Two Gems in The Times this morning...Rie Woodward tells the saga of her flight from Manhattan street noise. A new dream loft on the eighth floor turns out be a noisy lemon. Garbage truck noise ricochets off facing buildings. She and the hubby wear earplugs to bed. She uncovers activist groups like Silent Majority and consults with an an "otologist" who talks about "degradation of quality of life." She prices sound-proof windows, curtains, and even a padded bed cell. In the end, she moves. So sad.... 
...but then there is the lovely story of Homewood, a modernist country house in Surrey (that's England) that has been opened to the public as a museum. A luxurious, 1938 Brit take on the work of people like Le Corbusier and Wright. Mitchell Owens says "the effect is a bit James Bond. Connery, not Brosnan: effortlessly suave, a trifle self-conscious, seriously chic."
Top Tours
Veronica & Keith's Handmade Chic - Alexis' Modern Glass House
- Matt & Betsy's Color-Inspired Coach House
- Alec & David's Love in Hell's Kitchen
- Erin & Rob's Lots of Books in One Very Long Room
Before & After: A Bathroom Goes From Pinky Peach to Sleek and Chic
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Hunslet Dinner Plate
A Beginner's Guide to Superb Stir-Fry: Quick, Healthy Meals from a Wok
Easy Pitcher Cocktail Recipe: Strawberry Basil Margaritas
Comments (1)
The CIA had an opening for an assassin. After all of the background checks, interviews, and testing were done there were three finalists - two men and one woman. For the final test, the CIA agents took one of the men to a large metal door and handed him a gun.
"We must know that you will follow your instructions, no matter what the circumstances. Inside this room you will find your wife sitting in a chair. You have to kill her." The first man said. "You cant be serious. I could never shoot my wife!"The agent replies, "Then you?re not the right man for this job."
The second man was given the same instructions. He took the gun and went into the room. All was quiet for about five minutes. Then the agent came out with tears in his eyes. "I tried, but I cant kill my wife." The agent replies, "You dont have what it takes. Take your wife and go home."
Finally, it was the womans turn. Only she was told to kill her husband. She took the gun and went into the room. Shots were heard, one shot after another. They heard screaming, crashing, banging on the walls. After a few minutes, all was quiet. The door opened slowly and there stood the woman. She wiped the sweat from her brow and said, "You guys didnt tell me the gun was loaded with blanks. So I had to beat him to death with the chair."