Who's the bigger man?

Come on, we knew it had to happen someday. NYC is a growing city; without the means to grow horizontally, it has to grow vertically. Why is it surprising (zoning laws aside, etc.) that someone else wants to steal the thunder held by the Empire State Building for more than the usually allocated threescore years and ten? (And by the way, if those zoning laws don't exist for the ESB, there's no reason they should exist for any other structures within a few blocks of the ESB either!)

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/24/nyregion/24empire.html

My opinion? Yes and No. On the Yes side is this: with NYC's eclectic architecture, the "new structure" will only provide a wonderful foil to the ESB's art deco facade, and vice versa. The sky is not yours, Malkins; and neither is the earth. No, not even the seventeen blocks around the ESB! I do hope the authorities don't grant the no-go zone that the owners of the ESB want: that will be ringing the death knell for skyscrapery (and, by extension, entrepreneurship) in NYC! As a member of the City Council put it, “Is New York City a snapshot taken in 2010 to be held in perpetuity, or is New York City an evolving, dynamic entity?”

On the No side: As much as I respect Cesar Pelli, I should think that the proposed structure looks a little too familiar (think IFC 2 in Hong Kong) for NYC's comfort. (It didn't take me a few seconds to make the connection, and I'm no architect!) Considering NYC's iconic status within the USA, I'm sure the Hon. Dr. Pelli can come up with something more unique for this city than a copy of a building existing in a country that, for a large period in recent history, has been the very antithesis of the things that America and, more importantly, NYC, stand for!

Odds and Ends ... .

I have had to make time to breathe so you shouldn't be surprised that I haven't blogged this month. Here's the dateline, in brief because I'm at work:

*** Turned THIRTY late last month. The thought of this had threatened to trouble me, but it started exciting me once I realized I was also being published - finally! - in the same month. (My Advisor gave me my first print copy of This Fine Journal in MR, and my article looks sooo much better in double-column layout and glossy print!) Besides, as Fi put it, we've "intellectually and mentally been in our thirties so long that it seems fitting to finally arrive at OUR decade". Cheers!

*** Five years of blogging, on the 30th of July. I'm just a few posts shy of 250. Not going as fast as a lot of bloggers I've read, but keeping up a respectable presence, considering the nature and pace of everything at this end.

*** Anniversaries: My arrival into the US, eight years ago. My move to Chicago, six years ago, also marking the start of my PhD. Ma and Paa's wedding anniversary, on which occasion I've started to thank them each year, 'cuz if "you guys didn't marry each other, I wouldn't be Me". Raise your glasses!

*** Need a breather? This is the story of a patriotic thief. He was caught red-handed last night, having broken into the car of a colleague. The police left a note for him (the colleague, not the thief) saying that they nabbed the guy and would my colleague call them to formally report the incident. When he called, he was asked if he'd lost anything. (He hadn't, luckily, unless you count the cost of the broken window.) Apparently, the guy was caught in the car with a bag of American flags! Law enforcement has taken him into custody; so, as he's reciting his Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, he'll definitely get one-half of "liberty and justice for all". Fitting!

*** In other important news, my littlest roommate moved out. We've been roommates for so long that it still feels strange to walk in and know there's no use saying "Hey, J! How was your day?" But, as I told her, I know we've been great as roommates but I know we'll be even better as friends. And that's saying something! To J and her Cat, and to many more years together!

*** And the sequel: The hunt for the next "near-perfect" roommate started with J and Pinks in mind! (Which is one of the reasons I've been so insanely busy.) After a little bit of a dramatic sequence where the "chosen one" went AWOL, a complete co-incidence led to another roommate joining me at home. So far, things look good, and I'm all lively anticipation!

*** I was at Boston last weekend where I met an old friend I did my Master's with. It's been five years since we met, luckily time hasn't changed her a lot at all, despite the full-time workload, and the addition of the double-duty of wife and mother. Still as fun to be with as ever! Her fourteen-month-old daughter is the littlest thing with the most curious gaze that she directs towards everyone and everything. (She charmed me completely with a particularly exciting "action" sequence involving a dog. Actually I think it was specifically the tail that was the attraction!) She reminded me so much of my little Pigglett! Pity I forgot to take pics!

That's all, Folks!