Congrats to Paris Hilton on her ugly!- Congrats to all the new parents living in Chelsea!
- Congrats to the MTA's spelling bee champeen!
- Congrats to the war protesters for stopping
the wartraffic! - Congrats to Germany on getting your very own Clay Aiken!
- Congrats to Freddie Ljungberg for heating up Stockholm!
- Congrats to Taco Bell's CEO on his (sort-of) birthday!
- Congratulation's to Montana's god-mother on her real birthday!
29 April 2006
11 April 2006
High Line - low concept?
This probably isn't a popular opinion and it's rather after-the-fact at this point, but is revitalization of the High Line just sort of a bad idea? With Barry Diller donating $5 million and everyone from Hillary Clinton to Ed Norton behind the idea it seems that there has not been much in the way of skeptical thought applied to the project. Although the financing has been brought together mostly by outside groups, there remains over $30 million in contribution from the city and the ongoing maintenance of the park seems to be in taxpayer hands as well.
The park will be a pretty road to nowhere and although much of the aesthetic idea of a swath of green cutting through developed space is widely appealing, that aesthetic, strongly influenced by the views afforded of the Hudson River will be greatly changed by speculative residential projects rapidly shooting up around the former rail line. What will remain is an unwide sidewalk path down the west side which will be parkland for, well, the wealthy.
Consider the same amount of funding being put into some of the large available spaces on the west side to develop a larger, more user-friendly green space with large fields and play areas. Consider the same amount if put forward to a space more appealing to a wider range of citizens from diverse economic backgrounds, not just the strolling aesthetes.
While many will point to Paris's Promenade Plantee, photos of the Promenade are distinct in one respect: it is always sans pedestrians. To a large degree the park will replicate the stroll afforded by the Hudson River Park, yet one will not be genuinely connected to the other.
It's obviously too late to stop the project from proceeding, but the real benefit of the space will come in ten or more years. Will this be still regarded as an amazing idea or just an outdated folly?
03 February 2006
Faking your way through the Super Bowl: part 5
Sad to say, today is Chico the intern's last day. It seems he may have fabricated the entire Tara Reid piece, which was a shock as it seemed so authentic. His research skills were nil and sadly, we have not really conveyed any usable information regarding the Super Bowl. All he really had to do was plagiarize this (which is a quite excellent "Super Bowl for the Clueless" article from OutSports).
As for a Super Bowl party, check out Gym, in Chelsea. There will be drink specials and plenty of footbal fags fans on hand starting at 1 p.m. on Sunday. But be sure to see possible the best counter-programming ever as Liza Minelli appears on Inside the Actors Studio at 9 p.m. on Bravo (of course).
