Friday, February 08, 2008

Oout and Aboout

For the first time in ages I went downtown during workaday hours, and - lo! - there were people out and about! Some were even smartly dressed. I picked up T and we scooted back west a bit for lunch a Chez Fushee. I observed that work was being done to the Miller & Rhoades building, "at last, after, like 15 years," I said, making the left, then the right onto Grace St. "No, no, I exaggerate." T laughed: "not by much."

Also on Broad, I noted the courts(?) building appears to be done. It faces the street squarely, but the back end of it is a big arc. It breaks the grid up with curves -- and not in the pleasing way. The Schwarzschild building now houses this legal-help group, it seems. The streets seemed full, and busy -- maybe because Broad Street has taken a turn for a better (speaking in the 30-year time frame), or maybe because ongoing construction of all sorts has pushed all the activity into just a few spaces. T says that when people come to the museum, they gripe and gripe about being stuck in construction traffic.


Missed a 5th birthday, I see.

Reading: Extras, by Scott Westerfeld. Even more like Ghost in the Shell than the Uglies trilogy -- because it's set in Japan? Because of the part the feed plays? He's also got some fascinating stuff going on about popularity and trend-setting: cool-hunting. Bringing me back to the first book of his I read, So Yesterday -- which I so loved. Just as figuring out if being Special was worse or better than being Pretty, it'll be interesting to see whether being the first to finger the fad (or story; the reporter parallel is there, too) will lead to glory or suffering.

and "Three Smart Things You Should Know About Leap Years," at Wired.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

We bought the "Uglies", "Pretties", etc. for our library here, but haven't seen much circulation. Based on ltd. discussion, it appears that those who might be interested, have already encountered and read them. Will have to check out "So Yesterday".

Lisa said...

I think you would seriously dig all of Westerfeld's rockin' books.

Anonymous said...

It's officially on the list.

If you have time, check out "Black Swan Green". Not sure that it plays with American kids, but REALLY enjoyed it!

Daniel said...

So something's finally happening to the M&R building(s). In fact, it's been more than fifteen years--the store closed in late '89, so it's very nearly twenty years.

Now I feel old and depressed.