The High Line

http://www.thehighline.org/about/park-information

This is the link to a website about an extraordinary public park in New York City. Built on an old elevated railway line, it shows how something that was an ugly industrial feature can be recycled into something fascinating. Parks come in many shapes and sizes, but this must be one of the most unusual anywhere.
    Our rebuild of the city continues, the pace seems to be getting faster now. But as usual, the political issues of control and power are to the fore.  Consortia of the wealthy are busily plotting how they can become even wealthier.  Some of the new buildings, are, quite frankly, a disappointment. More of the same old dreary box-like stuff.  The architects complain that the new building strictures and codes (earthquake-safe) make it impossible to design anything that is not a functional box. I would have thought that only mediocre architects would claim this. I would have thought that a good architect will take limits and boundaries and find a way to use them to create something wonderful.  The strictness of the sonnet form didn't faze Shakespeare or Donne or Petrarch, just gave them walls to build against. But then, these men were geniuses; there seems to be a lack of genius in these days when everyone, no matter how pathetic, enjoys their few minutes of fame on youTube.

And have you read about the new Facebook and their promote programme? You won't see so much on your wall. Facebook have "broken" themselves but will fix it if you pay for more coverage. I don't quite get it but it's going to be death to non-profits and small businesses. It also means that you will see more stuff from big companies you 'like' and less from community groups and friends. So, for example, I still get all the posts from Canon cameras, but less from the High-Street Precinct or New Christchurch, both non-profits. Had to happen, I guess. The minute Facebook became a listed company was the minute they had to 'monetarize' the site (although no doubt this had been planned for a long time).  Read:
http://dangerousminds.net/comments/facebook_i_want_my_friends_back
The question is of course, have Facebook just cut their own throat?  Is it so good that people will pay for it, or was its value only in its freeness?  Time will tell.