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MONEY Everyday Money Hollywood The Big Dollar Figures Behind Hollywoods Biggest Night Adam TaylorABC via Getty Images At this Sunday's Academy Awards, all the glitz and glamour of Hollywood will be on displayat a price, of course.

The 87th Academy Awards, being held on February 22, is heavy on film nominees that were made on (relatively) small budgets, with (relatively) meager box office grosses to match. Even so, like any Oscars, a small fortune will be spent on the buildup to this years awards ceremony, as well as the big night itself.

Heres a breakdown of some of the big and small dollar amountsOK, mostly BIGbehind the Academy Awards.

1: Number of 2015 Best Picture nominees to earn more than $100 million at the box office, in whats shaping up as an especially blockbuster-light Oscars ceremony. Clint Eastwoods war drama American Sniper walks away with the honor, but it hardly compares to Avatar, which earned a whopping $2.8 billion in 2010, the highest on record for any BP nominee. Ironically, Avatar lost out to The Hurt Locker, which is the lowest-grossing movie to win Best Picture, pulling in only $14.7 million at the box office before the awards.

$400: The surprisingly low estimate for what one of the Oscar statuettes is actually worth. Mind you, an Oscar isnt solid gold but is merely gold-plated. Besides, the real value comes with the name connected to the statue: Joan Crawfords only Oscar, which she received for her performance in Mildred Pierce, sold at auction for $426,732 in 2012, while Orson Welles Best Screenplay Oscar for Citizen Kane sold for $861,542 at auction in 2011.

$25,000 $30,000: The cost of the much-hyped 16,500-square-foot red carpet that Hollywood stars stroll down before the Oscars, according to Red Carpet Systems in Los Angeles. (Installations included in the figure.)

$85,000: The per-ticket price scalpers were trying to command by selling seats to the awards show in 2008. Since attendees sign a contract that prohibits them from selling or even giving away their seats, scalped Oscar tickets are all but unheard of today.

$125,000: The value of the swag bag given to Academy Award nominees in 2015. Besides lavish vacations and accessories, this years bag includes a $20,000 gift certificate to have Olessia Kantor, the founder of Enigma Life, meet with the nominees to discuss their 2015 horoscopes, analyze their dreams and teach them mind control techniques.

$500,000 vs. $3.9 million: Hollywood agents estimate that winning an Oscar results in a pay increase of about 20% for the performers next project. However, much like in the real world, theres reportedly a notable gender wage gap. Actors can expect a $3.9 million increase, on average, while actresses may only take home an extra $500,000.

$1.9 million: The cost of a 30-second commercial airing during this years TV broadcast of the awards ceremony.

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The Big Dollar Figures Behind Hollywoods Biggest Night

Cape Town, South Africa (PRWEB UK) 20 February 2015

On the 16th February 2015 Ambius South Africa launched a brand new indoor plants catalogue on their website, ambius.co.za to showcase their wide range of top quality indoor plants. The catalogue was developed to offer clients the option of choosing their preferred plants from a selection best suited to thrive in their interior spaces, says Ivana Sain, Technical Manager for Ambius South Africa.

Ambius indoor plants are disease and insect free, uniformly full, with healthy deep green foliage and a well-developed root system. Each specimen is carefully grown to our specifications and then adapted for an indoor environment before installation takes place at clients premises, says Sain. The new plants catalogue allows clients to choose from two ranges: African and Indigenous plants and Exotic plants (these plants have international origins).

Ambius' plants catalogue comprises a carousel that allows the website visitor to select their plant of choice by clicking on the carousel image. By navigating through the carousel visitors are able to learn more about each plant by viewing the individual plant pages. These include a full length plant image and information - such as appropriate light levels, water consumption and optimal temperature - that one requires in order for that specific indoor plant to thrive.

As the experts in interior landscaping, Ambius colleagues are always on hand to ensure that the plants selected are best suited to thrive in interior environments. The most important factor to take into account well before the selection of plant size, shape, colour and texture - is lighting levels. Trained Ambius experts measure indoor light levels (measured in Lux; the international unit for measuring the brightness of light) to determine which plants will flourish in specific areas of a building or office.

For a more information on the Ambius plant catalogue, or to arrange a free survey by an Ambius consultant, contact Ambius on 0800 77 77 88 or visit their website.

Ambius is a division of Rentokil Initial. The Rentokil Initial group specialises in pest control, hygiene services and interior landscaping for businesses across the globe. Ambius is a division of Rentokil Initial internationally, and is the global leader at enriching workplaces through the use of indoor plants.

Enquiries can be directed to: Nathalie Leblond: nathalie(dot)leblond(at)rentokil-initial(dot)com T: +27 (0)21 670 4704

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Ambius South Africa launches an Online Indoor Plants Catalogue

Architects - Live in Prague /Roxy 18.02.2015/
neuviteln show, skvl koncert 🙂

By: Lucka Molanov

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Architects - Live in Prague /Roxy 18.02.2015/ - Video

Architects of Chaoz - "League of Shadows" recordings - Day 10
The Architects of Chaoz have entered the Studio! See first impressions of our recordings and check back this site for daily news about the progress! http://www.facebook.com/architectsofchaoz Under...

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Architects of Chaoz - "League of Shadows" recordings - Day 10 - Video

Swindon Designer Outlet Time-lapse Construction
Pod Architects are a internationally renowned architect firm based out of Clerkenwell, London The English Heritage Grade Two Star listed Building at the edge of Swindon Town has been enlarged...

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Swindon Designer Outlet Time-lapse Construction - Video

LSI Architects. Trevor Price,Rupert Kitchen, David Andrews and Ben Goode Photo:Sonya Duncan Copy: For: EDP EDP pics 2010 (01603) 772434

Ben Woods, Business editor Thursday, February 19, 2015 1:48 PM

A Norwich architects has witnessed an increased appetite for sustainable buildings as the strengthening economy filters down into the construction industry.

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David Andrews, partner at LSI Architects on Cattle Market Street, said a growing number of organisations were now willing to invest in energy-efficient technologies to save money in the long term.

The upsurge in interest follows a period of change for the firm which saw its balance of work swing towards the public sector during the recession when private sector investment dipped.

Mr Andrews said the regions housing targets presented a huge opportunity going forward because the construction industry had not come close to meeting them.

We survived the recession because of our business strategy. We were 50pc public sector and 50pc private commercial, and became 80pc to 90pc public sector and picked up a lot of healthcare work, he said. The money wasnt there to build new hospitals, but there was a lot of work to be done refurbishing the estates there was a gap in the market.

The impact that we see now is that people are able to invest in aspects of their building that will give them more efficiencies, he added. In the recession people didnt have that money, but now people can now take a longer term view.

The housing targets for the east of England are huge and we havent made a dent in them yet.

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Norwichs LSI Architects witness suitability growth

For 17 years, the Sears Crosstown building has sat vacant, casting its gloomy shadow over the historic Midtown neighborhoods surrounding the 1.4-million-square-foot former Sears warehouse and retail store.

But on Saturday, February 21st, a community groundbreaking party will celebrate the construction that officially began on January 1st to transform the former Sears headquarters into a lively "vertical urban village" of medical offices, arts amenities, residential housing, and retail space.

And with a new focus for the building comes a new name. The partners in the Crosstown redevelopment project will be dropping Sears from the building's name and announcing a new name at the groundbreaking party.

"Everyone referred to the building as Sears Crosstown, but Sears is long gone," said Todd Richardson, associate professor at the University of Memphis and co-leader of the redevelopment project. "We wanted the building to have its own identity and branding based on what's going to be happening there."

When Richardson and his partners started planning for the building's redevelopment five years ago, the neighborhood around the building, which was called Crosstown in Sears' heyday, had all but lost that identity.

"The name Crosstown had fallen off the map for most Memphians, and people didn't even know where the neighborhood was," Richardson said. "All of the events [put on by Crosstown Arts] the lectures, the concerts, the MEMFeasts, the exhibitions were a way to draw people back to the area and recognize its true potential."

Since Crosstown Arts launched in 2010, Richardson said it has been successful in rebranding the neighborhood as Crosstown and rebuilding the community.

He says the block party, which will run from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in and around the triangle park between North Watkins and Cleveland, is intended as a way to thank the Crosstown community and the building's founding partners and financial backers.

Besides the name-change announcement, the party will include an iron pour by the Metal Museum. They'll be on-site melting down iron from old radiators taken out of the Crosstown building. Additionally, there will be live music, beer, and food trucks.

The founding partners Church Health Center, Crosstown Arts, Gestalt Community Schools, Memphis Teacher Residency, Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare, and ALSAC/St. Jude are moving all or part of their offices into the building when it's complete in early 2017.

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Crosstown Building Project Kicks Off with Block Party

SNOWMASS VILLAGE In the original review of the Base Village application undertaken more than a decade ago, elected and appointed officials conducted extensive studies, surveys and site visits before approving a project that was supposedly just big enough.

Too much commercial activity could create cannibalism among business owners, consultants told town representatives. On the flip side, an inadequate amount of retail and restaurant outlets wouldnt generate enough vitality to sustain a viable development.

As the Snowmass Village Planning Commission gears up to prepare a recommendation on the sketch plan application for the Base Village major PUD amendment, it is grappling with some of the same questions that were supposedly answered in the early 2000s, including what is the right size for the commercial component of this development?

That issue dominated Wednesday nights regularly scheduled meeting, with the projects master developer, Related Colorado, maintaining that less is more and commissioners questioning why they should allow a reduction in square footage of retail and restaurant space when only 40 percent of the entire project has been completed.

We dont need more businesses. We need more people, said Scott Calliham, operator of the Base Camp and Slice restaurants, in support of the developers request.

Calliham and two other owners offered testimonials about the challenges faced in a resort where businesses have just five months to make their annual income.

Commissioner David Rachofsky has remained the most steadfast in not allowing the reduction in commercial square footage, in part because of the unfinished nature of the project, but also because revenue projections for how much is being generated are currently falling far below estimates.

When the residential construction is complete, there will be plenty of people to patronize the retail and restaurant establishments, Rachofsky said.

Tim McMahon of Incline Ski Shop, who is a partner in Blazing Adventures, raised an issue that also seemed long settled by the original 2004 Base Village approval. While touting the mom and pop commercial businesses on the Snowmass Village Mall, he decried the specter of retail expansion in Base Village, admitting to being nervous if you start to add significant commercial space at Base Village.

Related Colorados Craig Monzio describes some proposed changes to the Base Village project to (from left): Interested citizen Toni Kronberg, Snowmass Village Planning Commission chair Tom Goode and Bruce Smith, who owns a unit in Capitol Peak. The tour took place Wednesday before the planning commission meeting.

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Different decade, same questions haunt Base Village

An architecturally interesting home in a beautiful setting and with a link to one of Nashville's noble families tops the list of the Nashville area's most expensive homes this month.

January's list also includes a rare trip to Hickman County, where a restoration company CEO is one of two South Floridians to buy a Top 10 house this month. A doctor famous for his Christmas light displays waited until after the New Year to move, and where one anesthesiologist moved out, another moved right in.

As always, what follows are the Top 10 home sales in Nashville and area counties in January, ranked by sales price:

1. 565 Beech Creek Road South, Brentwood, 37027

Buyers: John and Lori Ray

Sale price: $3.75 million

Seller: Saundra R. Steele

Seller's agents: Laura Stroud and Lisa Fernandez-Wilson, French King Fine Properties

Buyers' agents: Tim King and Richard B. French, French King Fine Properties

Sitting on 22 acres in the middle of the Owl's Hill Nature Sanctuary, this home was designed by Bob Street and built in 1957 for Walter and Hulda Cheek Sharpe after the couple who, among other things, spearheaded the effort to create the Nashville Symphony donated Cheekwood to the city of Nashville. (Mrs. Sharpe was, yes, the only daughter of those Cheeks.)

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Owl's Hill estate with a Cheek link tops last month's most expensive home sales

When Scott Yocco looks at a copper pipe, he sees possibilities way beyond plumbing.

Yocco, a retired Racine firefighter, has come up with techniques that turn 1-inch copper pipes into sculptural table supports each of which is a unique work of art, as well as a functional home furnishing. And hell give his first public showing of his Creations in Copper tables at the Journal Times Home Expo on Feb. 28 and March 1 at Festival Hall. 5 Fifth St.

Creative invention is something Yocco seems to have a knack for, having registered two patents, including one for a life-saving harness device for firefighters called the YocStrap. In addition to his 22 years with the Racine Fire Department, his background includes 10-plus years in the home construction business and it was Yoccos father, Ray, who taught him everything he knows about carpentry, he said.

Yoccos glass-topped copper tables grew out of a vision he had for making decorative copper balusters. When he shared his baluster idea with Dave Kellner, a master mechanic with the Racine Fire Department, Kellner built him a machine that uses an extrusion process to reshape round copper pipes into square shapes, Yocco explained.

These days, Yocco uses Kellners machine to shape legs for coffee tables, pub tables, rectangular console tables and more. He then uses an inverted miter box, which he designed and built, to saw some of the legs on an angle, exposing their polished interior. When welded and soldered together into geometric forms, the copper legs form the base which supports a glass table top.

Yoccos table-making process also involves pre-polishing each pipe, as well as a second hand-polishing of exposed interior surfaces. He also uses a variety of acid washes to create different patinas on the exterior copper surfaces a process he enjoys experimenting with to achieve various effects and one that can take up to three days to complete. You are letting the colors work together during that time, he said.

All together, Yocco estimates that he puts a minimum of 100 hours into each table he makes, working out of his Caledonia home. Its time that is obviously a pleasure for Yocco, who said that being able to pursue this passion is one of many blessings he is grateful for in his life.

There are a lot of good people out there with great ideas and Id like to be an inspiration to them to follow through with those ideas, he said.

Creations in Copper is one of close to 70 vendors to be featured at this years Home Expo. Exhibits will feature everything from flooring and window options to state-of-the-art fireplaces, archival photo restoration, solar energy, home Internet service and medical supply items that can make homes safer and more comfortable for families.

We have another great vendor lineup this year, including some very unique items featured by local Racine businesses, said Donna Mueller, Journal Times advertising director.

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From artistic tables to landscaping, Home Expo offers wide variety