Some cash and your ID. That’s it. You won’t need that skydiving coupon or your dental insurance.
  6. Sunglasses – It’s bright.
  7. Hat – It’s nice, but if you used sufficient sunscreen it might not be necessary.
  8. Lighter – Even if you’re not smoking, it’s nice to have one to lend to people.

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Report Says The Rich Aren't That Loyal To Luxury Brands [THE BRIEF]

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Cartier

Good morning, AdLand. Here's what you need to know today:

Apparently the rich are less likely to stay loyal to luxury brands, says Shullman Research Center's Luxury and Affluence Monthly Pulse. This open mind provides a huge opportunity for marketers to seal some pretty pricey deals with undecided, incredibly wealthy clients.

British digital ad spending went up more than 12 percent in 2012 to almost £5.5 billion, says PwC. 

Here are the One Show finalists.

C Wonder partnered with Acquity Group to improve its digital experience.

Toyota's new marketing scheme by Saatchi & Saatchi focuses entirely on the positive.

Domino's talks about how it's ok with negative tweets.

Tim Armstrong announced that AOL is launching a new supply-side platform called MARKETPLACE by ADTECH, which is a sell-side platform.

Michael Barrett, the former CEO of Admeld, joined the board of HookLogic. The company is a performance marketer for online shoppers.

Previously on Business Insider Advertising:

 

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Cosmetics Heir Makes A 'Transformational' Billion-Dollar Art Donation To The Met

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leonard lauder

Cosmetics billionaire Leonard Lauder has given New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art an astonishing, no-strings-attached collection of Cubist art that he assembled over four decades, according to the museum.

The enormous gift, estimated to be worth $1 billion, includes 78 works by Picasso, Braque, Gris, and Leger, and "will transform the museum," a statement said on Tuesday.

The Met, a world-class institution that has long suffered a hole in its early 20th century art collection, will be transformed by the completeness and quality of the sudden addition.

The museum will also establish a new research center for modern art, supported by a $22 million endowment created by donors including Lauder, it was announced.

"Leonard's gift is truly transformational for the Metropolitan Museum," Met director and CEO Thomas Campbell said.

"Although the Met is unique in its ability to exhibit over 5,000 years of art history, we have long lacked this critical dimension in the story of modernism. Now, Cubism will be represented with some of its greatest masterpieces," he said.

"This is an extraordinary gift to our Museum and our City."

In a statement, Lauder, 80, said his gift is for "the people who live and work in New York and those from around the world who come to visit our great arts institutions."

"I selected the Met as the way to share this collection because I feel that it's essential that Cubism -- and the art that follows it, for that matter -- be seen and studied within the collections of one of the greatest encyclopedic museums in the world."

The Lauder Collection will be unveiled late in 2014, the museum said.

Experts estimated that Lauder's painstakingly put-together trove immediately catapults the Met into the forefront of world collections of Cubist art, equal or even ahead of renowned institutions like the Museum of Modern Art, also in Manhattan.

"In one fell swoop this puts the Met at the forefront of early-20th-century art," Campbell told The New York Times. "It is an (irreproducible) collection, something museum directors only dream about."

Forbes magazine said the collection was worth about $1.1 billion and that Lauder had therefore given away 13.5 percent of his $8.1 billion personal fortune. It also "enshrines him in the pantheon of the most generous philanthropists of all time," Forbes said.

According to the magazine, which specializes in tracking the super wealthy, Lauder becomes the 24th individual in the world to donate more than $1 billion over the course of their lifetimes.

"He now stands shoulder to shoulder on that list with the likes of Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Eli Broad, George Kaiser, Michael Bloomberg, George Lucas and others," Forbes reported.

The collection "distinguished by its quality, focus, and depth," includes 33 Picassos, 17 works by Braque, and 14 by Gris and Leger apiece, the Met said in its statement.

Among the masterpieces are paintings that were critical to the revolutionary early 20th century artistic movement of Cubism. Highlights include Picasso's "The Scallop Shell (Notre avenir est dans l'air)" from 1912, and "Woman in an Armchair (Eva)," from 1913.

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10 Airports That Give You Cool Stuff For Free

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singapore airport slideAirports aren't known for being full of free goodies.

They leverage their captive audiences to get travelers to pay for every minute you're sitting around, whether it's in $2.49 bags of chips or $9.99 Wi-Fi.

But some airports stand out: rather than bilking and milking, they understand that travelers will want to return to a city if their first or last impression is a positive one.

And what's more positive than getting something for nothing?

Free Movies & Video Games: Singapore Changi

Singapore's Changi airport is the ultimate paradise of free stuff. Terminal 3's free movie theater screens big-name Hollywood flicks like X-Men: First Class, 24 hours a day.

Terminal 2 offers free XBOX 360 and PlayStation 3 gaming systems. If you want to stream your own movies, there's free Wi-Fi throughout the airport, as well as 500 free Internet kiosks. That's only the tip of Singapore's jumbo jet of airport entertainment, but it'll probably keep you occupied for at least one layover.



Free iPads: JFK Airport Terminals 3

Although Terminal 3 itself leaves something to be desired, Delta has installed 200 iPads at restaurants near the gate areas. Sure, you can use them to order food, but you can also surf the Web, check your email, stream videos or find other ways to anesthetize yourself against the misery of your surroundings.



Free Library: Amsterdam Schiphol

The Amsterdam airport is big for layovers, and the Dutch are big on reading. Let's combine the two! Schiphol Airport Library is a showcase for Dutch culture, with Dutch literature in translation, Dutch music and even its own Twitter feed (@airprtlibrarian). Nine of the 25 seats have iPads, as well. The library is part of "Holland Boulevard," the cultural area of the airport which also has a (non-free) branch of Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum.



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An Exclusive Hamptons Club Is Furious Over A List Of Potential New Members

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lauren santo domingo

Members of the Southampton Bathing Corp., a super-exclusive private beach club  in the Hamptons, are reportedly upset over a list of proposed new members, according to The New York Post.

The controversy centers around Vogue contributing editor Lauren Santo Domingo and her husband making the list, which is usually only reserved for the children or spouses of members. Says The Post:

One member sniffed, “The Beach Club is the hardest club to get into in the Hamptons. It usually only takes the children of members. Publicity is avoided at all cost. This is a place that sent women home for wearing bikinis in the 1950s. It is not the place for a Vogue shoot.

“I am shocked that it appears the club might accept the Santo Domingos. Lauren courts publicity and that is exactly what the club eschews. Further, by sending out the ‘proposed’ list to all members, one is given the opportunity to say you don’t want them as members,” our source continued. “And it is not like they are Hamptons fixtures who are now applying for membership. They just bought this house for about $30 million in Southampton.”

The Southampton Bathing Corp's current members include Hamptons-staples Elena Ford, Nina Griscom, Cristina Greeven Cuomo, and Muffie Potter Aston.

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For $10,000, This Woman Will Revolutionize Your Diet

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Chances are, if you're rifling through the kitchen cabinets of one Tanya Zuckerbrot's clients, you'll find a nice stash of high-fiber crackers, powdered peanut butter, almonds, beans, and oatmeal.   

All of these foods have one thing in common: They're rich in dietary fiber, the part of carbohydrates that can't be digested, and therefore, has no calories.

The miracle of fiber, New York dietitian Zuckerbrot claims, is that it fills you up and keeps your energy pumping, without adding extra pounds. It's also the cornerstone of Zuckerbrot's F-Factor Diet, which came out of working with patients to lower cholesterol.

Zuckerbrot has built F-Factor into a mini-empire, including her own line of high-fiber foods, two diet books, and private consulting services.

To get a one-on-one with the queen of fiber, be prepared to shell out $10,000 for 10 sessions, which includes a full clinical and lifestyle assessment and a complete re-education of what you should be eating to shed weight or get healthier.

We stopped by Zuckerbrot's mid-town Manhattan office to learn more about her revolutionary diet plan.  
 

 

Produced by Business Insider

SEE ALSO: A New York Stock Exchange Trader Tells Us What He Does All Day

SEE ALSO: Mercedes-Benz Says This Sleek Ride Will Win Over Crucial Young Buyers

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British Airways Lets Passengers Choose From A Ridiculous List Of Titles

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If you're a viscount, baron, or lord, you don't need to worry about British Airways getting your title right on your next plane ticket.

We recently heard that the airline lets passengers choose from a mind-boggling number of titles in its online booking system, and it turns out it's true. Check out the screenshot below from British Airways' booking page, which includes everything from Prof. to Rabbi to Viscountess.

british airways titles

American Airlines, on the other hand, doesn't ask for a title at all:

american airlines

SEE ALSO: We Tested The Most Fashionable Private Jet Service Around

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REPORT: Victoria's Secret Angel Miranda Kerr Is Out

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MIranda Kerr

Miranda Kerr, one of Victoria's Secret's most prominent Angels, might be stripped of her title as the brand makes way for new faces. 

Kerr, the wife of actor Orlando Bloom, had a "difficult" reputation and wasn't a big seller like Alessandra Ambrosio and Candice Swanepoel, according to a report by Joyce Chen at UsWeekly.

Her $1 million, 3-year contract was not renewed, multiple sources told Chen.

Speculation that Kerr, 30, could be on her way out started in November, when the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show featured a segment highlighting the 25-year-old Swanepoel. 

While Kerr is still young and beautiful, 30 is retiring age for many models. 

Executives from Victoria's Secret wouldn't confirm or deny Chen's report, but one executive told Chen that Kerr would still walk in the annual Fashion Show. 

Victoria's Secret hires about 10 models to act as "Angels" that represent the brand. The spots are coveted because they offer unprecedented exposure in the industry. 

Past Angels have included Gisele Bundchen, Tyra Banks, and Heidi Klum

Karlie Kloss was also just added to the roster.

SEE ALSO: Meet The Victoria's Secret Angel Poised To Take Over The Brand >

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Consumers Are Obsessed With Products That Give Them Information

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babolatConsumers these days have an insatiable demand for information, according to the consultants at trendwatching.com.

With new possibilities unlocked by technology, consumers want to visualize data, map it, track it, alert it, evaluate it, and use it in ways that make life better.

"Info Scarcity" is one of dozens of megatrends listed in the premium database at trendwatching to identify some products that fit into this trend. We see it everywhere, like in the following products.

This clock tracks your sleep patterns in order to wake you up at exactly the right time.

Available from July 2012, the Renew SleepClock from UK-based electronics brand GEAR4 is a dock which facilitates the tracking and management of sleep patterns in conjunction with an iOS device. Via inbuilt sensors, the Renew SleepClock detects users’ deep and light sleep phases, and can then wake them up at the most appropriate time. The device generates personalized recommendations based on individual sleep patterns, while the associated free app enables users to monitor sleep habits over time. The Renew SleepClock retails for USD 129.95.

Trends: Benchmarked Life, Data Divinity

Courtesy of trendwatching.com.



Twine connects everyday objects to the Internet, like sending you a text when your laundry is done.

Available to buy from September 2012, Twine is an wireless electronic device which enables consumers to connect everyday objects with the internet. The device is integrated with a cloud-based service and equipped with a temperature sensor and accelerometer (which detects orientation). Via a simple web app, individuals can program and monitor Twines; for example, users could track their home’s temperature, with Twine sending them a tweet if it’s over 90 degrees, or opt to receive a text message when their laundry is done. Twine was designed by US-based MIT Lab’s project Supermechanical, and is priced at USD 99.

Trends: Alerting, InfoLust, Eco-Metering, On

Courtesy of trendwatching.com.



Stick-N-Find means you never have to lose your keys again.

Stick-N-Find is a Bluetooth-enabled sticker that consumers can place on their possessions so that they can be found via a smartphone app. The disc-shaped sticker is 4.1mm thick and can be affixed to TV remotes, phones, house keys, passports or even pet collars. The corresponding app can be set to Radar, which displays the distance from connected items, or Virtual Leash mode, where the user receives an alarm if their possession is removed from a certain radius. After launching on crowdfunding site Indiegogo in December 2012, the US-based creators received the funding needed to go into production. A pack of two Stick-N-Find stickers is priced at USD 35.

Trends: Infolust, Time Saviors

Courtesy of trendwatching.com.



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Monaco Penthouse Concept Could Hit The Market For $280 Million

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Odeon Tower Penthouse

The apartment atop a planned luxury tower in Monaco could be listed for $280 million, making it the world's most expensive penthouse if it sells for anywhere near that price.

Current renderings for the residence, at Monaco's Odeon Tower, show a five-floor home with 35,500 square feet of space.

They also show a private infinity pool with a water slide, but Fred Schiff of London-based Knight Frank (the agents in charge of global marketing for Odeon) told Robert Frank at CNBC that it was "just one thing the developers are talking about.”

The price tag on the penthouse is pure speculation, based on the size of the space and current prices for apartments in the building, which start at £5,200 per square foot ($7,958 at current exchange rates), a representative for the developer told us.

If the multi-level residence does sell for the anticipated $280 million, that would make it the most expensive penthouse in the world, followed by a residence at One Hyde Park in London that sold for $216 million.

The Odeon Tower — or Tour Odeon — will stand roughly 560 feet and look out at the Mediterranean Sea.



The current scheme features 70 apartments spanning the 49-story building, not including the penthouse and duplexes.



Oden Tower will have a luxury on-site supermarket, 24/7 concierge, and day-to-day housekeeping services for residents.



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