Why we should subsidise hipster novelists’ housing

Bankrupt and boarded up – the city of Detroit hardly sounds like an inspiring place to work on your novel. But if your rent is covered – then suddenly the prospect is a lot more appealing. Detroit non-profit organisation Write a House is renovating two three-bedroom houses and is accepting applications (worldwide) for writers to move in rent-free. If the writers stay for two years, they get the deeds to the house. I suspect the organisation won’t be short of applications. The Read more [...]

Looking for ways to help in your community? There plenty listed in the calendar.

REUNIONS ARMY’S 2ND INFANTRY DIVISION VETERANS: Lancaster, Penn., Continental Inn, May 2-4, The Penn-Jersey Branch of the Second Indianhead Division Association. For information, call Jack Woodall, 610-274-1409 or warriorvet@verizon.net. FUNDRAISER COMMEMORATIVE ORNAMENT: Bristol Kiwanis Club is offering the Old YMCA Building as part of its Landmark series. $10. Anna Horne, 423-878-5946 or Virginia Rutherford Read more [...]

House that inspired Rush Creek Village selling for first time

As Martha and Richard Wakefield left the Arizona studio of Frank Lloyd Wright in 1946, the world-famous architect offered the Columbus couple some advice. “The last thing he said was, ‘Go home, build a house for yourself, buy a Jeep and then build a house for your next-door neighbors,’ ” Martha Wakefield would recall years later. “Strangely enough, that’s just about what we did — a lot of next-door neighbors.” Wright’s passing suggestion resulted, years later, in Rush Creek Village Read more [...]

Buyer beware! Family home haunted by the ghost of 14-year-old ‘Scary Mary …

Home first built in 1893 in Punta Gorda, Florida, by early settler and businessman James SandlinFollowing a series of family tragedies, daughter Mary Leah accidentally set herself on fire using a gasoline iron on the front porchHer ghost, known as 'Scary Mary', is said to have haunted the house sinceCurrent owners Natalie and Vandy Wynn, who have seven children, are hoping to get $1.59 million for their abodeThey say the spiritual elements are surprising but not frightening By Daily Mail Reporter Read more [...]

A housing relief program with policies that ‘throws people into the grinder’

Amal and Rizkalla Kamel survived the housing crisis and the recession with their home and finances intact; their personal collapse wouldn’t come until 2012. That winter, Amal suffered two heart attacks in two months, drastically reducing his ability to work. At the same time, Rizkalla lost her job at a gas station. Then everything really started falling apart. A year later, the family found themselves $36,000 in debt, spending what money they had on a lawyer they hired to help Read more [...]

Bear pit awarded listed status by English Heritage amid calls to restore …

An old bear pit has been listed by English Heritage. The landmark in Crete Hall Road, Northfleet, has been given Grade II-listed status, giving it protection against development. The structure, from about 1837, was given the designation, English Heritage said, because it is a “very rare surviving example of a bear pit”. It continued: “The open bear pit and floor survives relatively intact, and its plan, with four attached chambers, remains legible. “It is similar in date and Read more [...]

Baristaville Open Houses: Sunday, Jan. 19

Just about 60 properties are showing in Baristaville this weekend, including the following five: 20 Braemore Rd., Montclair List Price: $550,000 Taxes: $14,283 Acreage: 0.14 4BR/2.1BA New to the market, this eight-room Colonial has a new kitchen with granite countertops, stainless steel appliances and a breakfast bar; an updated second-floor bathroom; new windows and paint; hardwood floors; a wood-burning fireplace; built-in shelving; and original moldings. The master suite boasts a large Read more [...]

Listed: The Best Uncredited Cameos

There are no awards, nor nominations. On the plus side there are no publicity chores either. And there is none of that contractual argy-bargy about billing. In this week’s Listed, there is no billing for the stars who show up on screen without prior warning. And it’s only the biggest stars can do this sort of thing: materialise in the narrative and give it a powerful shot in the arm. If properly deployed, the impact of uncredited cameo can be huge. Indeed, in the week the runners and riders Read more [...]