Odd Anderson / AFP / Getty Images
Here's a short video:
"It speaks to repurposing and reuse," Hertz says of the commercial aircraft, which was mothballed along with hundreds of other old planes in the California desert.
The first class cabin deck is now a guest house, and the lower half of the fuselage, which formed the cargo hold, serves as the roof of the "Animal Barn" intended to house endangered species.
The process wasn't easy. The remote location necessitated a lot of infrastructure work, including an access road. Due partly to the unique nature of the structure, Hertz says 17 government agencies had to sign off on permits, a process that took about 18 months.
He says they had to register the roof of the house with the Federal Aviation Administration so pilots flying overhead would not mistake it as a downed aircraft.
Hertz, who's been involved in green building since the late 1970s, incorporated sustainable features such as an 11 kilowatt solar array. The house also has a cistern for irrigation, plenty of daylighting, non-toxic materials and highly efficient equipment such as a ductless LG heat pump.
"We've created strategic openings to promote cross ventilation," says Hertz, who is a fellow of the American Institute of Architects and an accredited professional with the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program.
All this doesn't come cheap. Hertz says the home, which has about 3,000 square feet of interior space and 5,500 square feet of roof, will cost about $2 million.
Via Hertz's website: "The Main Residence will use both of the main wings as well as the 2 stabilizers from the tail section as a roof for the Master Bedroom. The Art Studio Building will use a 50-foot long section of the upper fuselage as a roof, while the remaining front portion of the fuselage and upper first class cabin deck will be used as the roof of the Guest House. The lower half of the fuselage, which forms the cargo hold, will form the roof of the Animal Barn. A Meditation Pavilion will be made from the entire front of the airplane at 28 feet in 
diameter and 45 feet tall; the cockpit windows will form a skylight."
Incidentally, the house is built on the site of designer Tony Duquette's eclectic Epcot-esque estate, which burnt down in the nineties. The property was formerly owned by famous designer Tony Duquette and still has many of the "recycled" structures that he installed, although the former residence was destroyed in a fire.
Petros Giannakouris / APA Bolt of lighting streaks across the sky over the Parthenon in Athens, Greece.
(CNN) -- Chalk another record to the United Arab Emirates' collection.
The Capital Gate building in the desert kingdom's capital, Abu Dhabi, has been certified by Guinness World Records as the "World's Furthest Leaning Man-made Tower."
How far does it lean? Nearly five times farther than the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy.
The 35-story Abu Dhabi building has an 18-degree slope, compared with four degrees for the freestanding bell tower.
But unlike the tower in Pisa, the Capital Gate building has been deliberately engineered to slant.
Video: UAE tower gets Guinness record The floor plates are stacked vertically up to the 12th floor, after which they are staggered over each other by between 300 mm to 1,400 mm -- giving the tower its lean, the owners said.
"It is a signature building which speaks to the foresight of the emirate," said Sheikh Sultan Bin Tahnoon al Nahyan, the chairman of the building's owner, Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company.
The mixed-use building will be ready for occupancy at the end of the year. It is featured in a new National Geographic documentary, called "Megastructures."
In January, Dubai -- one of seven emirates that make up the UAE -- unveiled the world's tallest skyscraper: the $1.5 billion, 160-story Burj Khalifa, which has a height of more than 800 meters (2,625 ft).
KPF Pen Chinas Future Tallest Skyscraper |  | |
| Published on 19-05-2010 by Skyscrapernews.com | | |
DLILLC / Corbis
Frans Lanting / Corbis
From Wired:(Wired) -- Early demand for the Nissan Leaf electric vehicle is strong, with 6,635 people reserving cars in just three days -- a figure that represents more than 10 percent of the Leafs Nissan will build in its first year of production.
Nissan started taking reservations for the four-door, five-passenger EV on Tuesday afternoon, and almost instantly people were signing up to get one. The Nissan Leaf, which will cost $25,280 after the $7,500 federal EV tax credit, rolls into showrooms in December.
"We had 2,700 reservations in the first three hours," said Dave Mingle, Nissan's senior director for customer management and business strategy. "It exceeded what we expected, though we knew from what the hand-raisers were telling us this is an exceptionally passionate crowd."
The hand-raisers he's referring to are the 117,000 people who registered at the Leaf website to get a place in line once the reservation system opened. Those who have made reservations paid $99 to make sure they're on the list when the Nissan Leaf starts appearing at dealerships.
Mingle said interest has been strongest in the "smile states" of the East and West coasts and the South. TheLeaf will be available only in selected areas to start -- California, Oregon, Seattle, Phoenix-Tucson and east-central Tennessee -- but Nissan plans to roll it out nationally by the end of 2011.
Not every car will be delivered in December, of course; they'll be delivered as they're available.
Nissan has the capacity to build 50,000 Leafs in the first year, but it is not yet known how many of those are slated to arrive in the United States.
Given that more than 3,700 people in Japan have reserved Leafs, about 20 percent of the first year's production is spoken for. EV advocates have said Nissan has priced the Leaf so competitively -- it's comparable to the Honda Civic and Toyota Prius -- that it could have trouble meeting demand.
That remains to be seen, of course, and Nissan isn't making any predictions. But it's pleased with the demand so far.
"It's been pretty fast and furious," Mingle said.
And by the way, Nissan insists the plural of Leaf, at least as far as the car goes, is Leafs.
Okay, if you're a Northern Californian you've gotta go to the Legion of Honor to this exclusive one-time exhibition of Cartier creations for Americans.
Particularly the spectacular standout 3 pieces that were part of The Duchess of Windsor's collection: the Flamingo pin, the cabochon Sapphire Panther (my favorite of all of her jewelry pieces) and the bib thing-ie (above). These three pieces were part of the most famous and triumphant jewelry auction in history which was held in Geneva by Sotheby's in 1987. The sapphire diamond clip sold for $1,026,667. The ruby, sapphire, emerald, citrine and diamond Flamingo clip sold for $806,667 and the bib necklace sold for $605,000. That historic sale went on to raise a total of $50million. The Duchess of Windsor left her entire estate, valued at approximately $90million, to the Pasteur Institute in the second largest bequest in the Institute's history. All of which has been used to fund the Pasteur's research overthe last two decades which has included AIDS and other of our most pervasive diseases of our modern times.
The above is the famed Tutti-Frutti piece designed for Mrs. Daisy Fellowes. Other exciting pieces: Princess Grace's necklace and engagement ring on loan by Prince Albert II of Monaco, 
Elizabeth Taylor's Cartier ruby and diamond necklace, and Marjorie Merriweather's Indian carved emerald brooch with one emerald dating from the Mughal era. GO see this exhibit.
I am President of the Duke & Duchess of Windsor Historical Society, Inc. If you're curious about the Windsors please check out the Society's website at www.ddows.org
Leonardo Suarez / Reuters
MAURICIO LIMA / AFP / Getty Images 
I made a quick trip into "The City" on Monday from Long Island to visit my two favorite places: The Strand Bookstore and Magnolia Bakery both in the Village.
Magnolia Bakery, for those of you who are unfamiliar, came to fame in Sex and the City television series. They are famous for their incomparable cupcakes (I prefer the vanilla...with that butter cream frosting). But I also tried this time the red velvet cupcakes which were also delicious. My friends with whom I was staying in Long Island, Shelly and Patti, told me that the bakery has something that is even more fabulous than cupcakes these days and which happens to be one of my most favorite desserts: Banana Pudding. And they were right. Banana Pudding is either really lousy or really spectacular, IMHO.
Thanks to my beloved friend Carla Tourin for this article.Every booklover has their favourite shop, and while it's true that many independents have been driven out of business by online sales and supermarket bestsellers, you still don't have to look too hard to find one that's thriving. To prove it, Sean Dodson chooses the 10 bookshops from around the world which he considers to be the fairest of them all.
1) Boekhandel Selexyz Dominicanen in Maastricht
What does a city do with an 800-year-old church with no congregation? Well, it could make like the Dutch and convert it into a temple of books. The old Dominican church in Maastricht was being used for bicycle storage not long ago, but thanks to a radical refurbishment by Dutch architects Merkx + Girod it has been turned into what could possibly be the most beautiful bookshop of all time. The Boekhandel Selexyz Dominicanen, which opened just before Christmas, retains the character and charm of the old church, while being fitted with a minimalist and modern interior design that overcomes any suggestion of fustiness. From the images you can find on the web you can see that it is a bookshop made in heaven.
2) El Ateneo in Buenos Aires
All the world's a page at El Ateneo, a bookshop converted from an old theatre in downtown Buenos Aires. As you can see from this photomontage the El Ateneo has retained its former splendour, with high painted ceiling, original balconies and ornate carvings intact. Even the crimson stage curtains remain part of the show. Comfy chairs are scattered throughout, the stage is utilised as a reading area and café, and even better, the former theatre boxes are used as tiny reading rooms.
3) Livraria Lello in Porto
Proving that purpose-built bookshops can be every bit as beautiful as converted buildings, the divine Livraria Lello in Porto has been selling books in the most salubrious of settings since 1881. Featuring a staircase to heaven and beautifully intricate wooden panels and columns (see for yourself with these gorgeous 360-degree views), stained glass ceilings and books - lots of lovely books.
4) Secret Headquarters comic bookstore in Los Angeles
A mere profiterole to the fabulous layer cakes of Porto and Buenos Aires, but the Secret Headquarters more than holds its own. Nestled in the creative cluster of Silver Lake, just east of Hollywood, this boutique store offers a sophisticated alternative to most of its rivals and has a reputation for being one of the neatest, friendliest comic stores anywhere. Canadian science fiction author Cory Doctorow rates it as the finest in the world.
5) Borders in Glasgow
The might of the Michigan-based megastore may make a lot of independent booksellers fearful, but few book lovers can fail to be beguiled by the neo-classical architecture of its behemoth Glasgow branch. Originally designed by Archibald Elliot in 1827 for the Royal Bank, Borders has occupied a prime spot on Royal Exchange Square since the millennium and won over many of the city's book lovers. People reading on the steps outside have become as much a feature of Glasgow as the traffic cone on the head of Wellington's statue. Well, almost. Would have been higher on my list if the aesthetic magnificence of the building had in any way been matched by the interior.
6) Scarthin's in the Peak District
Of course, others might prefer the altogether more earthy beauty of a shop like Scarthin Books in the Peak District. Scarthin's has been selling new and second-hand books since the mid-1970s. It has rooms full of new and old books, a delightful café and what can best be described as a small exhibition of curiosities on the first floor. It is a bookshop so beloved, that it advertises local guest and farmhouses on its websites where devotees can stay overnight.
7) Posada in Brussels
Located in a dear old house near St Magdalen's church in Brussels, Posada Books is as famous for its pretty interior as it is for its collection of new and second-hand art books. Has a remarkable collection of exhibition catalogues, which goes back to the beginning of the last century, and holds occasional exhibitions too.
8) El Péndulo in Mexico
The Polanco branch of Pendulo in Mexico City has long been known as one of the best ways to beat the heat in the largest city in the world. Although it only has a small English language section, its open architecture populated with several trees makes for an excellent afternoon's escape. In honesty, as popular for its excellent cafe as it is its books.
9) Keibunsya in Kyoto
If you love bookshops even where you can't read the language, then Keibunsya in Kyoto needs to be on your list too. Some say it's the lighting, others the well-proportioned panels around the walls. Or perhaps it's the little galleries embedded in the bookshelves. Most agree it's just the quiet dignity of the place that's hard to beat. Lots of pretty Japanese art books to marvel at and a few English language ones as well.
10) Hatchards in London
Although the bookshop of Cambridge University is technically the oldest bookshop in Britain, Hatchards of Piccadilly, which has been trading since 1797, is definitely the most aristocratic. Not only does it boast three royal warrants, meaning it supplies books to Her Majesty, it has counted Disraeli, Wilde and Byron among its regulars. Today it retains the spirit of days past, with an interior described by one follower as "reminiscent of being inside a rambling old house, with six floors of small rooms all linked together curling around a central staircase."
This article is at http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/jan/11/bestukbookshops
uardian.co.uk, Friday 11 January 2008 10.11 GMT
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