Imperial Junkie ~ jeans for urban paradise?

Nothing says "urban street wear" like a bunch of cliche exotic animals in an ad:

I’m in the bayou.  Oh wait, maybe it’s the jungle.  Or am I in a meadow with my butterfly net?  I’m floating like an imperial junkie.
Ouch!!  The monkey bit me.  Am I wearing women’s jeans?  Oh, look, a pretty Bird of [...]

AP: ‘An unloved new island in Maldives’

Associated Press write Matthew Rosenberg has a new article called "An unloved new island in Maldives."  The article talks about the island of Hulhumalé that the government of the Maldives built near the airport and the capital of Male.  They can’t seem to attract people to live there according to the article.  Of course, this [...]

Dubai ~ replacing New York as the center of the 21st-century world?

If you’re at all interested in Dubai, you may want to pick up a copy of the November 2007 issue of Metropolis magazine.  The issue is easy to find; it has a huge skyscraper on it, the Burj Dubai:

The cover design is great.  It shows the printer’s marks at the top to illustrate that the [...]

Honolulu ~ one of "the world’s 10 most liveable cities" according to Intl. Herald Tribune

Honolulu has been named one of the world’s "Ten Most Liveable Cities" by the International Herald Tribune.  It is the only US city on the list.  Its company includes Helsinki, Tokyo, Copenhagen, and Madrid.  I have to say that I’m a little shocked that Honolulu would be named in this list.  I love it [...]

Dubai Megaprojects ~ A great interactive map showing trilobites marketed as palm trees

Follow this link to a little interactive map providing a great overview of the many megaprojects in Dubai.  I have to say the sandfill developments look more like trilobites than palm trees.  Let’s call them Dubailobites.

Should corporations be allowed to write off their beach houses as expenses on their taxes?

I was just listening in the background to the Extra Hollywood gossip show, and I overheard that LG has a beach house in Malibu.  After a quick search, it appears that so does Polaroid, and apparently their neighbors nearby don’t like the parties, as reported here at the Real Estate Bloggers.
Who cares if they’re bummed [...]

Lowe’s household goods ~ unexpected paradise in the desert

More and more, images of desert paradise are being pushed on us.  Much of it has stemmed from the push to get us to buy homes in Arizona.  This ad from Lowe’s appears to use an image from the Moab, Utah area for the landscape in the background.

The deserts of Utah have yet to [...]

Paving paradise ~ or everywhere ~ for parking

One of the most difficult questions that you come across when you plan and design physical places is parking.  There are rules and zoning that try to do what’s best for society, but often have unintended consequences (the economists are all saying, "we call them externalities").  We often hear people calling it "paving paradise."  I [...]

Like lipstick on a concrete pig

No matter how many palm trees you put into you ad for colored concrete, you ain’t gonna make that cement look pretty.  This picture is from a Scofield ad on the back cover of Landscape Architecture Magazine (October 2007).  It’s great to peruse through industry magazines like this one because you get a chance to [...]

“Welcome to Paradise” ~ a spiritually defunct town

A 2006 feel-good, faith-based film called “Welcome to Paradise” will be released on DVD in early October. It stars Crystal Bernard, of Wings fame, and Brian Dennehy. The premise of the movie is that a pastor from the big city is called to move to the small town of “Paradise” (yes, there are [...]

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