German eyewear brand, MYKITA, has launched a charity edition of its highly-coveted Franz model frames, designed by famed fashion designer Bernhard Willhelm. Strictly limited to 100 copies, the FRANZ-for-Japan comes in the Hinomaru colorway to reference the Japanese flag. All proceeds will go to the Japanese Red Cross earthquake appeal.  And will be available at ContactsandSpecs.com soon.

After turning 40, many Americans may start to develop Presbyopia or the inability of the eyes to focus sharply on nearby objects.  When that happens, progressive eyeglasses may become necessary. For some people, wearing progressives can be quite annoying since your eyes need to adjust to the bifocal lenses as you look up and down.

Now, there’s an eye-opening development. At the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, PixelOptics showcased the world’s first electronic eyeglasses, emPower! They were so ground-breaking they made Maximum Tech Magazine’s Most Innovative Product.  With this new technology, you can simply turn on and off the electronic reading zone by touching the temple.  If you need to constantly look up and down at documents or a computer screen, you can turn on the automatic mode by swiping the temple.  And in the blink of an eye, the glasses will adjust accordingly to your movements.  At 1,000 to 2,500 dollars, they are more expensive than high-end progressives.  PixelOptics will begin a national roll out in the spring. To get your own pair go to ContactsandSpecs.com or if your in Chicago come visit us for your pair of emPower.

On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress replaced the British symbols of the Grand Union flag with a new design featuring 13 white stars in a circle on a field of blue and 13 red and white stripes – one for each state. Although it is not certain, this flag may have been made by the Philadelphia seamstress Betty Ross, who was an official flag maker for the Pennsylvania Navy. The number of stars increased as the new states entered the Union, but the number of stripes stopped at 15 and was later returned to 13.

In June 1886 Bernard Cigrand made his first public proposal for the annual observance of the birth of the flag when he wrote an article titled “The Fourteenth of June” in the old Chicago Argus newspaper. Cigrand’s effort to ensure national observance of Flag Day finally came when President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation calling for a nationwide observance of the event on June 14, 1916. However, Flag Day did not become official until August 1949, when President Harry Truman signed the legislation and proclaimed June 14 as Flag Day. In 1966, Congress also requested that the President issue annually a proclamation designating the week in which June 14 occurs as National Flag Week.

The President is requested to issue each year a proclamation to: call on government officials in the USA to display the flag of the United States on all government buildings on Flag Day; and to urge US residents to observe Flag Day as the anniversary of the adoption on June 14, 1777, by the Continental Congress of the Stars and Stripes as the official flag of the United States.

Lady GAGA is wearing a LAFONT… TWENTY sunglasses, the anniversary frame  which was made to celebrate in 2007 the 20 years of Lafont Eyewear presence in North America, this frame is a limited edition which is only available at ContactsandSpecs.com and any of the 5 Lafont boutiques in Paris France.