"blistering heatwave"

A blistering heatwave has hit stretches of India, with temperatures reaching 45 degrees celsius, or 113 degrees Fahrenheit. Ahead of the seasonal monsoon rains, millions are now looking for ways to cool off.

Read more: http://world.time.com/2013/05/22/india-heatwave/#ixzz2UEwFz7Pr

Replacement Proposed for Sixth Street Bridge

In Los Angeles, the Parsons Brinckerhoff proposal features a pedway that goes down the middle of the viaduct, with bike lanes on the outside lanes.  The question is will it be built ???

http://www.ladowntownnews.com/news/sixth-street-bridge-designers-dream-big/article_b0974c12-fdd2-11e1-b548-0019bb2963f4.html?mode=image

A FULL HOUSE

Overstocked with a large supply of men’s spring and winter coats, a clothier in Copenhagen, Denmark, adopted a unique sales scheme. He erected a scaffolding around his store building and completely covered it from roof to sidewalk with more than a thousand overcoats. The novel display attracted prospective customers in such droves that police were summoned. Although the police ordered the proprietor to remove the display, he succeeded in selling all the overcoats.

Inspirational

Hans Scholl was one of the founding members of the White Rose. They were a bunch of kick-ass students and teachers who resisted the Nazi movement with non-violence. He started it with his sister Sophie and a few other students. They put graffiti all over Munich and handed out leaflets declaring Germany should be free of Nazis. Sadly, the members were captured by the Nazis. Hans was executed February 22 1943 at the age of 24.

Solar Impulse

Solar Impulse, a prototype of an airplane designed to fly around the world using only solar power, made its first real flight recently. As the sun shone down on the Swiss countryside an aircraft powered by 12,000 solar cells flew for 87 minutes to an altitude of nearly 4,000 feet.

Solar Impulse program founder Bertrand Piccard called the inaugural flight a crucial step toward fulfilling his goal of circumnavigating the globe in such an unusual aircraft. In a statement from the Solar Impulse team, Piccard said he was relieved to have the first flight completed after seven years of hard work.

http://www.wired.com/autopia/2010/04/solar-airplane-completes-maiden-voyage/

Sant'Agata Bolognese

An emotional moment in Sant'Agata Bolognese at the culmination of the gala celebrating Lamborghini's 50th anniversary: Walter De Silva's incredible vehicle made its entry in front of a thousand invitees, the Head of Design for the Volkswagen Group's homage to celebrating the House of the Raging Bull's half century. "I am very attached to this Italian brand, being an Italian myself. I wanted to pay homage to and think up a vehicle to underline the fact that Lamborghinis have always been made with passion, and with the heart more than the head," said an emotional De Silva

http://www.netcarshow.com/lamborghini/2013-egoista_concept/800x600/wallpaper_01.htm

The Crystal Cathedral

Zócalo Public Square  featured CRCC Director of Research Richard Flory's op-ed on the Crystal Cathedral on its front page recently.

In the piece, Flory examines what the fall of Robert Schuller's Crystal Cathedral in Orange County means for other mega churches. The Crystal Cathedral was $50 million in debt earlier this year and is now being sold to the Catholic Church.

Flory writes in the Zócalo piece:

Unfortunately for the megachurches, congregants have not always wanted more. Over the past decade, the megachurch model has been showing signs of giving way, slowly, to a more intimate spiritual culture. Some megachurches have even tried to accommodate this apparent trend by creating multi-site churches to give the impression that they are smaller than they actually are. The new form of religious infrastructure manifests itself in churches that focus less on physical sprawl than on cultivating what they call a more “organic” understanding of religious organizations. The new communities are expected to have a birth, life, and—yes—even death.

http://crcc.usc.edu/blog/press/what-does-the-demise-of-the-crystal-cathedral-mean-for-our-megachurches/

"Canstruction LA"

Our friends over at Franklin Avenue report on the latest entries in this year's "Canstruction LA" taking place right now in the lobby of the Variety building on Wilshire. The two-week event is a competition among local design and architecture firms, all of whom use cans of food to create sculptures. When the exhibit wraps up on November 15th, the cans will be donated to the LA Regional Foodbank. The exhibit is organized by Society for Design Administration and supported by the American Institute of Architects/Los Angeles and while it's free to the public from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., a canned food donation is strongly encouraged. Our favorite so far is the leaning tower of Pisa.

http://la.curbed.com/tags/variety

Edward Dean Jeffries 1933--2013

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-q_yXJfiLqk8/TZ49FLB7g4I/AAAAAAAAEuE/V3O4-3oF2DM/s1600/dean+jeffries+monkees+monkeemobile+gto+custom+car+1966+james+bond+customizer+show+rod+1.gif

Ardent for presidents

Five-year-old Arden Hayes loves Legos. And presidents. He's been reading up on history and can name the chief executives in order and tell you a little — OK, a lot — about them. When he found out that he shared a birthday with FDR, he decided to find out more about him, and about the other presidents. Now he is practically a walking presidential library.

Above, Presidential enthusiast Arden Hayes, 5, poses in front of a painting titled "A Presidential Pantheon," by Victor Lee, at the Nixon library in Yorba Linda. 

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0505-beat-presidential-kid-pictures,0,1749193.photogallery 

Flip Wilson, a pioneer in prime time

The resplendent foursome of Elton John, left, Cher, Wilson and Bette Midler gathers in the mid-'70s. It was television that made Wilson, who died in 1998, a household name. At right, the cover of the book "Flip," by Kevin Cook.

 (Everett Collection / Viking Penguin; Viking Penguin)

http://www.latimes.com/features/books/jacketcopy/la-ca-jc-kevin-cook-20130505,0,3157296.story

Downtown L.A. landlord Brookfield sees office market rising steadily

Brookfield Office Properties of New York will own five of the 10 tallest skyscrapers in downtown Los Angeles once its deal with MPG Office Trust closes. Here's a look at what Brookfield will own downtown.  

(Pictometry International/Los Angeles Times)

http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-brookfield-boss-20130426,0,2329482.story