Not satisfied with the dart-launching pistol
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Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/DoPwq5x0BDM/playing-darts-is-so-much-easier-with-a-slingshot-sniper-1459513145LONDON (AP) — Finding the treasure hoard was just the start of the hunt.
Phones in the cramped London offices of the Art Loss Register have been ringing off the hook since German prosecutors announced what the register's chairman, Julian Radcliffe, calls "the biggest cache of illegally stored art since the end of the war."
"People who are registered with us have been ringing to say, 'You're on the case, aren't you?'" Radcliffe said Wednesday.
The flurry of activity follows the discovery in Germany of more than 1,400 artworks — some by modern masters such as Marc Chagall, Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso — stacked in the Munich apartment of an elderly man. For families whose treasures were stolen by Germany's Nazi regime, the discovery has raised hopes — but also stirred frustration.
Citing an ongoing tax probe into the apartment's resident, German authorities have not revealed many details about the vast majority of the paintings, drawings, engravings, woodcuts and prints they have found. At a news conference Tuesday, officials described only a fraction of the spectacular find, including — tantalizingly — previously unknown paintings by Matisse, Chagall and German artist Otto Dix.
That has sparked a clamor for information from art hunters, museums and the lawyers of those seeking to recover looted art.
On Wednesday, a lawyer for the family of the late Parisian art dealer Paul Rosenberg said he was "in the process of submitting a claim" for one of the most spectacular works, a Matisse painting of a seated woman.
"I fully expect when they get my claim letter they will invite me to Munich" to negotiate its return, Chris Marinello, director of the London-based Art Recovery International, told The Associated Press.
Rosenberg lost hundreds of artworks when the Nazis invaded France in 1940. His relatives, including granddaughter Anne Sinclair — the French journalist and ex-wife of former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss Kahn — have sought for decades to retrieve them.
The Munich trove was found in early 2012 at the home of a man whom German officials didn't name but who has been identified in media reports as 80-year-old Cornelius Gurlitt. His father, Hildebrand Gurlitt, was an art dealer who acted for the Nazis in the 1930s to sell art considered "degenerate" by the regime — including Impressionist and modern masterpieces — outside of Germany in return for cash.
Some of the works were seized from museums, while others were stolen or bought for a pittance from Jewish collectors who were forced to sell.
Gerhard Finckh, director of the Von der Heydt-Museum in Wuppertal, western Germany, called for an inventory of the Gurlitt trove to be published online quickly so museums can find out whether their stolen works are among them.
"If our works are among the discovered art, we will do everything to get them back," said Finckh, whose museum lost pieces by Dix, Paul Klee, Vassily Kandinsky and many others.
Jewish groups also have called for the works to be made public immediately.
Spokesman Steffen Seibert said Wednesday that Chancellor Angela Merkel's government favored releasing information about works that "may have been confiscated from people persecuted by the Nazis." But he gave no details or timeframe for that to happen.
That leaves people seeking the return of artworks with no quick path to restitution.
Imke Gielen, a Berlin lawyer specializing in restitution claims, said prospective claimants should approach the Bavarian prosecutors with queries about specific works. She said it was vital to prove ownership of the artwork until Jan. 30, 1933, the day the Nazis seized power. Any art lost after that is presumed to have been sold under pressure or seized, boosting the chances of restitution.
Others will turn to the Art Loss Register, which maintains a database of several hundred thousand works of stolen or missing art.
The organization's team of art sleuths, historians and legal experts was busy Wednesday trying to match works on its database with the items found in Germany. Radcliffe says it has already found one match — not the Matisse — but won't say what artwork it is.
Although there has been criticism of the Germans' delay in announcing the find, art law expert Coco Soodek was sympathetic. She said the trove is so large that it takes time to catalog the works — and "it might take a decade" to reunite them with their owners. German officials say they have done preliminary work on only 500 pieces so far.
"It's like a giant game of 'Concentration,'" said Soodek, head of the art law team at Bryan Cave LLP. "They will designate the ones that we know to exist and match those up with documentation of stolen art. Those are the easy ones. You match up the ones you can get to first, and then you start a big detective search."
She said families who think their artworks may have been stolen by the Nazis "should do a little treasure hunt for records — oral histories or anecdotes or memories of art that might have been in the house."
For the moment, many mysteries remain.
The reclusive Gurlitt sold at least one painting, Max Beckmann's "The Lion Tamer," through a Cologne auction house two years ago. Experts want to know whether he sold others, and where they are now.
Where, for that matter, is Gurlitt? Prosecutors said Tuesday they are not currently in contact with him, although Radcliffe thinks they will seek to strike a deal with him to hand over his artworks in lieu of a huge tax bill.
And prospective owners can be reassured on one count. A German customs investigator says the works were "professionally stored and in a very good condition."
Radcliffe said while works on paper could be fragile, oil paintings on canvas or board should be largely undamaged after decades in storage.
"Oil paintings are fairly robust," he said. "They don't really deteriorate."
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Grieshaber reported from Berlin. Associated Press writer Frank Jordans in Berlin also contributed to this report.
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Jill Lawless can be reached at http://Twitter.com/JillLawless
Continuing to enjoy the success of their big comeback, Daft Punk fronted the November 2013 issue of The Wall Street Journal Magazine.
The "Get Lucky" duo teamed up supermodel Gisele Bundchen and rocked a sexy pose with celebrity photographer Terry Richardson.
Sharing her excitement with her followers, the 33-year-old supermodel took to her Instagram account and posted the cover, writing, "New cover of @wsjmag with @DaftPunk by @terryrichardsonstudio. Nova capa para @wsjmag com @DaftPunk for @terryrichardsonstudio."
In addition, Versace shared the cover, in which Gisele dons its collection, and wrote, "Gisele Bundchen is stunning in Atelier Vesrace on the November cover of WSJ Magazine! @WSJMag @giseleofficial"
Crossing genres from pop to country, Jason Mraz arrived at the 2013 CMA Awards in Nashville, Tennessee earlier tonight (November 6).
Thanks to his handsome smile and snazzy attire, the “Living in the Moment” hunk had all the ladies swooning as he made his rounds outside the Bridgestone Arena.
Later in the evening, the 36-year-old Virginia native will take the stage with last year's New Artist of the Year, Hunter Hayes.
A perennial favorite of music fans the world over, the CMA Awards rewards the achievements of country music artists, musicians, producers, songwriters, publishers, video directors and industry executives who work in America's most popular music genre.
PARIS (AP) — A French court ruled Wednesday that Google must rid its search results of nine images of an orgy involving former Formula One chief Max Mosley.
Google's associate general counsel, Daphne Keller, said the ruling amounted to asking the search giant to build a "censorship machine" and that the company would appeal.
In 2008, the now-defunct News of the World newspaper published a story alleging that Mosley participated in a sex session with prostitutes. It also posted a video on its website that purported to show Mosley during the session.
Mosley has acknowledged his involvement but said the British tabloid grossly violated his privacy. He has since taken legal action in several countries and won suits against the paper in British and French courts. Images of the orgy can still be found on the Web.
The court ruled that Google must purge nine images from its search results or pay 1,000 euros ($1,300) each time one appears. It also ordered Google to pay Mosley 1 euro ($1.40) in damages and 5,000 euros ($6,760) in court costs.
Mosley's complaint asked that Google purge all images of the orgy and cited nine examples. The court ruled, however, only that Google had to purge the nine. It was unclear if there are more images on the Web, but the court said it was important to keep the order narrow.
Google, however, still argues that the ruling is too broad. It says it already removes specific Web addresses from its search results when they contain unlawful content and has done so for Mosley. Google is concerned that it wouldn't be able to build a filter that only targets the Mosley images but would accidentally also weed out lawful content.
"This is a troubling ruling with serious consequences for free expression, and we will appeal it," said Keller.
Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-11-06-EU-France-Mosley-vs-Google/id-bd0fdd7492b44e659af388e33db79be5NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Blake Shelton captured album of the year, Miranda Lambert won female vocalist of the year and Taylor Swift was honored with the Pinnacle award for her achievements, but it was George Strait who won the night's top honor at the Country Music Awards — entertainer of the year.
Strait, who is retiring from the road, nabbed his third trophy in the category but hadn't won the prestigious award since 1990.
He capped a night where there was no clear favorite. Shelton, Swift, Keith Urban, Tim McGraw and Florida Georgia Line won two awards each.
But Shelton won the other big award of the night — album of the year for "Based on a True Story" — besides grabbing male vocalist of the year, his fourth time winning the latter award.
Lambert, his wife, also won her fourth straight female vocalist of the year award.
"I really didn't think this was going to happen this year," Lambert said before thanking each of the other nominees.
The husband and wife have been favorites of the CMA's 6,000 voters for the last three years and Wednesday as no different,
"I had mentioned earlier today that if there was an award that would mean the most to me tonight, it would be album of the year," said Shelton, who won entertainer of the year last year and was in contention for it again this year.
Florida Georgia Line's Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley scored single and vocal duo of the year. Their quick tally was more proof the so-called bro country movement is the sound of the moment in mainstream country. FGL kicked off the show performing a fist-pumping medley with Luke Bryan, and very quickly returned to the stage to take the trophy for single of the year for their "Cruise" remix featuring Nelly. They also played the new song "Round Here."
"It's been a constant thing all year — we've been trying to wrap our minds around what's going on," Hubbard said backstage. "It's been a dream come true for us and a huge blessing for us and something we could have never imagined."
Kacey Musgraves — who, along with Taylor Swift, led all nominees with six — won the new artist trophy, besting a field that included Florida Georgia Line. With smart songwriting, a progressive bent and a strong sense of self like country's other top women, Musgraves made an auspicious mainstream country debut this year with her album "Same Trailer Different Park." She attended
"This first year for me has just been undescribable," said Musgraves, who set a record for nominations for a woman in her first year on the show.
Hosts Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley got the show going on a jovial note as they took the stage with their opening skit, first joking about feuds in music. They also skewered Obamacare to a Nashville audience that roared with approval, and brought out the guys from the hit show "Duck Dynasty" and parodied Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines."
Lee Brice's "I'd Drive Your Truck," about a fallen soldier whose father still drives his truck, won song of the year, and Little Big Town took its second straight vocal group of the year.
Swift later performed a somber, acoustic version of her hit "Red" with Vince Gill, Alison Krauss and Sam Bush and was given the CMA's Pinnacle Award. The award goes to artists who take country music to a worldwide audience. Garth Brooks is the only previous winner. He won in 2005.
The CMA brought a star-studded welcoming group out of stage for Swift that included George Strait, Rascal Flatts, McGraw, Urban, Faith Hill and Paisley — all of whom gave Swift a chance to open for them on the road a teenager. A video salute followed with appearances by Justin Timberlake, Julia Roberts, Carly Simon, Ethel Kennedy and Mick Jagger — whose appearance made Swift shout.
Swift recounted a call she got out of the blue from her Big Machine Records head Scott Borchetta when she was 16.
"He said, 'Can you be on the road in two days to open for Rascal Flatts,' and I immediately started screaming and said, 'This must be a miracle,'" she said. "He said, 'No, it's not a miracle. Eric Church got fired for playing too long."
She added: "You've made me feel so special right now, thank you."
Swift also is nominated for her third entertainer of the year award, the night's top honor.
Bryan and FGL weren't the only acts teaming up. Collaboration was the theme of the night as Strait and Alan Jackson joined together to salute the late George Jones with a rendition of "She Stopped Loving Him Today." Hunter Hayes and Jason Mraz took a tour of the Bridgestone Arena while performing "Everybody's Got Somebody But Me." And Brown and his band joined in on a growing hard-rock trend in country as Foo Fighter Dave Grohl joined the band on drums for new song high-powered "Day for the Dead
And in one of the night's most anticipated moments, Kenny Rogers received the CMA's Willie Nelson lifetime achievement award and was saluted by Jennifer Nettles, Rucker and Rascal Flatts. Rogers sat on stage and mouthed along as Rascal Flatts sang "Just Dropped In (to See What Condition My Condition Is In)," the crowd helped Rucker sing "The Gambler" and Nettles and Rogers finished the tribute by singing "Islands in the Stream" together.
"It's been a hell of a month," Rogers said. "The (Country Music) Hall of Fame last week, this this week. I can't wait to see what's coming next week."
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http://www.cmaawards.com
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Follow AP Entertainment for updates from the show: http://twitter.com/APEntertainment . Follow AP Music Writer Chris Talbott: http://twitter.com/Chris_Talbott .
Microwaves are rarely seen as the focal point of your kitchen, but maybe they should be? German appliance maker Caso sure thinks so. The company's new HCMG25 microwave features a giant black mirror glass front panel with a cleverly integrated red LED display that pushes all the buttons to the side to help preserve its minimalist aesthetic.
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Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/k7ASjc-yjr4/this-sleek-monolithic-microwave-keeps-buttons-to-a-mini-1459429730
