Charles Shaw wines, known to Trader Joe’s patrons as “Two Buck Chuck,” is celebrating five years of wine for the masses. Three hundred million bottles ago, Fred Franzia set out to make a statement (and more than a couple bucks) that good wine doesn’t need to be expensive. Along the way he built a company that owns an estimated 40,000 acres of land, crushing and bottling plants and its own distribution company. Next he’s adding a glass plant to make the wine bottles. Surprisingly, all that wine is sold only through Trader Joe’s.

Christopher DeLaurenti spent seven years secretly recording symphony orchestras with a specially constructed vest. Only he didn’t turn the vest on for the first downbeat. He waited until intermission to capture the sounds of an orchestra and its hall in repose. Those 50 hours of recorded downtime have been mined for a CD of his favorites, titled “Favorite Intermissions: Music Before and Between Beethoven, Stravinsky, Holst.” Amongst the audience murmurs are the warm-up exercises, last minute runs through difficult passages, and instrument tuning that are meant to be ignored but combine into improvisational pieces. I played in a pit orchestra once where we were told not to play any of the score within audience earshot before the show itself began. The music director wanted the audience’s ears to be fresh for the very recognizable melodies. (via NY Times)

I’m still glaring at our kitchen tile grout and am always on the lookout for new counter surfaces. shetkaSTONE has popped up in a few articles recently, specifically for their cutely named Counterfit material which is made from old U.S. currency. Their photos on flickr illustrate how this surface looks, first there’s the ingredient: shredded cash, here’s a final countertop (in a bank!), here’s how the material looks, and a close up. It’s not the look I want for our kitchen but the idea is fun and green in more ways than one.

Recently I posted about varying opinions on the projected longevity of San Francisco’s Golden Gate bridge. Such an iconic bridge will be preserved as long as possible, but repairs and outright remodeling will of course be necessary. In the case of the Golden Gate its earthquake prone location must be considered. Turns out that $455 million is being spent to retrofit several parts of the structure to help it survive the inevitable Big One. The addition of dampeners, steel plating, and even a rebuild of a viaduct are underway or complete. The work will be done in time for the bridge’s 75th anniversary in 2012. Note this critical sentence in the article: “But it will be hard to tell the difference.” Such is the nature of landmark preservation, where the engineering is not only about keeping the bridge up but also causing little visual disruption.

7am to 8:30pm, a day in the life of Pike Place Market. The Seattle P.I. is running a series of articles celebrating Pike Place Market’s 100th birthday. This one gives you a taste of the sights, sounds, workers, and tourists that make up the eclectic market.

This makes me furious! 15 goats were shot and killed in the Oakland hills. These goats are hired out to eat up the fire-hazardous plants. And someone just came along and senselessly took their lives.

When Don Hewitt retired from producing “60 Minutes” he still had some tricks up his sleeve in the form of high kicks and falling toy soldiers. The NY Times reports that Hewitt is bringing the “Radio City Christmas Spectacular” to NBC this December (yes, NBC because CBS passed on it). Hewitt has a special fondness for the show, a 75-year-old New York institution which his parents took him to as a boy. He originally planned on a documentary, but instead settled for a one-hour broadcast of the production which will be filmed with nine cameras during November rehearsals.

I’ve been involved in 3 home purchases and 2 sales. I’ve loved my realtors and would use them again. But the real estate business does need to evolve with the Internet. However the holders of the traditional business model refuse to budge. Online brokerage Redfin has had the heart & soul ripped out of its “Sweet Digs” blogs after Northwest Multiple Listings Service threatened to cut off its lifeblood of for-sale listings unless Redfin stopped publishing its reviews of houses on the market. Written by freelancers, these fun, chatty postings detailed their personal reactions and observations of houses they toured. But NWMLS rules prohibit advertising of another broker’s listing so they slapped Redfin with a $50,000 fine. Redfin says it has also received complaints about how they add extra information like Zillow‘s Zestimates alongside listings (think about the real estate listing mash-ups that may never happen!). NWMLS maintains that it is important for listing agents to maintain control over the marketing of their property. As Redfin puts it: “The question at the center of almost every skirmish in the modernization of real estate is who controls the information.”

The emerging popularity of the old-fashioned kitchen apron has been noted in many newspapers recently. Most mention the influence of “Desperate Housewives” character Bree Van De Kamp and EllynAnne Geisel’s apron book. Collectors are gathering up the old styles, many frilly, meant to be worn over dresses. Some collectors actually wear their aprons. Boutiques are stocking retro-chic aprons and there are affordable vintage models to seek out at antique stores. But of course the best ones are those that hold the memories of the women in your family. (and don’t forget “tie one on“, the apron blog)

Online diamond retailer Blue Nile is adding fancy-colored diamonds to its repertoire. The company reports that it is doing well with high-end buyers. Seven items with price tags over $100,000 were sold in Q1 this year. Blue Nile’s current selection of fancy-colored diamonds include a range of yellows, a couple pinks, and a few light greens. At the very top of the price chart is a 0.55 carat purplish-red for $350,000.