Want to watch video of the New Frontier Hotel & Casino implosion that took place on Tuesday in Vegas? Sure you do!

In the year since the Bellevue, WA crane collapse that killed Microsoft employee Matthew Ammon the following has taken place: $14,800 in fines were imposed on two companies involved in the building’s construction; they are appealing the fines. Ammon’s parents filed a lawsuit against the same two companies. Licensing for crane operators and certification for crane installations will be required statewide in 2010. Three cranes in Bellevue were found to have structural problems; one was taken down, the others repaired. Two cranes at Microsoft in Redmond were also shut down.

Eurostar has launched its new high-speed link between London and Paris, scheduled at two hours and 15 minutes. The train leaves from St. Pancras arriving at Gare du Nord, and the inaugural trip, while not affected directly by the Paris transit strike, did leave some passengers struggling for options to get to their final destinations after arrival. St. Pancras underwent a $1.7 billion restoration, bringing shiny steel and glass back to its Gothic architecture. Retailers and restaurants will also be opening in the station which Eurostar boasts as having “the longest Champagne bar in Europe” at 330 feet.

It’s white truffle season, and a particularly expensive one. At Pike Place Market $4,000 will get you a pound of these famous fungi from Alba, Italy. Even with significant surcharges, local restaurants aren’t expecting much profit from adding the pricey shavings to their dishes. Black truffles are a little more affordable, $740 per pound at one purveyor. But perhaps you’d rather try to find a local truffle and save yourself a bundle.

Kiddie Records celebrates “the golden age of children’s records.” The site contains a treasure trove of mp3s taken from the classic records of the 1940’s and 50’s. Hollywood names of the time provide narration. It’s a splendid collection. (thanks 13s!)

Bringing your kids along for a wine tasting doesn’t make much sense, but it does make cents for the wineries in Napa who are now catering to visiting moms & dads. Some wineries are putting out crayons and games. While the parents taste wine, their kids drink juice boxes or sparkling beverages. While some visitors find it inappropriate, the winery operators figure if the entire family is coming along, why not keep the youngsters entertained?

It took glass artist James McKelvey six months to figure out how to make a glass faucet but the eventual result was beautiful and functional. The colored faucets have an outside layer of clear glass to ensure the safety of the water running past. The glass is tempered for strength. See video of how they’re made start to finish in the Third Degree Glass Factory. (via Luxist)

Tetris bracelet, Tetris skirt, Tetris scarf.

Las Vegas plays host early Tuesday morning to another infrequent casino building implosion. The demolition of the New Frontier Hotel-Casino is in the experienced hands of the Loizeaux family who have been in the business of blowing things up since the late 1940s. The N.Y. Times takes a look at the family that plans destruction together as Controlled Demolition, Inc. They travel the country and the globe imploding and exploding to make way for the new. The same company flattened Seattle’s Kingdome in 2000, an event that has been immortalized on Youtube. The New Frontier will be replaced by the Plaza, from the owners of New York’s Plaza Hotel.

When I read on Wikipedia that synthpop founding father Vince Clarke lives in Maine, I did a double-take. I remember thinking “that’s some town in England named Maine that I’ve never heard of before, right?” No, Erasure’s Vince Clarke actually does live in that northeastern corner of the U.S., in relative anonymity with his wife and young son. The recent Erasure album, “Light at the End of the World,” was recorded in nearby Falmouth. Singer Andy Bell, the flamboyant half of Erasure, joined Clarke in Maine for the writing and recording of the songs. It’s a beautiful, peaceful place to compose any kind of music. (source: Boston Globe)