The Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance announced today it will celebrate world renowned coachbuilder Bohman & Schwartz as well as a pair of 50th anniversaries for significant races at Sebring and Daytona, during its 14th annual concours March 13-15, 2009 at the Ritz Carlton Amelia Island.

The Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance is one of the nation’s most innovative vintage auto events featuring more than 250 rare classics from seldom-seen private collections nationwide.

The elegant creations of Southern California coachbuilder Bohman & Schwartz will be featured in a separate class, which will display the one-of-a kind “Phantom Corsair” that was commissioned for Rust Heinz, heir to the H.J. Heinz food empire.
The Phantom Corsair’s futuristic shark-like body was mated to a Cord 810 Chassis and enjoyed a brief stint in Hollywood appearing as the mysterious “Flying Wombat” in the movie, “The Young in Heart.” The car will be making a rare trip outside the National Automobile Museum (The Harrah Collection) in Reno, Nevada for its showing the Amelia Island Concours.

Also celebrated at this year’s concours, are the 50th anniversaries of the first US Grand Prix Formula One race at Sebring International Raceway and the only Indy car race ever held at the Daytona International Speedway.
A seminar called “The Great Roadster Drivers,” will be held to recount the history and legacy of these races. Miami native Jim Rathmann, the 1960 Indy 500 winner, will be the Concours’ guest for the weekend and will participate in the Saturday seminar at The Ritz-Carlton grand ballroom.

For more information, visit www.ameliaconcours.org or 904-636-0027

Maxxium Global Travel Retail is to launch a new seasonal gift pack for Absolut vodka in September 2008.

The one-litre pack is made from shiny red spangles, complete with a zipper in the back. On opening the pack, the zipper slides apart, revealing the bottle. The pack is made from 3,238 shiny red sequins, while the label states: “In an Absolut world every night is a masquerade.”

“We are more than confident that the new design will be at least as much appreciated as its ground-breaking predecessors, Absolut Bling Bling and Absolut Disco. said Director of V&S Absolut Spirits Global Travel & Retail Anders Olsson

The shiny red packaging was developed with design agency Family Business.

Jeremy Kipnis, a music engineer, producer, classical music lover, has paid a whooping US $6 million for this ultimate home theater experience, designed to feature the very best audiophile equipment.

“The picture elements alone are composed of a Sony SRX-S110 Professional Video Projector with an impressive 4,096-by-2,160 resolution and the Stewart Snowmatte 1.0 Gain Laboratory-Grade Motion Picture Screen stands a t a mammoth 18 x 10-foot which is nearly equivalent to an actual theater screen viewed from the balcony!

The Sony BDP-S1 Blu-ray Player complements the state-of-the-art Toshiba HD-XA1 HD DVD Player with SATA Drive (72 HDTV Hours Total) and Mark Levinson N° 51 DVD/CD Media Player upping the bet for other HT systems.
It also features HLD-X0 Hi-Vision HDTV MUSE Laserdisc Player along with JVC HMDH-5U D-VHS recorder that helps you record a running live telecast. And for gaming fans, it offers a Sony PlayStation 3 Gaming Console.”

Jeremy Kipnis hopes wealthy movie industry professionals, actors, directors, and producers will soon be lining up to commission him to custom-design and build a KSS for them. And no worries, for just $60,000, Mr. Kipnis suggests that movie aficionados can enjoy a top shelf home theater experience.

So, you think you are super good at Dunk Hunt ? Then you should play a game that really approximates hunting.

The ST-2 shooting simulator from Marksman Training Systems is the first shooting simulator for shotgun and rifle shooting designed specifically for demanding users such as shooting instructors who give professional shooting advice.

Anyone, both new and experienced in shotgun or rifle shooting, can use the simulator to improve his or her shooting skills and enjoyment of the sport.

The simulator can be used with most shotguns and rifles. The camera sensor that registers gun movements and shooting direction can be easily attached to the barrel of your own gun. If you want to get hi-tech analysis of the dynamics of your technique, recoil, and other shooting info, then you will appreciate the meticulous feedback and analysis of the ST-2. (source)

Almost one year after the original Apple iPhone went on sale, Apple has unveiled a new 3G version of its popular iPhone that will go on sale on 11 July.

The addition of 3G support is a big win : This will allow users to surf the internet at faster speeds than is currently possible on the original iPhone. If data speeds hold up as Jobs demonstrated, the new iPhone really will put the internet in your pocket.

It will also feature built-in GPS technology, which will enable users to use their iPhone as a satellite-navigation device both in-car and on-foot using Google Maps.

iPhone 3G isn’t perfect, but there’s a lot to like here : Though the iPhone 3G is thinner at the edges than its predecessor.

The 8GB model will come in black only, while Apple promises the 16GB version in back and white.

In the US the phone retails for US$199 for the 8GB model (down from $399) and US$299 for the 16GB version (down from $599).

Indeed, Steve Jobs said that one of the main reasons people had given for not buying the handset was that it was too expensive.

It will be rolled out to 70 countries worldwide over the next few months.

More than six million iPhones had been sold globally since the device first went on sale in the US in July 2007.

This post is really meaningful to me. When I was a student, I used to live in Juan Les Pins, everyday, on my way to school, I was fascinated by this huge abandoned hotel and I really wanted to explore it. Le Provençal was the hotel that actually embodied a golden age on the Côte d’Azur.

“The 256-bedroom Art Deco palace and its “bright tan prayer rug of a beach” were, in the 1930s and 1940s, the symbol of the French Riviera. Coco Chanel and Marilyn Monroe ranked among the sun-worshippers; and on one balmy July evening, Ella Fitzgerald threw open an upstairs window and sang to the crowds at the world-famous Jazz à Juan festival in the park below. […] Built by an American millionaire Frank J Gould in 1925, with tennis club and jetty, restaurants, bars and luxury suites, the hotel marked a new way of life: la dolce vita.”

(copyright : Telegraph)

The famed Art Deco hotel on the Côte d’Azur has been derelict since 1973 and is now being turned into a luxury apartment building. I was sure they would never leave this hotel to squatters and pigeons forever and was dreaming of living in this dream hotel in the future… Too bad.. It is a little too early, I’m still not rich enough to buy any of the luxury apartment!

The London Telegraph reports that Developer Cyril Dennis is transforming the 45,000-sq.ft. beachside property, built in 1925, into 56 luxury units :

“Some have 360-degree views, and indoor pools, as well as outdoor pools and gardens; they will be fitted out with Porche kitchens, marble floors, Turkish baths, aquariums and separate staff lifts and entrances. Music, heating, lighting, flowers and shopping can be computer-controlled. Landscaped gardens, replanted each season, will feature fountains, ponds and an infinity pool with 360m terrace”

He describes the Provençal as “the last jewel in the Cap d’Antibes,” an area where top-drawer villas now go for over $200 million thanks to an influx of superrich (Russian) oligarchs. The luxury apartments will cost between €2million and €40million ($60 million)…

Via telegraph.co.uk