Hotel Particulier

by Ami Kealoha

Nestled in a garden down a secret cobblestone path off Avenue Junot in Paris' Montmartre lies the impossibly charming five-room Hotel Particulier. CH had the privilege of staying there recently (courtesy of the hotel, which just opened its doors in June) and enjoyed the luxuriously appointed rooms and movie-perfect setting—the adjacent pétanque court being the cherry on top of the cake.

With a well-curated art collection adorning the walls, antiques, design objects and coffee table books everywhere, our experience felt something like living in the pages of a shelter magazine for a few days. Considering the building was formerly an actual hotel particulier (the French phrase means "private mansion"), the home-like atmosphere makes sense.

We stayed in the "Vitrine Room," so named for the artwork by Philippe Mayaux (who designed the room) consisting of a glass case filled with pink objects suggesting sex toys and genitalia (pictured left). Spacious and with windows overlooking the pétanque court and gardens, the highlight was the massive steam room in the bathroom. The equally massive bed, ideal for watching a film on the flat screen television and DVD player, also helped encourage relaxation.

The other four rooms, each also designed by a different creative force, were all as inviting and large as the next—except for the huge top-floor loft featuring two bedrooms, skylights and a claw foot tub in the center of the room. We also loved the “Tree with ears” room, featuring custom artist-designed wallpaper and a sound installation enabling guests to leave messages for future guests.

Whether dining al fresco in the garden (designed by Louis Bénech who's responsible for renovating Tuileries) with floral scents wafting by or sipping a glass of red wine in the ground floor salon, we can't think of a more perfect place for the kind of Paris visit that's so enchanted it feels like a cliché. And yes we'd say all that even if our stay hadn't been sponsored.

23 , avenue Junot 75018 Paris

Netvibes

by Mike Giles

If you are like me you can get lost for hours flowing between bookmarks, links and recommendations from friends on the web and you're probably looking for a simple organization solution. Recently I've been using Netvibes, a web-based application that "lets individuals assemble all in one place their favorite websites, blogs, email accounts, social networks, search engines, instant messengers, photos, videos, podcasts, widgets, and everything else they enjoy on the Web."

I use it mainly to keep track of my favorite blogs. Users can easily create a split screen that loads all your must-read blogs at once so you can instantly track the latest new and events. A quick click on any of your "headers" launches a new tabbed window allowing full screen browsing. Visit www.netvibes.com to set up your own "curated" homepage.

Gethuman 500 Database

by Jacob Resneck

The grey-haired among us can remember when customer service lines employed human operators on the frontlines rather than the sycophantic automated phone system that leads the customer through byzantine corridors toward dead-ends or endless loops. Negotiating these labyrinths and reaching a live human being in a call center in some far-off land is often the hardest part of the journey toward customer satisfaction.

Whether it was touch-tone dialing or globalization that wrecked telephone customer service isn't important. What's important is the organized resistance in the form of the Gethuman movement. Each listing directs you the fastest and simplest way of bypassing the confounding labyrinth of automated choices getting you to a live human operator.

Founded by Boston-based Paul English, a consumer advocate, this website has a catalog of call centers from large-scale retailers to utility companies in the United States, Canada and Britain.

You may have seen Gethuman around the internet already, but we thought such a valuable resource bears repeating. Especially because it puts many companies on notice by encouraging users of the site to rank individual telephone customer service. This interactive feature helps bring accountability to call centers and empower the consumer.

Interview with Catalina Estrada

by Lost At E Minor

Columbian illustrator Catalina Estrada recently designed some prints for Paul Smith in Japan. We checked in with her to see how it all came about.

How did the assignment for Paul Smith come up and what was the brief?
They contacted me by email. I think they saw my work in a book publication. They wanted me to create a few illustrations based on the theme "Animals in a London Park" for their Autumn/Winter Pink collection in Japan.

Your work is always so vibrant. Does this reflect your own personality?
Yes, sometimes it does.

You seem to have a thing for birds. Is this a lifelong interest, and what is it about their shape that so intrigues you?
My father has always loved birds. He has a special corner in his garden where he puts food for them—water with brown sugar and very ripe plantains—and they all come there. He spends lots of time watching them and taking care of them. I think I inherited that love for birds from him.

Is there one context your illustrations haven't yet been featured in that you would love to see?
I want to see my illustrations on ceramics, dishes, plates, on lamps, objects, interior designs. I want to do many, many things with my illustrations. I just need to find more time to do all that.

BMW Concept X6 ActiveHybrid

by Josh Rubin

The dream of a hybrid BMW just got a little closer to reality with their new X6 concept that was introduced at the Frankfurt auto show over the weekend. Based on the X5, it has a slightly more sleek profile, but still has the robust look to make it a "Sports Activity Vehicle" (SAV), as BMW calls it.

Looks aside, the vehicle features a two-mode hybrid gasoline-electric engine developed with partners GM and DaimlerChrysler that increases miles per gallon by 20%. Much like other hybrids, the SAV operates using either electric power or internal combustion depending on whether the car's at a lower or higher speed and generates energy from braking. Unique to BMW, the X6 features a panel that conceals the exhaust pipe when it's operating in the electrically.

Rumor has it the car will hit markets as early as mid-next year—dreams really do come true.