Uncommon Nonsense

This is the highly unusual—at least for Gilded Age mansions in Newport—Chinese moon gate at the Chateau sur Mer, built by a merchant of the China trade, William Shephard Wetmore. Legend has it that the chair at the top of the circle (directly behind the pointed ornament on top) is a wishing chair and that the wishes of those who sit atop it will come true. (via Viewoftheworld)

I was here today. This is The Breakers in Newport, Rhode Island, the small summer cottage of the family of Cornelius Vanderbilt II, built before the establishment of income tax in America. The Vanderbilts collected trees like they collected art and there are gorgeous, rare trees all over the grounds, which I absolutely adored. I promise more of my own photographs when I return home to my camera’s USB cable on Wednesday, although really, you just have to see this place in person. (via www.erasofelegance.com)

Me, Erin and Shara, some of my sorority sisters from college, looking very windblown last weekend at Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

biteofpythias:

anthropophagous:

Aurora. Detroit, MI.

I am a big fan of this era/style of apartment buildings. Cleveland and Detroit both have a ton that are just sitting abandoned.

detroit has so many amazing properties and all these houses are on sale for like 15-20 grand. it is ripe for a utopian overhaul. maybe all tumblrs can move in and create a land where cats can be cute, tshirt factories abound, and we all protest the police state with their street cameras while we simultaneously photograph every waking moment of each others days and evenings.

I like the picture, but I love the description, biteofpythias.

sleepanddream:

I know the stuff from this has been all over the place, but I don’t think I’d seen this one yet. And, well….you know.

I have this unshakable desire to have a small, backyard study/work/hangout space on property that I own someday. I adore this little greenhouse-like one, constructed completely from old windows from the main building at the site which were being replaced. (via Design*Sponge)

“This month there are 30 “street pianos” strewn around London as part of the Play Me I’m Yours and Sing London festival. …The pianos have either been donated or bought on eBay for about £100. Each one has been painted by artists to suit the location and there is a song book provided. The songs in the books are site specific: train songs at a train station and water-related on a bridge. A piano tuner makes the rounds by bike to keep them in shape. Once the project is over, they will be given to schools and community groups.” (via TreeHugger)

I love this! It’d be fantastic to have pianos on streets around here. I’d sit down any play at every one.

Bad Design Example #1 (drawn from the latest version of Blackboard, a course management system): Why are those bullets all smashed up against the left side of the container? Could we get a little padding in here, do you think?

An alternative to the power strip that I discovered today via Core77. Why are the most useful things always just a concept and not in actual production? I would install these in every room in my house if I could.