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"The only blog we have to fear is blog itself."

Thursday, January 25, 2007

The Modern Age in 7 Words 

Few headlines have summed up the times in which we live more so than the one just read:
Runaway Bride Story to Become Rock Opera
I haven't even read the story. Why bother? It can only be anticlimax.

You know, it used to be that if you were a Runaway Bride, or some other accidental celebrity, the best you could hope for was a quickie TV movie. I'm told that, before my day, you'd only get an antiestablishment theater group production. Now, though, you really have to expect a rock opera to really make your mark. An ice capade about you could maybe work as well, but the rock opera could better reach the youth of today and, therefore, better explain yourself to future generations.


An aside to future Runaway Brides and other accidental celebrities: please note that a YouTube video about yourself is NOT a sufficient way of immortalizing your exploits. YouTube videos are CAUSES of accidental celebrity, not proper memorials to same. I can't stress this enough, this is very important.
Posted by: Mike / 1/25/2007 08:35:00 AM
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Saturday, January 06, 2007

My Blue Period 

Below are two photos I took a few years back. For some reason, I uploaded them to blogger last February in a draft post and never did anything with it. I don't even recollect why I uploaded them. Both do feature incredible blue skies, though.


Above is the statue of Neptune which tirelessly contemplates the Atlantic Ocean next to the Paramount Theatre on the boardwalk in Asbury Park, NJ.

The 1600-seat theatre is conjoined with the gym-like Convention Hall space by a nominally "Grand Arcade" arching over the boardwalk (and also obstructing it, when the building is closed). The Convention Hall complex was designed in 1923 by Warren and Wetmore, an architectural firm with Grand Central Station also on its list of accomplishments.

As noted on the building's website, "The Paramount opened in spectacular fashion on July 11, 1930 with a show starring the Marx Brothers and Ginger Rogers." Over the '90s and early '00s I saw a handful of concerts there, including performances from Sinead O'Connor, Garbage, and Pete Yorn. The boardwalk in front of this statue would also be noted by fans of The Sopranos: it's where Tony Soprano, in a dream sequence during the second season finale, sets himself on fire.



Above is one of my favorite less-famous art deco skyscrapers in New York City, the former General Electric Building at 570 Lexington. Ironically, this building was to be the headquarters for RCA, but they instead moved into Rockefeller Center, so GE became the occupant. In 1985, of course, GE bought RCA--leading to the company to vacate this building and to donate it to Columbia University (which leases out the space to business tenants).

The Aztec designs, lightning bolts, and other Art Deco motifs on this building are among the best and most interesting in NYC.
Posted by: Mike / 1/06/2007 05:20:00 PM
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Parking 

Apparently, I have been in seclusion under sedation after the tragic realities of that last Wiggles post set in. Either that, or the holiday festivities + my birthday world tour* left me with extraordinarily less free time this past month. Either way, I believe it's the first time I've skipped an entire calendar month since launching this log on May 6, 2004. Oy.

Anyway, here's an interesting story about San Francisco's on-street parking woes.

Which of course led me to the world of parking bloggers, like Parking Today, CarHarbor, and Parking Planet.

Meanwhile, read what one student's list of the Best Architecture, Planning and Urban Affairs books of 2006 are.

* well, perhaps a Rochester/Lyons/Rome/Syracuse/Ithaca itinerary doesn't quite constitute a world tour, especially since all are the New York State locations and not their European counterparts
Posted by: Mike / 1/06/2007 03:50:00 PM
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