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SASKATOON -- The first major windstorm of the season has caused widespread power outages in Saskatoon and has left city crews busy cleaning up the destruction left behind Monday.

It started as a thunderstorm watch for parts of western Saskatchewan Sunday afternoon and turned into a strong windstorm with winds reaching 99 km/h overnight.

Neil Meikle who lives on East Drive in the Eastview neighbourhood woke up to his neighbours shed in his yard.

There has also been reports of a gazebo being tossed from someones backyard into the street in the Stonebridge area.

A tree also fell on an SUV in the 2100 block of Lorne Avenue.

On 33rd Street and Avenue P, a large tree was blown over obstructing traffic. That area has since been cleaned up.

City of Saskatoon Light and Power reported that various homes and intersections had been without power including Lakeview, Lakeridge and surrounding area.

There is one major outage on the west side of the city, leaving 700 customers without power.

SaskPower told CTV News that theyve had numerous calls about the power lines in back alleys being struck by trees.

It reported a tree branch falling on a power line in Riverside Estates south of the city, causing a power outage in the area until 10 a.m. Monday.

SaskPower is asking people who see fallen equipment to stay 10 metres away and call 306-310-2220.

Terri Lang with Environment and Climate Change Canada told CTV News the wind speed of 99 km/h is not a record as winds have reached up to 150 km/h in our region before.

However, she said high winds like what was experienced Sunday night are usually associated with thunderstorms, but this one was the result of an epic battle between cold air from the north and warm temperatures in the south.

There is a wind warning issued for today, but Lang expects it to die down as the day progresses.

Excerpt from:
SUV, shed, gazebo just some of the casualties of intense Saskatoon windstorm - CTV News Saskatoon

Been eyeing up the Aldi gazebo? Us, too. With summer coming and all that hot weather forecast we are looking to make the most of our gardens. And while that means lying about on a sun lounger, it also means creating a cool, shaded spot outdoors, too.

For those of you lucky enough to have south-facing gardens, you'll know that you get very little shade all day. However, no one wants to block the sun out permanently with tons of tall planting, which makes a gazebo the perfect solution to offer the kids a comfortable, shaded place over their paddling pool or sandpit, or for you to be able to enjoy your hot tub without getting burnt as well as (mildly) boiled. Dress your gazebo up with outdoor rugs and garden furniture and you've got yourself an outdoor room, too. Gazebos are also must-haves for when it rains during that (possibly soon to be planned) camping trip.

Convinced? Take a look at the Aldi gazebo (picture, top, details below) and Lidl's new gazebo (picture and details, below). The downside to both? One's sold out and the other requires a trip to store. However, the good news is, we have plenty of other gazebo deals that other stores are offering.

Aldi gazebo, 59.99 (currently sold out online)With its easy-to-assemble foldable design, this Beige Pop Up Gazebo is just what your garden needs this summer. Perfect for those gorgeous afternoons, this gazebo comes with roof frame and aluminium legs, as well as an air vent. This gazebo is water-repellent and offers a roof with UV protection of 80+. There are two side panels, one of which comes with a window and Velcro fastenings.

Florabest Folding Aluminium Gazebo, 59.99 in storeLike the Aldi gazebo, there are two side panels with hook and loop fasteners for privacy and protection from the wind, and one side panel with a window. There are extendable legs for easy height adjustment, and it's made from water repellant material, too.

Argos Home 3m x 3m Garden Gazebo| 65 at Argos

Argos have some gazebos that are so cheap they needn't be on sale! This one has fab reviews and it such a great price. Although if you are after something even cheaper, check out this bargain from Argos that's just 25 maybe not amazing quality but would do for one summer.View Deal

Steel Party Tent | Was 78.99, now 50.14 at Wayfair

Let's be honest, we were sold at 'party tent'. This gazebo is made of UV- and water-resistant material, so you can rest assured it won't melt away to nothing if there's a rain shower. There are three side panels with decorative windows and one with a door. It measures 3x3m.View Deal

Outsunny 3 x 3 Meters Patio Garden Metal Gazebo | 118.71 at Amazon

This gorgeous gazebo is very similar to the Aldi gazebo everyone's after, and it's very similar in price, too. Lightweight but sturdy, it's large enough for a full outdoor dining set.View Deal

Got It Covered 4m x 4m Steel Pop-Up Gazebo | Was 199.99 at Wayfair

This nicely styled gazebo is very sturdy and strong and will protect you from a shower as well as strong sun. It's a pop up design that you can easily take down after using.View Deal

Hinckley Metal Patio Gazebo | Was 609.99, now 509.99 at Wayfair

If you really want to impress your friends and family (when they're allowed back over), this is the gazebo to do it with. It comes with a durable aluminium frame and weather and UV-resistant cover with stylish curtains. This high-end, 3x3m gazebo includes an LED interior centre light and strip lights on the roof ribs.

View Deal

Today's best gazebo prices...

Argos Home 3m x 3m Pop Up...

Shire Gazebo 7x7 Shiplap...

Rowlinson Gainsborough...

Rowlinson Sandringham Natural...

Continued here:
The Aldi gazebo has a rival: Lidl launches their own 59.99 buy (and we have more) - Real Homes

See the full issue of the June 400 Life magazinehere.

Guests with Georgia Glamping in Forsyth County are used to experiencing luxury (think A/C, Kuerig coffee maker) in one of the companys standard bell tents.

Then theres Roxy.

A 28-foot Riverside Retro Travel Trailer, theres room for four with a queen bed and two twin bunk beds. In addition, theres a kitchen, bath and shower, work space, mini-fridge, flatscreen TV and more in just 300 square feet.

Owners Rebeka and Nathan Self found the camper in Jacksonville, Florida, and drove it back to their home in Forsyth, where they spruced it up with just the right amount of shiplap and painted everything white, Rebeka says. They also added wood floors, a subway tile backsplash in the kitchen area and bamboo shades.

The result is the perfect blend of retro on the outside and modern farmhouse on the inside.

Georgia Glamping Company

7800 Allyn Lane Memorial Way, Cumming, GA 30041

(678) 801-6334, http://www.gaglamping.com

Continued here:
With Georgia Glamping's camper, guests get retro on the outside, luxury on the inside - Forsyth County News Online

On Wednesday, the same day Steinbrucks wife, Kim, hung three new bulbs on the gazebo, the country recorded its 100,000th death from the virus, a devastating milestone that passed without a formal, in-person commemoration from the person best positioned to draw attention to the solemn moment: President Trump.

In recent decades, presidents of both parties have stepped forward to allay national and individual grief after tragedies like the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion, the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and mass shootings through speeches, moments of silence, or quiet meetings with the victims families, giving rise to terms like consoler-in-chief to describe an important part of their job.

But as the pandemics death toll has risen, Trump has done almost nothing publicly to mark its sheer human tragedy. Individuals and communities like Franklin Township are honoring it how they can, but Steinbruck called the lack of a national mourning effort a glaring omission.

Thats whats needed at a national level, he said, is someone to guide that process.

Although Trump routinely says one death is too many, his public statements about the virus are generally aimed at touting his claims of success in fighting it, rather than reckoning with its human toll. The approach is in keeping with his response to other national tragedies, when he has offered scripted speeches with little or no sign of significant emotional engagement.

Being a consoler-in-chief isnt, nor will it ever be, Donald Trumps strength as a politician or a commander-in-chief, said Colin Reed, a Republican strategist. Trump likes running on strength. Trump likes running on doing the things everyone says you shouldnt do. Hes decided to stick with the horse that brought him to the dance.

Trump has been greeted with his share of tragedy while in office, but has often manifested a discordantly upbeat or uncomfortable air when dealing with those incidents and their victims.

When he met with people who lost loved ones to mass shootings following the Parkland, Fla., tragedy, he carried a handwritten note reminding him to say I hear you. He was panned for playfully throwing paper towels into a crowd of Puerto Ricans whose lives had been upended by a deadly hurricane. And while greeting Texans in a Houston shelter after Hurricane Harvey, he doled out high-fives, told them to have a good time, and said the response to the storm had been wonderful.

That has created stark contrasts between Trump and his predecessors of both parties, some of whom prioritized and also managed to draw political benefits from consoling the country. And, in the current moment, it leaves the nation without the opportunity to grieve together at a time when the normal rituals of mourning, like in-person funerals, are already suspended.

To see an individual national leader as an empathetic figure and as a comforting figure and as a vulnerable figure is very powerful, and authorizes those things for others, said Micki McElya, a professor of history at the University of Connecticut. But reckoning with the national death toll could also be inconvenient for Trump, she said.

To highlight the staggering number of the dead is to highlight the staggering ineffectiveness of the national response, she said.

Trump ordered flags to be flown at half staff over Memorial Day weekend to mark the approaching 100,000-death milestone, and told reporters last month he had spoken privately with a handful of families who have lost a loved one to coronavirus. White House officials would not provide further details. They also would not say whether he had plans to meet with any affected families or commemorate the 100,000 dead further in any way. He takes this very seriously. Hes said before this is the hardest part of his presidency, said Kayleigh McEnany, his press secretary.

Other countries such as Spain, the UK, and Italy have set aside a national mourning period or period of silence to reckon with their nations dead, while Trump has yet to lead a similar moment of silence or give a speech specifically commemorating the victims.

If Trump lets the milestone pass without dedicating a whole event or speech to commemorating the dead, he will not be the only president to do so. Pandemics in America including AIDS and the Spanish flu of 1918, which killed 675,000 Americans have often received short shrift when it comes to national mourning.

But for as long as the office has existed, presidents have been called on to suspend politics and give meaning to loss, especially those stemming from tragedies that dominate news coverage.

A president is expected to bring some combination of hope, healing and help, said David Kusnet, a speechwriter for President Bill Clinton, to convey some sense that theres some larger meaning to this all.

In 1986, with TV footage of the Challenger explosion playing constantly to a nation reeling in shock, president Ronald Reagan delayed his State of the Union address and instead gave a short speech evoking the hope symbolized by seven astronauts boarding the space shuttle.

We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and slipped the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God, he said.

In 1995, Clinton traveled to Oklahoma City after the bombing of a federal building there killed 168 people, and promised that the country would stand with the victims families for as many tomorrows as it takes.

The dignity and emotional eloquence of that speech ended up helping boost Clintons popularity after Democrats took a beating in the 1994 midterm elections, a reminder that the mourner in chief role can come with potential benefits as well as pitfalls.

George W. Bush was widely praised for taking a bullhorn at Manhattans Ground Zero after 9/11 and ad-libbing when someone in the crowd of first responders yelled they couldnt hear him. I can hear you, Bush said, the rest of the world hears you. His popularity soared in the aftermath of the terrorist attack.

But later in his presidency, he was criticized for failing to respond quickly or empathetically enough to the disaster unfolding during Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, which killed nearly 2,000 people.

President Barack Obama came across as stoic and unemotional at times, but he consoled the nation with empathetic speeches again and again after the mass shootings that occurred while he was president. Valerie Jarrett, a close adviser, said that when she and Obama heard the news of the 2012 slaughter of first-graders and educators in Newtown, Conn., they immediately thought of their own children. Obama also wrote his remarks for the memorial service by hand, and spent hours meeting individually with families of the victims.

You have to be able to let your heart take you to that place in order to feel empathy. And then imagine what you would want said to you, Jarrett said.

One of the most lasting images of Obama as the mourner in chief came in Charleston, S.C., in 2015 when he sang Amazing Grace at the service for the Rev. Clementa C. Pinckney, who was among nine black churchgoers killed in that city by a white supremacist. It was something he only decided to do as he traveled to Charleston that day.

He thought it would be an opportunity for us to feel as one, Jarrett said. He knew that if he started to sing, everyone would join.

Trumps approach has been starkly different. Sometimes, when he does nod to the coronavirus tragedy, he has a way of bringing up his own political disputes and rivalries.

When meeting at the White House in April with people who had recovered from the disease, Trump steered the discussion to his own reelection. Representative Karen Whitsett, a Michigan Democrat, told the group she felt like she was going to die when she fell ill with COVID-19. Well, Im not going to speak for her, but I dont see her voting for Sleepy Joe Biden, Trump joked.

And while he sent condolences to family members of the dead on Twitter on Thursday I want to extend my heartfelt sympathy & love for everything that these great people stood for & represent, he wrote he also spent the days leading up to the milestone spreading a conspiracy theory about an MSNBC host, sharing a video of a man saying the only good Democrat is a dead Democrat, and boosting a post calling Hillary Clinton a skank.

For whatever reason, hes been unable to find his voice and to serve as the mourner-in-chief, people have been left to mourn on their own, said David Gergen, a former adviser to several presidents, including Reagan and Clinton.

A White House official who did not want to be named said Trump had shared many tender moments over his years in office, including his speech at Normandy to commemorate D-Day, personal interactions with veterans, and visits to factories.

But as a lifelong salesman who used to routinely exaggerate the height of his buildings and the extent of his wealth, the president is more comfortable making the rosy pitch, not providing a shoulder to cry on.

Tony Schwartz, who worked with Trump for two years in the 1980s while he ghost-wrote Trumps book The Art of the Deal, said the real estate developer did not show much capacity for empathy, contrition, or sorrow in his experience. I dont think grief was in his vocabulary, he said. I dont think hes ever felt any grief about anything.

That has led to a lost political opportunity for Trump, as well as a vacuum of federal leadership in a moment when Americans are struggling to comprehend the sheer loss of life. Trumps approval rating has sunk, even as many governors and other world leaders are seeing their constituents rally around them.

Its not surprising, given his entire presidency has been very divisive, but this was a big missed opportunity to potentially unite the country, and one of the ways you unite the country is through shared grief, said Alex Conant, a Republican strategist who worked on Senator Marco Rubios presidential campaign.

In contrast, former vice president Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee who is set to challenge Trump in the falls election and who often speaks of his personal grief, posted a somber two-and-a-half-minute video to Twitter on Wednesday to mark the grim milestone.

I think I know what youre feeling, said Biden, who has mourned his first wife and two of his children, and spoke at multiple memorials while he was vice president. You feel like youre being sucked into a black hole in the middle of your chest, suffocating, your heart is broken; theres nothing but a feeling of emptiness for you.

Jess Bidgood can be reached at Jess.Bidgood@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @jessbidgood. Liz Goodwin can be reached at elizabeth.goodwin@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @lizcgoodwin

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Coronavirus death toll rises without a national remembrance or a consoler-in-chief in the White House - The Boston Globe

If you haven't come across Wayfair garden furniture before, you're in for a serious treat this afternoon. Especially if like us you're after a stylish space that can make your dreams of a summer spent lounging in the garden a reality, even on a budget.

We have rounded up our favourite Wayfair garden furniture picks to get your garden heatwave ready. We're talking loungers, parasols, dining sets, gazebos and more, all of which are great quality and super stylish.

For more of the best garden furniture head to our buying guide. Or, bag yourself more bargains with our round up of the best garden furniture sales.

(Image credit: Wayfair)

Cosmos Right Arm Sectional Piece with Cushions | Was 1,579.99, Now 1,139.99 at WayfairWe think the L-shape of this garden sofa makes it the perfect spot to spend time with family and (once lockdown is lifted) with friends too. We love the combination of the neutral coloured fabric with rattan for a stylish finish that's sure to work in most outdoor spaces.View Deal

Marks and Spencer UK (Paused)

Cambridge 8 Rattan Garden...

(Image credit: Wayfair)

Reclining Sun Lounger | Was 197.99 now 177.99 at WayfairHow cool is this sun lounger! And it's on sale. We love the boho look, it would look fab with some outdoor cushions thrown on just to make it a bit comfier for lounging. It's made out of solid bamboo which is really durable and strong but also lightweight so you can drag it around your garden to chase the rays.View Deal

Today's best deals on garden seating

Garden Trading Hampstead Bench

Amazonas Belize Hanging Chair

RAVEN Teak And Metal 3 Seater...

KETTLER LaMode Comfort...

(Image credit: Wayfair)

Isabelle Cotton Hammock |109.99 at WayfairNothing is quite as relaxing as chilling in a hammock with a good book. Close your eyes and you could almost, just almost, be on holiday. Wayfair have loads of hammocks to suit all budgets but we couldn't resist the macrame detail on this one. We were also thinking after the summer it would look so cool in a bedroom or living room, too.View Deal

(Image credit: Wayfair)

5 Seater Sofa Set | Was 1,599.99, Now 1,069.99 at WayfairWe've seen outdoor living rooms all over Pinterest in recent months. And given the combination of gorgeous weather and, well, not really having anywhere else to go, we can't say we're surprised. The best outdoor living rooms usually boast extra features such as garden sofas, garden coffee tables, outdoor rugs and outdoor cushions that give them the comfy, cosy feel. And we don't think this stunning five seater sofa set could be more perfect.View Deal

(Image credit: Wayfair)

3m x 3m Metal Patio Gazebo | 226.99 at WayfairWhat a total bargain this is! If you have got the room we couldn't recommend a gazebo enough. This one is so beautiful too and would add a lovely romantic vibe to your room ah we can see it now, sat underneath this gazebo, a floppy hat and a champagne cocktail. Marvellous darling.View Deal

(Image credit: Wayfair )

Amazonia 3m Cantilever Parasol | 108.99 at WayfairA parasol is great addition to a garden, especially during a heatwave as you can still enjoy the warmth, but be out of the sun. They are also great for popping your salad buffet under when you are having a BBQ.View Deal

(Image credit: Wayfair)

Kincade 2 Seater Bistro Set | 125.99 at WayfairBistro sets are a great option if you're kitting out a small garden patio, or perhaps even a balcony. Not only does their delicate design mean they won't overwhelm an already small space, but the ability to fold them away when you're done using them makes for an easy storage option where you need it most!View Deal

Today's best Bistro sets deals

Lingfield Wood Bistro Set

The Garden Furniture Centre...

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LATEST: Wayfair garden furniture is on sale and these are the best buys - Real Homes

AS thousands of flights and holidays remain cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, The Mail is reminiscing on its favourite destination weddings and proposals.

Zoey Halliwell-Bousfield, 38, who works at Lakeland in Windermere, and Simon Bousfield, a Barclays area manager escaped to the Mediterranean for their dream wedding abroad.

The couple jetted off to a secret intimate wedding in Cyprus before tying the knot with their loved ones back home in the South Lakes.

We have a blended family and wanted to get married with just the children abroad, Mrs Halliwell-Bousfield said. We just told them we were going on holiday then said at the airport, were going to get married in Cyprus. The wedding was lovely. It was just us seven in a little gazebo on the beach. It was all about our families coming together as one. Two weeks later the pair had another wedding back home in Kendal.

Lisa Brotheridge, 41, and her husband, Gavin Southward, 40, also said I do in the idyllic backdrop of the Cyprus landscape. Lisa said: We spent 10 days out there with family and friends and just had the best time.

We both wanted a small gathering in the sunshine and decided Cyprus was the perfect place.

However, the pair wanted to ensure any guests who were unable to attend the ceremony could come to an evening do back home. Mrs Southward said: I put my wedding dress back on and did it all over again.

Tatiana Baez, 26, an accommodation officer at a language school, and Lucas Saunders, 26, who owns a family business, crossed continents, cultures and climates to be together in their magical winter wonderland wedding.

Mr Saunders popped the question in his wifes home country of Puerto Rico during a romantic holiday.

She said: We were on the beach one night watching the sun go down when he suddenly asked me."

For their big day, the pair chose to tie the knot at the Abbey House Hotel in Barrow in front of 80 people with another 40 people joining them in the evening.

Laura Heavyside, 29, a marketing manager originally from Walney, and Antony Lavender, 31, an air operations supervisor from Hertfordshire, got engaged during a trip to New York.

Mrs Lavender said: We were in Central Park and I was enthralled by the skyline, the views were amazing and he was trying to get my attention by talking to me but I was too busy staring at the sky. I turned around and he was on one knee. It was absolutely amazing. I was crying with happiness and excitement.

The pair said I do at Storrs Hall in Bowness-on-Windermere.

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The Mail looks back on some of our favourite destination weddings and proposals - NW Evening Mail

Sarah Colburn, Special to the Times Published 5:44 p.m. CT May 29, 2020

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Brick and iron gates set the tone for this stately two-story home on 152 feet of Sauk River waterfront.

Complete with a turret design and sky-reaching two-story front archway, this home exudes curb appeal.

Just inside the double entry doors is a dramatic and sweeping two-story foyer with a large chandelier and an overhead catwalk flanked by floor-to-ceiling columns, grounded and warmed by the homes hardwood flooring and dark trim work.

The two-story great room ahead offers floor-to-ceiling and wall-to-wall arched windows that mimic the entry and present views of the mature trees and the river beyond. The picturesque great room is complete with built-in bookcases and a large, ornate fireplace and hearth. French doors open to the outdoor patio and the room is open to the overhead catwalk.

The gourmet kitchen is finished in a dark wood offset by the stainless steel appliances. A large cooktop and prep island offers breakfast bar seating, and built-in buffets and cabinetry create the perfect space for a wine bar and an in-room desk area. The space is home to a large informal eating area that overlooks the landscape.

The kitchen opens to the formal dining room with its decorative ceiling, crown molding and wainscoting. This space, featuring built-in decor areas, is perfect for hosting friends and family.

Opposite the dining room is a living room that can double as a music space or a relaxation area. The main floor also boasts a media room.

The exercise room is on the upper level,as is the master bedroom suite. The home also has a sauna. The suite is accessed through French doors and has a tray ceiling. The en suite is spacious with a dedicated vanity area, a large soaking tub and walk-in shower. The master bedroom also has a walk-in closet.

This home sits just off the Sauk River and the backyard slopes down to the waterfront which connects to the Horseshoe Chain of Lakes and offers more than 30 miles of boating. A gazebo on the main floor provides the perfect place to relax and take in the landscape. The gazebo has vaulted ceilings and offers window views throughout.

This home at 15865 River Bend Lane, Cold Spring is listed at $849,500 by Andy Asbury of Lake Sothebys International Realty.

Support local journalism. Subscribe to sctimes.com today.

Read or Share this story: https://www.sctimes.com/story/life/2020/05/29/mansion-market-home-sits-152-feet-sauk-river-waterfront/5269793002/

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Mansion on the Market: Home sits on 152 feet of Sauk River waterfront - SC Times

Work appears to be stalled on H Hotel W39, a 447-foot-tall project from Peter F. Poon Architectsat58 West 39th Streetin Midtown. Developed byWei Hong Hu of H Hotel LLC, the 29-story building is located between Fifth and Sixth Avenue just south of Bryant Park.

Recent photos from Tectonic show the reinforced concrete superstructure has risen just one story since YIMBYs lastupdatein late January. The formwork and rebar for the columns and floor slabs currently hover around the third floor and are still within the confines of the two abutting structures.

58 West 39th Street. Photo by Tectonic

58 West 39th Street. Photo by Tectonic

58 West 39th Street will yield 56,000 square feet with 41,500 square feet of commercial space, 65 hotel rooms, meeting rooms, a fitness center, and a hotel lobby along West 39th Street. The rendering depicts a very unconventional massing with a dramatic cantilever on its eastern profile. The glass-clad structure features rounded corners throughout and culminates in a dome-like parapet. The northern elevation, not seen in the rendering, will likely be a flat wall of glass that faces Bryant Park, and the eastern profile appears to feature an outdoor terrace.

The closest subways are the B, D, F, M, and 7 trains at the 42nd Street-Bryant Park station. Times Square is a short walk from the hotel, while the Port Authority Bus Terminal is only two avenues away on Eighth Avenue.

Its unclear when progress will pick up or when 58 West 39th Street will be completed. YIMBY spotted a target of winter 2020, as noted on the construction fence, though sometime in 2021 is more likely.

Subscribeto YIMBYs daily e-mailFollowthe YIMBYgram for real-time photo updatesLikeYIMBY on FacebookFollowYIMBYs Twitter for the latest in YIMBYnews

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Construction Pauses on Peter Poon Architects' 58 West 39th Street, in Midtown - New York YIMBY

Hello, God, its me, Margaret. Er, I mean its Carolina A. Miranda, staff writer at the Los Angeles Times with your weekly dose of essential culture news and heavy metal conspiracy theories.

L.A. Energy, 1983, a rendering for a downtown Los Angeles mural, by Betye Saar.

(Betye Saar / Roberts Projects)

Im starting with a throwback: a rendering by Betye Saar for a mural that occupied a wall on Fifth Street in downtown L.A. from 1983 to 1987. Located near the old headquarters of SoCal Edison at the base of Bunker Hill, the work, titled L.A. Energy, is now a point of inspiration for an online exhibition of Saars works on galleryplatform.la. Organized by Roberts Projects, the show explores notions of spiritual power.

Saar was recently the subject of a solo show at LACMA (which closed prematurely due to the pandemic). In his review, Times art critic Christopher Knight wrote about the ways in which the exhibition called out the the relationship between assemblage as a specific art form and the larger context of racism that has permeated American life from its beginnings.

Saars art, it turns out, is never not timely.

To live through the COVID-19 pandemic is to see the surfaces of our cities rewritten by invisible narratives of contagion. This week I have a mega-report about how the pandemic could and should change the architecture of our homes, our offices and our cities. I talk with a dozen L.A. architects including Michael Maltzan, Mark Lee, Sharon Johnston, Barbara Bestor, Lorcan OHerlihy, Kulapat Yantrasast and Pritzker Prize-winner Thom Mayne as well as leaders of three L.A. architecture schools.

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Like the rest of the world, the immediate future that architects are facing is grim. Two recent reports by the American Institute of Architects show billings dropping off a cliff. But even as the pandemic kneecaps the economy, architects are determined not to waste the moment thinking about how COVID-19 may shape 21st century architecture, in the same way that tuberculosis shaped the architecture of the early 20th century. Every crisis, says SCI-Arc director Hernn Daz Alonso, is an opportunity.

Offices are one of the first things that may emerge in a different guise as a result of the pandemic.

(Jiaqi Wang / For The Times)

Larry Kramer, the playwright and novelist known for his activism against U.S. government inaction in the face of the AIDS crisis, has died at 84. Kramer, an Oscar-nominated screenwriter who also penned the autobiographical play The Normal Heart, was the founder of Gay Mens Health Crisis and ACT UP. He was known for his indefatigable often rage-fueled fight for LGBTQ rights. His taunting approach predictably alienated some, writes David Colker in his Times obituary, to others it was a major turning point.

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In the New York Times, Daniel Lewis, notes that Kramer was among the first activists to foresee that what had first caused alarm as a rare form of cancer among gay men would spread worldwide ... Under the circumstances, he said, If you write a calm letter and fax it to nobody, it sinks like a brick in the Hudson.

In a moving appreciation, theater critic Charles McNulty examines Kramers career as a writer, which was often overshadowed by his activism. He was constitutionally incapable of self-serving apathy, writes McNulty. But thats not to say that he didnt recognize the cost of his conscience to that quieter corner of his identity as an artist.

Larry Kramer speaking at a Boston Gay Town Meeting in June 1987.

(Ellen Shub / HBO)

Theater critic Jesse Green of the New York Times, also writes a tribute: Anger ... was Larry Kramers closet what he showed the world first.

Los Angeles Times digital editor Tracy Brown gathers reactions to the news of his death. Your writing was bold, courageous, and urgent, wrote actor Matt Bomer, who starred in the 2014 TV adaptation of The Normal Heart.

How did I meet Larry? He called me a murderer and an incompetent idiot on the front page of the San Francisco Examiner magazine. Dr. Anthony Fauci recalls the unlikely start to his 33-year friendship with Kramer. A great read.

I waited 12 years for this? Want a taste of some Kramer flame-throwing? In 1994, he had a thing or two to say about Jonathan Demmes AIDS film Philadelphia in the pages of The Times.

The world of culture lost another notable figure this week: California Light and Space artist Peter Alexander, who died at his home in Los Angeles at the age of 81. His experiments with materials such as resin, as I note in his obituary, led to the creation of ethereal works that evoked the quietly shifting nature of light, color and environment.

Christopher Knight pays tribute to his perception of light: Whatever his medium, the work Alexander made over 50 years articulates the distinctive, late 20th century intersection of natural and artificial light an illumination at once physical and, as always, inflected with lights cognitive and transcendent metaphors.

Peter Alexander in his studio in Santa Monica in 2013.

(Dave Lauridsen)

How to plan a theatrical season amid a pandemic? Jessica Gelt reports on how the Broad Stage will kick off its season with an outdoor opera that features only one actor, one singer and a string quartet. It will follow that up in 2021 with indoor productions, including a collaboration between cellist Yo-Yo Ma and photographer Austin Mann and Iranian playwright Nassim Soleimanpours experimental theater work, Nassim.

Earlier this month, Gelt reported that the Hollywood Bowl had canceled its season for the first time in 98 years. As a follow-up, The Times gathered Bowl memories from 24 performers who have gigged on its stage, including Fleetwood Macs Lindsey Buckingham, dancer Misty Copeland and singer Lionel Richie, who remembers an unusual performance as part of the Commodores: I remember that the tops to our uniforms made it, but the bottoms didnt. So we played the show in the tops the kind that snap underneath so they stay tucked in your pants. And bare feet. So, an afro, bare feet and a top.

A view of the Hollywood Bowl at dusk.

(Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

A growing contingent of museums, including L.A.'s Autry Museum of the American West, having been working on archiving the pandemic. Museums have a responsibility to meet history head on, says Autry curator Tyree Boyd-Pates.

In the past we considered digital engagement mainly as a marketing tool to get visitors to the museum. We now recognize that weve gained supporters from our recent pivot. George Davis, director of the California African American Museum, talks about how his institution has faced the pandemic.

The Baltimore Museum of Art announced a series of program to support local artists and art institutions.

Londons Tate museums have announced that they will not bestow the 100,000 Turner Prize this year. Instead, they will provide grants of 10,000 grants to 10 British artists.

Museums face a universe in which people-packed galas play a much smaller role in institutional fundraising. (Click through to watch the Met Operas Zoom performance of Va Pensiero embedded in the story.)

Plus, museums may still be closed, but the Museum of Quarantine is open. Jessica Gelt reports on a streetside installation that functions as improvised museum and community shrine.

The Markaz, an L.A. arts center devoted to Middle Eastern culture, is shutting down. With live events out of the picture for the foreseeable future, the organization will retool as an online journal called The Markaz Review.

Joan Bayley, a dancer and instructor who worked in Hollywood musicals alongside figures such as Judy Garland, Bing Crosby and Marilyn Monroe recently celebrated her 100th birthday. She marked the day with a festive drive-by parade, reports Makeda Easter. She also used the occasion to draw attention to the Westside School of Ballet, where she taught for more than three decades and which is now struggling amid the pandemic.

Joan Bayley gets feted with a drive-by parade of relatives and friends celebrating her 100th birthday.

(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

The BBC has commissioned a social-distancing appropriate version of Swan Lake. Choreographed by Corey Baker, it will take place in dancers bathtubs.

Times theater critic Charles McNulty says a recent bout of sitting around at home, in hot anticipation of a shipment of white wine, made him realize he was inhabiting Samuel Becketts Waiting for Godot. The pandemic has revealed Beckett to be the true realist of 20th century theater, he writes. Stuck indoors with little to distract us from the bewilderment of our metaphysical predicament, we are like one of his immobilized characters.

Playwright Samuel Beckett.

(Reg Lancaster / Getty Images)

In a rare interview with the Spanish culture publication ABC, composer Arvo Prt talks about what the pandemic has revealed about the collective nature of survival. This tiny coronavirus has showed us in a painful way that humanity is a single organism, he says, and human existence is possible only in relation to other living beings. In case your Spanish is rusty, the website Estonian World has a rough English translation of the interview.

David Wojnarowiczs 1989 zine In the Shadow of Forward Motion is being republished. And, writes Conor Williams, it functions as a survival guide, a textbook on the power of the body, of grief, and of anger.

I lived in Chile in 1990, the first year of democratic rule following a 17-year dictatorship. During that period, a Spanish-language version of the Scorpions power ballad Wind of Change seemed to be on the airwaves every two seconds. The song was written in the months before the end of the Cold War. But in Chile, which had also recently experienced a political transformation, the song was equally meaningful.

I have therefore been riveted by Patrick Radden Keefes new podcast Wind of Change, which chases a rumor that the song was written by the C.I.A. Tune in. Its a poignant, engrossing listen.

Scorpions frontman Klaus Meine performing in 2014. A new podcast explore his musics Cold War connections.

(EPA)

Matt Cooper has been rounding up the best happenings online, including Carlos Sauras flamenco-inspired film Carmen and a 48-hour stream of George Takeis historical musical Allegiance, inspired by his childhood experiences in a World War II-era internment camp.

Have a kid who is graduating? Well, the LA Phil has just the thing for your at-home ceremony: members of the orchestra, along with the Youth Los Angeles Orchestra, playing Pomp and Circumstance.

The Asian Art Museum has downloadable Chinese opera coloring sheets. New Yorks Public Art Fund also has coloring sheets, these designed by artists Tauba Auerbach, Elmgreen & Dragset and Rob Pruitt, as well as downloadable Zoom backgrounds created by Petra Cortright, Aakash Nihalani and Olimpia Zagnoli.

If you like your Zoom backgrounds to have a more oomph, I recommend the selection offered by Londons Vagina Museum, though you might want to think twice before springing them on work colleagues.

The 2022 Bucharest Biennale will be curated by artificial intelligence. I enjoyed this oral history of the Wooster Group in Ursula. After more than a year of negotiations, Netflix has closed its deal to buy Hollywoods Egyptian Theatre from American Cinametheque. The cinematheques chairman said the organization will still screen films on-site.Mark Morriss Zoom dances are landing.

As protests rage over the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Times columnist LZ Granderson comes through with a must-read personal history about being detained by police. For those of you who are tired of reading about racism, he writes, trust me when I say this Im tired of writing about it.

Originally posted here:
Reopening cities: LA architects imagine the pandemic reset - Los Angeles Times

1+1>2 architects has completed a second house as part of a community of new residences in a western suburb of hanoi, vietnam. the project, titled mr. hungs house, neighbors mothers house, which was completed by the same firm. forming part of jackfruit village, the lakeside property features a distinctive thatched roof that protects the home from the regions hot sun and monsoon rains. as with its neighbor, the property was designed to exist in harmony with the landscape, allowing residents to immerse themselves in nature.

all images by hiroyuki oki, courtesy of 1+1>2 architects

with the design of mr. hungs house, named after the projects client, 1+1>2 architects sought to develop the structure horizontally to maximize lake views. taking into account the sloping terrain, the building is elevated to counter humidity and ensure natural surface drainage. raising the structure also helps avoid termites, which could damage the buildings structural integrity. the house adheres to the sites vegetation, with the position of the existing trees dictating the configuration of the dwelling.

as the home is oriented around the lake, all internal spaces are permeated with plants, wind, and sunlight. a footpath leads to the homes entrance, which opens directly into the main living space. the ground floor also contains a study as well as two bedrooms, each with access to a lakeside terrace. a staircase housed within a thatched tower designed to appear as a rice straw stack ascends to the main bedroom and sauna on the upper storey. the adobe bricks used for the walls were sourced from the land itself.

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1+1>2 architects adds to jackfruit village with thatched lakeside residence - Designboom