Japan's Blue Rose 'Applause' Bows in US | NYC Low Line

Japanese rose growers have achieved the unattainable, and they’re not shy about proclaiming their brilliance and good fortune. The ‘blue rose’ (yes, it looks mauve or purple to us also) will be for sale in both the US and Canada this fall, writes Wired.

Named ‘Applause’, the rose has been genetically modified to synthesize delphinidin, a pigment that’s found in most blue flowers. Researchers at the Suntory laboratory have worked for 20 years on ‘Applause’ which was first released in Tokyo in 2009.

Because they have eluded the best of rose growers for centuries, blue roses have a near mythic quality that’s associated with unrequited love or a quest for the impossible. As is so often the case in life, the solution to breeding a spectacular blue rose was an unassuming, delphinidin-producing gene from a simple pansy. 

The pansy’s genetic pedigree became a true Cinderella story, when she hooked up with an Old Garden ‘Cadinal de Richelieu’ rose. After its Japan debut, ‘Applause’ sold for ten times the price of an ordinary rose.

Perk up girls; most of us won’t be able to afford the blue rose anyway.

NYC Low Line?

The Renderings for the Delancey Underground Park on the Lower East Side New York Magazine

Three urban ­entrepreneurs—James Ramsey, a satellite engineer turned architect; Dan Barasch, an executive at the technology think tank PopTech; and the pedigreed money manager R. Boykin Curry IV have a big idea.

Inspired by the speed and stupendous success of Manhattan’s High Line Park, the big think guys propose to create the Low Line — the name will stick. Just as Joshua David and Robert Hammond transformed an old freight line into high stye green, this trio intends to convert the forlorn and forgotten trolley terminal that has sat disused on the Lower East Side for 60 years.

“Technology enables us to create an appealing green space in an underserved neighborhood,” says Ramsey. The key, he says, is the “remote skylight,” a system that channels sunlight along fiber-optic cables, filtering out harmful ultraviolet and infrared light but keeping the wavelengths used in photosynthesis. “We’re channeling sunlight the way they did in ancient Egyptian tombs, but in a supermodern way.” Ramsey envisions a stand of dozens of lamppost-like solar collectors on the Delancey Street median, feeding a system of fixtures down below.

CoolEarth.org

Vivienne Westwood Red Label Spring 2012: Quiet Anarchy Fashionista

We enjoyed reading Cheryl Wischhover’s review of the Vivienne Westwood Red Label Spring 2012 show. Quiet Anarchy is what Smart Sensuality women are all about. The message is loud and clear: “Punk is dead, people.”  It’s all a big self-absorbed for a world severely-challenged. After stripping away the theatrical accessory effects, these clothes were very wearable for sexy, smart women.

Westwood was promoting her charity of the season CoolEarth, an organization dedicated to saving the rain forest.

Put Trash on a Diet

There’s no such thing as the perfect reusable coffee or cool-drink glass, based on reviews at Amazon. Copco comes closest to making lots of people very happy, earing 4-star ratings from a big audience on their Acadia Reusable To-Go Mug, 16-ounce capacity @$10.45 in multiple colors and also their Copco Sierra 24-Ounce Cold Tumbler in colors.

Products are made from BPA-free plastic and are eco-friendly. Anne made this switch to reuseable drink glasses? Et vous? PS: Starbucks will fill you up with your own container.