How much would you spend for a good night’s sleep?

Some people might say $33,000. That’s the price of E.S. Kluft & Co.’s hand-tufted, king-size Palais Royale mattress and box spring, currently the most expensive American-made mattress set on the market. The company says it has sold about 100 since introducing it in 2008.

Or maybe it’s $44,000—the price tag on Kluft’s Sublime model, which the company has teed up for a launch later this year.

European shoppers will pay even more. At $69,500—roughly the price of a Porsche Cayenne S hybrid SUV—there’s the Vividus king-size mattress set from Hästens Sängar AB, of Sweden. Hästens says it takes 160 hours to assemble this mattress entirely by hand, which has a Swedish-pine frame with thick layers of horsehair, cotton, flax and wool inside. The company says since introducing the mattress in 2006, it has sold 250 of them world-wide.

Read more from “A Mattress at $33,000? Made With Horsehair, Silk and Gold, New Bedding Pushes Prices Sky-High” by Anjali Athavaley published June 16, 2010 at The Wall Street Journal.

Now that the holiday season is over, it’s time to take down the Christmas tree, but that doesn’t mean you have to throw it in the trash. New York City parks are offering free tree recycling  this weekend.

You can bring your tree to designated parks and have it turned into mulch to be used to nourish parks and plants citywide.

Just bring your tree to a chipping location on Jan. 7 or Jan. 8 between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. and crews will chip your tree and give you your own bag of mulch to take own.

There is also curbside collection of trees until Jan. 14.

Make sure to remove all ornaments and lights before dropping off your tree.

Even the city’s most famous tree won’t go to waste. The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree will be used for lumber for Habitat for Humanity houses once it’s taken down this weekend.

The city says nearly 17,000 trees were recycled last year. For more information about MulchFest or to find a chipping location near you, click here.

From “Recycle Your Christmas Tree During NYC’s Annual MulchFest” published at CBS NY, January 7, 2012.

Beloved by children of all ages around the world, Elmo is an international icon. Few people know his creator, Kevin Clash, who dreamed of working with his idol, master puppeteer Jim Henson. Displaying his creativity and talent at a young age, Kevin ultimately found a home on Sesame Street. Narrated by Whoopi Goldberg, this documentary includes rare archival footage, interviews with Frank Oz, Rosie O’Donnell, Cheryl Henson, Joan Ganz Cooney and others and offers a behind-the-scenes look at Sesame Street and the Jim Henson Workshop.

Synopsis of “Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey” at Rotten Tomatoes

When it comes to hard feelings, the New York Jets and New York Giants have plenty of grudges with one another. Unfortunately, that has to nothing to do with anything that has been decided on the field.

For all the history of these teams – the Jets have Joe Namath and Super Bowl III while the Giants have Lawrence Taylor, the David Tyree catch and three titles – none of it intersects. There is no moment that defines this rivalry, just 11 largely nondescript games over the past 42 years. At least not until Christmas Eve, when the teams face off with their seasons on the line. Sure, the Jets may only be a just-above-average 8-6 and the Giants are a perfectly middling 7-7 (getting here in the midst of a 1-5 tailspin), but this game has actual subplots. There are immediate issues (both are trying to maintain control of their playoff chances) and long-term (the Jets badly want to overtake the Giants as the New York football franchise).

“[There’s] a lot riding on this one,” Giants defensive end Justin Tuck said Sunday. Tuck was a tad guarded after the Giants had just been embarrassed by the Washington Redskins. Likewise, the Jets were humbled later Sunday by the Philadelphia Eagles at the other end of the Jersey Turnpike. Sunday and Monday weren’t time for big talk by either team.

Read more from “Jets vs. Giants actually matters for a change” by Jason Cole, published December 20, 2011 at Yahoo! Sports

With the holiday season heating up, you can imagine that Amazon.com has lots of orders to fulfill. The amount of packages that their fulfillment centers have to manage these days is simply incredible. Look inside their Swansea, Wales, warehouse and the endless row of packages is overwhelming. The scenery is almost worth a Gursky photograph with the patterns that the packages and small warehouse personel are building.

Check out the photos at HypeNotice

Louisville’s My Morning Jacket has been nominated for a Grammy award in the best alternative album category, for “Circuital.” It is the band’s second such nomination, the first coming in 2008 for “Evil Urges.”

MMJ will compete against Radiohead, Bon Iver, Foster the People and Death Cab for Cutie at the 54th annual Grammy Awards ceremony, to be held Feb. 7 in Los Angeles at the Staples Center. The band concludes the current leg of its tour Dec. 14, when it will headline Madison Square Garden.

Excerpted from “My Morning Jacket’s up for a Grammy” published by Courier Journal, December 1, 2011.

Moth storytellers stand alone, under a spotlight, with only a microphone and a roomful of strangers. The storyteller and the audience embark on a high-wire act of shared experience which is both terrifying and exhilarating. Listen to the story of how a young man struggles with his role in the family sanitation business.

Click here to listen to “Terence Mickey: One Family’s Garbage”

Mama, take this badge off of me
I can’t use it anymore.
It’s gettin’ dark, too dark to see
I feel I’m knockin’ on heaven’s door.

Knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door
Knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door
Knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door
Knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door

Mama, put my guns in the ground
I can’t shoot them anymore.
That long black cloud is comin’ down
I feel I’m knockin’ on heaven’s door.

Knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door
Knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door
Knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door
Knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door

From “”Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” by Bob Dylan

Romney 22.5%
Cain 22.0%
Gingrich 14.2%
Perry 9.8%
Paul 8.2%
Bachmann 3.7%
Santorum 1.5%
Huntsman 1.0%

From 2012 Republican Presidential Nomination, 11/13/11 at Real Clear Politics

It’s the secret material that transformed cities from primitive outposts into pillars of civilization. Trash has forced mankind in radical urban and architectural directions, propelled advances in science, and jump-started revolutions. From the skyscrapers of Manhattan to the catacombs of Paris, the ruins of Rome, the sewers of London and the frenetic markets of Cairo, join us as we explore how these great cities fought against the tides of corpses, human waste and stinking garbage to rise above the rubbish.

Trashopolis airs on Smithsonian Channel, Tuesday at 10:00pm, Wednesday at 1:00am and Thursday at 7:00pm