Weekend Plans- Halloween Edition

1. Be on the lookout for Otis, the ghost of the historic pump house where the Sammons Center for the Arts will be hosting a panel discussion about the paranormal. Reading from Macbeth, songs from Wicked and fortune tellers will also be featured. Info here.

2. Listen to eerie ghost stories at the Tales from the Crypt at the Bath House Cultural Center.

3. If ghosts and creepy stories are not your thing, head over to Grapevine, TX for the Hallo-Wine Trail wine tasting.

More images from the new Perot Museum of Nature and Science

In a slide show delivered to Dallas City Hall, we get to take a peek at more images of the Morphosis designed Perot Museum of Nature and Science. I usually like Morphosis' work, but I can't say I am really a fan of the new museum.

See the slide show here.

Winners of The Chain of Eco-Homes Competition Announced

About a week ago FreeGreen announced the winners of the Chain of Eco-Homes Competition. I am pleased to announce that The Architect took 3rd place! His winning entry is "Linear Villa", which you see to your left.

If you like what you see here and are interested in a modern home, The Architect's website is now live. Go here for details.

Weekend Plans

Work has been crazy this week, so here are some quick picks for the weekend:

1. Star Wars in Concert at Jerryworld, erm the New Cowboys Stadium.

2. Taste of Greenville this Saturday.

3. A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Rem Koolhaus designed Wyly Theater - opening night this Saturday.

4. Deep Ellum Zombie Crawl on Sunday.

A good way to start the week...

Last night the Architect and I traveled outside the bubble to see some Irish guys play at this place called the Cowboys Stadium in this little town called Arlington. Ok, nothing about the previous sentence was just some guys in a so-called stadium in a little town. Yes, I was at the U2 concert at the gargantuan Cowboys Stadium in the sprawling suburb of Arlington. It. Was. Awesome.

Some really grainy pics from the concert below:

This is the claw/spaceship/stage. Word has it U2 had to pay 2 million dollars to Jerry to raise the jumbotron so the stage could fit inside the stadium.










Shots of the band doing what they do best.




























































The screen in the center descended down. Kinda looks like a rainbow pineapple.












Larry playing the bongos during a dance version "I'll Go Crazy if I Don't Go Crazy Tonight."


























Oh, look the Zoo TV Baby from the Zoo TV Tour!













Bono had a light up jacket and a swinging lighted microphone. Trippy.












UPDATE: Hal Samples was at the concert last night and has a fabulous slide show here. Hey, Hal - any chance any of those pictures will be for sale?

No tweeting from the Austin AIA Homes Tour.

I would like to give a hearty thank you to Delta Airlines (aka Doesn't Ever Leave The Airport) for failing to load my bag on my flight back from Montgomery via Atlanta. As a result of Delta's failure to ensure my bag made it back to Dallas, I will be unable to catch my early morning flight on Southwest Airlines to Austin in order to meet the Architect and friends for the Austin AIA Homes Tour.

So now I get to spend all day tomorrow sitting at my home in Dallas waiting for my bag instead of engaging in snarky tweeting about the homes I would be looking at in Austin. Unfortunately, the Architect has not discovered the world of Twitter.

Weekend Plans

The Architect and I are heading down to Austin this weekend for the Austin AIA Homes Tour, but here is what I would be doing if I was staying in Big D:

1. Only a few more weeks until Halloween, get your scream on at a local haunted house. Pegasus News has their top picks and how to get discounted admission here.

2. Wilco is playing this Friday at the Palladium Ballroom. Neil Finn's (Crowded House) son Liam Finn is the opener. This will be one of those rare times that you will want to get there early to see the opener.

3. Two home tours on Saturday: Old Oak Cliff Fall Homes Tour and Taste of Swiss.

I will be tweeting during the Austin AIA Homes tour. I am @4squaresperinch.

Continental Bridge to become living pedestrian bridge

The Continental Bridge is the bridge over the Trinity that will be right next to the yet to be finished Santiago Calatrava designed, Margaret Hunt Hill bridge. An anonymous donor gave 10 million dollars to transform the Continental Bridge into a pedestrian "Living Bridge." The donation was made in honor of Trinity Trust Foundation Chair, Mary McDermott Cook.

There hasn't been too much of an explanation about what a "Living Bridge" will look like. Here's hoping it will look something like the "The High Line" park in New York City.

Dallas Performing Arts Center Grand Opening Week

Starting Monday, October 12, 2009 the Dallas Performing Arts Center will be kicking off their Grand Opening with a week full of festivities - many of them free.

Here's a short synopsis of what will be going on:

October 12 - 8-9am: Dedication ceremony.

October 15 - 4pm: Architecture forum with Rem Koolhaas.

October 16 - 10:30am: Architecture forum with Sir Norman Foster.

October 16 - 4pm: Jazz musician David Sanborn.

October 18 - Spotlight Sunday: All of the Arts District will be on display with tours of the new buildings, arts, music and dance performances. Ends with an evening fireworks show.

More information about the festivities here.

LIFE Magazine now available on Google Books

Google now has the entire catalog of LIFE magazine available through Google Books.

Of course I had to go searching for MCM related articles. Here is what I found:

Charles and Ray Eames' home from the September 11, 1950 issue.

Back in June 1961 you could by an Eichler for $26,800!

MCM House Porn - House designs commissioned by LIFE.

Article about Julius Shulman's photos of Neutra's Kaufmann House.

Oh, and my own personal tie-in to LIFE magazine - in the March 10, 1952 issue, my grandfather was mentioned in an article about the longest murder trial in Texas history - at that time. He was the defense attorney. You can read the article here.

iPhone Apps

Some cool and usable iPhone apps:

Sherwin Williams Color Snap and Benjamin Moore Color Capture: Ever been somewhere and see a color you love and want that color to use in your own home? These apps will allow you to use a picture and then it will suggest a color that matches it and also provide coordinating and contrasting colors.

myPantone: The entire Pantone color library on your phone. It will let you create custom color palettes and share them online.

iHandy Level: Need to see if that picture you hung is straight? This free app will tell you.

Craigsphone: Craigslist for your iPhone. This would be useful for spending a day hitting garage sales and estate sales.

SwedeShop: Allows you to create lists and record bin numbers and aisle locations for items you want to purchase at IKEA. It also will tabulate your total cost so there is no sticker shock at the register.

Epicurious: At the store and don't know what to cook for dinner? This app lets you search through all of epicurious.com's food and drink recipies. It will also let you create shopping lists and give you step by step cooking instructions.

WhatTheFont: Out and about and see a sign with a font that you would like to use? Take a picture and this app will tell you what font it is.

Weekend Plans

1. Dogtoberfest - Head on down to The Gingermanfor an afternoon of live music, German beers, raffle, food, games, beer tastings, and more. Proceeds benefit the Greyhound Adoption League of Dallas.

2. Cattle Baron's Ball - put on your best pair of jeans, boots, and a cowboy hat and drive over to Kaufman for the 36th annual gala benefitting the American Cancer Society.

3. If festivals are more your thing there is a Lebanese Food Festival in Lewisville and an Irish Festival in Grapevine.