News: Dubai, Sarah Palin, AIDS Vaccine, Guatemala, David Geffen

Nobel Prize winner Luc Montagnier: 'therapeutic' AIDS vaccine in 3 or 4 years.

British gay pub hit by "butt pirate" graffiti. Landlord: "I don’t think it’s homophobic, it’s just little minds, 11 or 12 year old boys who think ‘there’s a gay pub, let’s write on it’. They’ll probably be in here in 10 years’ time. If they want to hide in their closets let them. The people that are most anti are normally hiding from their gayness."

Saturday Night Live working to book Sarah Palin for spoof of Tina Fey.

Tax experts: Todd and Sarah Palin owe thousands of dollars in back taxes.

World Conservation Union: 1 in 4 mammals being pushed to extinction.

Gay Guatemalan man who changed a story about political persecution in his home country to one of sexual persecution loses U.S. asylum appeal: "Two judges with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals said in an opinion filed Monday that it would be a 'manifest injustice' to allow Saul Martinez to benefit from gaming the system after he lied under oath. A third judge disagreed, arguing that it was easy to understand how a man who was persecuted because of his sexual orientation felt compelled to invent a story to escape from that persecution."

FOX planning remake of Absolutely Fabulous.

Kevin Sessums on J Lo's nervous breakdown and her relationship with Scientology: "I do know a lot about Scientology. And I know about the practices. I know all about what the technology is and all that kind of stuff. It’s very helpful. So in a sense, yeah, you do call on it."

New 'world's tallest skyscraper' planned for Dubai.

Dubai resort Palm Atlantis refuses to release whale shark captured in the waters of the UAE: "Whale Sharks are protected by CITES (Convention for the International Trade of Endangered Species) and apparently the hotel was urged to release the animal. Environmentalists have hit out at the management of Atlantis hotel for performing an apparent change of mind by deciding to keep a whale shark caught off Jebel Ali."

Fish filmed alive at greatest-ever depth.

Trial underway for former Mr. Gay UK who killed his lover and the tried to eat him.

Hollywood Reporter reviews W: "It's a gutsy movie but not necessarily a good one. Its greatest strength is that it wants to talk about what's on our minds right now and not wait for historians. In an election season, people will have opinions about 'W.' before even seeing it -- or not -- so boxoffice may be erratic. It deserves a fair hearing by American audiences, for Stone goes out of his way to give Bush a fair hearing."

Lance Bass wants to be in a sitcom as J.C. Chasez launches acting career...

Scientists detect massive baffling object around distant star.

Georgia Supreme Court finds that transgender candidate did not mislead voters when she ran as a woman: "In their suit, Fuller and Harris allege Bruce’s name is Michael Bruce. Their attorney, new Clayton school board member Michael King, argued that Bruce’s birth certificate lists her as Mickey Dwayne Bruce and a man. Bruce, who identifies herself as transgender and a woman, said she changed her name in Clayton County Superior Court in 1980 to Mickey Michelle Bruce and goes by Michelle Mickey Bruce."

David Geffen ends relationship with DreamWorks.

Arkansas judges oppose ban on foster care, gay adoption: "Thirteen retired Arkansas judges, including three former chief justices of the state Supreme Court, announced their opposition Monday to a ballot initiative that would ban unmarried couples from adopting or foster parenting children in Arkansas. Proposed Initiated Act No. 1 would limit the ability of every Arkansas judge to choose custodial parents who would serve the best interests of vulnerable children, the group said in a statement."

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Son of Architect Richard Meier Claims His Father is Gay

The NY Post reports that the son of architect Richard Meier is writing a book "about my tragic experience with a gay father that didn't want to come out of the closet and . . . became aggressive when I discovered the truth."

Page Six reports: "Joseph Meier, 28, a Fulbright scholar who studied sculpture in Italy, told Page Six his relationship with his father went into meltdown when he claimed to have found out Richard was gay - an allegation roundly dismissed as complete fiction by Meier's friends. 'I think that the kid of Clay Aiken is very lucky,' Joseph said, referring to the 'American Idol' star who came out of the closet. "He probably won't risk being fired by his father or be canceled from his will. 'When I discovered that my father is gay . . . he illegally forced me to stay five days in Mount Sinai Psychiatric Hospital.' Joseph said his dad, 73, tried to have him declared 'paranoid for no reason' with the help of doctors and a trustee at the hospital."

Richard Meier's rep. as well as his friends say Meier's not gay, and are concerned for his son's well being.

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On the High Line

And now for something a little different...

Here's a brief interesting history of New York's High Line, which, for those of you not in Manhattan, is an abandoned elevated rail line on the city's west side that is now being turned into the city's newest public space. The history has been packed into a new, easily digestible clip narrated by Ethan Hawke.

Watch it, AFTER THE JUMP...

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Empire State Building to 'Glitter' for Mariah Carey

Hey New Yorkers, if you look up at the Empire State Building this weekend and wonder why it's lit in pink, lavender, and white, it's because the largest phallus in New York state is honoring...Mariah Carey.

According to a press release, that's apparently the color 'motif' of the new album E=MC² and she's going to be at a ceremony tomorrow at 1 pm at the building where she's going to flip the switch on a scale model of the building that I guess will light up and, I don't know, play Touch My Body or something.

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Moscow's Crystal Island: SimCity Anyone?

Foster and Partners released new designs recently for their "Crystal Island" project in Moscow, which would reportedly be the largest 'building' ever.

According to Dezeen, "Crystal Island in Moscow will be 450m high, cover an area of almost half a million square metres and contain a total floor area of 2.5 million square metres. The structure will house theatres, exhibition spaces, retail and catering businesses, 3,000 hotel rooms, 900 serviced apartments and a school for 500 students. There will also be two public viewing platforms, one at 150m and another at 300m."

It has apparently been granted "preliminary planning permission" in Moscow, whatever that means. On the Foster site the project has an inception date of 2006.

The project is reminiscent of the X-Seed 4000 Japanese utopian city project I posted about last August.

(via daily dish)

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Adventures in Exterior Decoration: Orlando Bloom's Black House

Page Six reports: "Orlando Bloom is about as far from a goth as you can get which is why his decision to paint his Los Angeles mansion all-black is so shocking. The house, which he paid $2.7 million for this August, is nestled on Outpost Drive in the Hollywood Hills, the same neighborhood that Charlize Theron and Scarlett Johansson call home. And both blonde starlets are reportedly annoyed with Orlando for his decision to paint it black, since most Outpost Drive residents paint their homes white to reflect the sun. 'Orlando went completely the other way,' a source tells British newspaper The Sun. 'It’s a bit weird, but that’s Orlando — he’s an original guy.' How come the hot guys get to be 'original' while the average joes are labeled 'weird'?"

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Towleroad Guide to the Tube #207

BURJ DUBAI: Try to ignore Mr. Enthusiasm and just enjoy the tour.

ELLEN DEGENERES: Ellen asks guest Jenna Bush to call her parents at the White House. Finds them doing nothing.

TOM TANCREDO: Hi, I'm Tom Tancredo, a racist fear-monger.

RHYDIAN: His latest X-Factor performance "Somebody to Love".

Check out our previous guides to the Tube here

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News: China Moon, Kevin Rudd, Spice Girls, Kentucky, Truman Capote

Philadelphia Boy Scouts facing eviction for their anti-gay bigotry: "The Cradle of Liberty Council—Philadelphia's Boy Scout chapter—has been housed in an historic building in downtown Philly for almost 80 years, paying almost nothing for the prime piece of proprety under the terms of a 100-year sweetheart lease it inked with the city in 1928. But that lease is set to expire, and city officials say the taxpayer's shouldn't be footing the Scouts rent bill because of it's national policy banning openly gay members and leaders. The Scouts must either pony up the fair market rent for the space—about $200,000 a year—or find a new home."

Back to 1996: Spice Girls kick off world tour in Vancouver, with real live vocals! "There is a click track for the band to keep them in time, which is standard, but all of the girls' vocals were live."

British Panto theatre comes out of the closet: "Panto has cross-dressing, innuendo and glitter, so maybe we've reached the point where we've stopped pretending that it's just camp and really it's as gay as you like. It's built into the form."

The NYT takes a look at the difficulties of being gay in Newark, New Jersey: "Sharrieff Baker and his partner, Edwin Rosario, who own a house in the North Ward, said they had a very different experience when one of their tenants found out they were a couple. Last month, they said, the tenant tore up a shared bathroom, called them 'faggots' and threatened to blow up their house. When they called 911, they said, Vincent Cordi, the responding police officer, appeared unconcerned and agreed only reluctantly to take their complaint. Back at the station house, they said, Officer Cordi sniggered with co-workers as he typed up the paperwork, at one point blurting out, 'How do you spell 'faggot'?'"

Truman Capote, New Orleans, 1946: First chapter of new book Portraits and Observations: The Essays of Truman Capote (Review)

Beckham makes the sponsorship switch: Emporio Armani undies spotted in New Zealand

Homophobic, racist flyers found on Canada's University of Windsor campus.

A look back at Saturday Night Fever on its 30th anniversary: "Lapels aside, the film seems strangely prescient -- a road map to the income inequality, the ethnic and racial politics, and the lure of celebrity that we see today. Culturally speaking, the '70s are back. As we grapple with soaring gasoline prices, tune in to 'Dancing With the Stars' and work through a new kind of national malaise, we would do well to heed the cautionary lessons of the young man in polyester."

Gay census study sees closets emptying in Kentucky.

Watchdogs question authenticity of Chinese Moon photo, say it may be plagiarized from NASA. China denies.

Australia's new Prime Minister Kevin Rudd makes his first act ratifying the Kyoto Treaty: "Australia's new stance on Kyoto will isolate the US as the only developed nation not to have ratified the treaty. Mr Rudd is due to attend the UN climate change conference in Bali next week with four of his ministers. When they heard of Mr Rudd's decision, delegates at the conference erupted in applause. Mr Rudd's appointment as prime minister ends more than 11 years of conservative government under his predecessor John Howard. As well as signing up to the Kyoto Protocol, the new government is committed to withdrawing Australia's combat troops from Iraq."

Brokeback Mountain costume designer Marit Allen dies of brain aneurysm at 66.

Mitt Romney to deliver major speech on Mormonism. AmericaBlog calls him out: "You can't give a speech about being an oppressed religious minority in America only 5 days after you oppress another religious minority in America. Romney can't tell us that the religion of his cabinet is relevant but the religion of the cabinet's president isn't. It just doesn't work that way. Either a candidate for high office's religion is relevant or its not. This week Romney is going to tell us that it's not, though I suspect he's also going to try to con everyone into thinking that Mormonism IS Christianity, so at the same time he's telling us to ignore his religion he's going to be telling us that he's a bigger Christian than we are and that that is the reason we should vote for him. In other words, Romney is going to try to have it both ways this week, lying all the way. So what else is new?"

Pam Spaulding posts a wrap-up of the 2007 International Gay & Lesbian Leadership Conference and a new interview with Representative Tammy Baldwin.

Fixer-upper: Richard Neutra house goes on market in Santa Monica.

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News: Modernist House, Shia LaBeouf, Pig Beast, Writer's Strike

California wingnuts launch referendum bid to overturn sexual orientation discrimination law in schools: "The legislation, Senate Bill 777, was signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last month with little notice because the governor, at nearly the same time, vetoed the same-sex marriage bill. Conservative groups say the bill would require far-reaching changes in school curriculum and activities. 'This will mean either getting rid of mom and dad or adding a homosexual couple,' in a textbook, said Karen England, executive director of the Capitol Resource Family Impact."

David Beckham gets himself caught up in the excitement of his Hollywood charity game for wildfire victims.

Giant "pig-like beast" discovered deep in Brazil's Amazon rainforest: "The newly named beast (Pecari maximus) was found in the basin of the Rio Aripuanã and confirmed to be a distinct species via a genetic analysis conducted by the Leiden Centre for Environmental Sciences in the Netherlands. Though new to science, locals already knew about the creature. Tupi Indians called it Caitetu Munde, which means 'great peccary which lives in pairs.'"

Shia LaBeouf arrested for refusing to leave a Chicago Walgreens. (mugshot)

Royal blackmailer Ian Strachan and accomplice are denied bail: " Lawyers representing Ian Strachan, 30, applied for bail at the Old Bailey but it was turned down by Mr Justice Gross. The hearing had been due to take place in private, but was opened to the press following legal representation by media groups. A previous application last week was adjourned after a few minutes because the lawyers needed more time to prepare. Strachan, who is in custody at Belmarsh prison, was not at the hearing." It was also recently revealed that Strachan's accomplice Sean McGuigan received funds from Prince Charles in 1993 to set up a car wash business: "He spent a £1,500 loan on buckets, sponges and cleaning fluid and a further £1,000 grant for other start-up costs for the firm Star Craft in Fulham, London."

As Hollywood writers strike, some, like BJ Novak of The Office, are caught in the crossfire.

Jake Gyllenhaal lashes out at paparazzo. If you've got the cash on hand, you can join him for lunch.

Retired Catholic bishop charged with repeated sexual assault on 42-year-old Cuban man: "The suit alleges the Most Rev. Priamo Tejeda, a retired bishop of the Diocese of Baní in the Dominican Republic, began assaulting the man while Tejeda was an active bishop and continued the assaults over an 11-year period, most recently in Broward County in 2005. The suit doesn’t say that any of the alleged assaults took place in Southwest Florida. The plaintiff in the lawsuit is identified by only his initials: 'J.G.' In the suit, J.G. alleges Tejeda contacted him in Miami in January 2005 to discuss employment opportunities within the Diocese of Venice, which has jurisdiction over 10 counties in Florida, including Collier and Lee. After Tejeda arrived in Miami, he drove J.G. to an apartment and then Tejeda forced himself sexually on J.G., the suit states. 'He was threatening him with deportation or arrest,' said J.G.’s lawyer, Ronald Weil of Miami."

Australian Prime Minister John Howard not amused by same-sex attraction query.

$12 million Modernist architectural "treasure" to hit the market in Provincetown: "Built by former Clark University psychology professor Carl Murchison and his worldly wife, Dorotea, the house has been off-limits to the public for years. Passersby seeking a glimpse of the house were shooed away by the Murchisons' reclusive daughter-in-law, who owned the house until her death earlier this year. But now, this unique property is at a pivotal moment in its history: The Murchisons' heir is selling the house. When it hits the market for about $12 million, as soon as this month, its fate will be subject to the whims of the luxury real estate market, which often values waterview properties much more for the development potential of the land than for the architectural significance of the house on it."

ABC News caught doing undercover story on gay kissing.

Sex sting at Daytona Beach's Volusia Mall nets former city commissioner and high school teacher. Police chief: "The reason that we did this sting is we all go to the mall; our kids go into the bathroom. That they could be susceptible to this kind of behavior is absolutely a disgrace."

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Reflecting on Herbert Muschamp

The New York Times' revered and influential architecture critic Herbert Muschamp died yesterday after a battle with lung cancer. In his obituary, the Times reflected on how his identification as a gay man influenced his criticism:

"Mr. Muschamp often reflected on the central role that gay men played in New York’s cultural history, specifically the world that he entered as a young gay man escaping the homogeneity of suburban Philadelphia. In a 5,900-word essay last year in the paper’s Arts & Leisure section, he explored the subversive character of 2 Columbus Circle — Edward Durell Stone’s lollipop building — and its connection to in the city’s gay subculture in the Sixties. He described his generation’s experience this way: 'We were the children of white flight, the first generation to grow up in postwar American suburbs. By the time the ’60s rolled around, many of us, the gay ones especially, were eager to make a U-turn and fly back the other way. Whether or not the city was obsolete, we couldn’t imagine our personal futures in any other form. The street and the skyline signified to us what the lawn and the highway signified to our parents: a place to breathe free.'"

Here's the full article to which the obit refers.

Muschamp was 59.

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News: O.J. Simpson, Humberto, Macalester, Amy Winehouse

New Jersey school district split over film depicting same-sex parents: "Emily describes her interracial family — her father is of European descent and her mother’s background is Asian — this way: 'It doesn’t mean you have to be a rat to marry a rat. You can be a rat and marry a mouse.' But at another point in a state-approved educational video shown to third graders here, Daniel introduces his parents: 'These are my two dads.' Another child says, 'It’s really cool have to two gay dads, because they brought us into a home, and they adopted us, and they love us.' That was enough to entangle this wealthy suburb of 45,000, about 15 miles east of Philadelphia, in a heated debate among parents and educators."

Hurricane Humberto's record blow-up: "Humberto didn't exist until late Wednesday afternoon, and wasn't even a tropical storm until almost midday, strengthening from a tropical depression with 35-mph winds to a hurricane with 85-mph winds in just 18 hours, senior hurricane specialist James Franklin said at the National Hurricane Center in Miami. 'To put this development in perspective, no tropical cyclone in the historical record has ever reached this intensity at a faster rate near landfall. It would be nice to know, someday, why this happened,' Franklin said."

Big Brokeback Mountain screening at the Castro Theater this Sunday — props and costumes from the film on display.

OJ Simpson questioned in Las Vegas casino theft.

Almost married in Iowa: "Inside the Polk County Administration Building, we traversed a hallway, followed by TV crews and cameras. We signed and notarized our application, and headed to the courthouse to waive the three-day waiting period, which required a judge’s signature. Our plan was to be married in Iowa City by dusk. When we met the judge, Pam and I introduced ourselves, and explained our request. His response was devastating: 'I apologize, but the judge just issued an immediate stay, pending appeal to the Iowa Supreme Court. I am so sorry.'"

Kylie Minogue readies "2 Hearts" for release.

HIV variant offers fresh vaccine hope.

Oregon bigots struggle to get 55,179 valid signatures necessary to suspend gay rights laws from going into effect on January 1: "Let's just say that we're not there yet."

Tallest building in China rises above Shanghai.

Lesbian mom battles Amazon over Tuition and Textbooks Sweepstakes.

Amy Winehouse's childhood album. Today is her 24th birthday.

Neil Patrick Harris talks to Ellen about no longer having to hide his boyfriend David Burtka at the Emmys.

Student car at Macalester College vandalized in hate crime: "A Macalester student's car was 'vandalized with homophobic graffiti and damaged' last Saturday night or Sunday morning, according to a Bulletin Flash sent Tuesday to the Macalester community. The car was parked North of campus, near the corner of Summit Ave. and Fry St. There is no evidence Macalester students were involved in the crime. The Executive Board of Macalester College Student Government (MCSG) called for 'a student response' in a statement sent to students on Wednesday. 'We support every student who is a part of this community, and this will not go overlooked,' the MCSG statement said. 'We are a small community and this will undoubtedly send ripples to every corner of campus.'" Macalester was recently named the most gay-friendly college in the country by The Princeton Review.

Gay rights activists in Taipei demonstrate outside Nicaraguan embassy over country's sodomy laws.

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Burj Dubai Now World's Tallest Freestanding Structure

Developers of the Burj Dubai today announced that the skyscraper, still under construction, has surpassed Toronto's CN Tower to become the world's tallest freestanding structure. The Burj is 555.3 meters tall to the CN Tower's 553.3 meters.

Bloomberg reports: "Burj Dubai will eventually rise above the KVLY-TV mast in Blanchard, North Dakota, to become the world's tallest structure, Emaar said, without giving a target height. The 628.8-meter mast is supported by guy-wires and so is not free-standing, according to Emaar. Emaar is the Middle East's biggest real estate developer, and started building the $900 million, 160-storey Burj Dubai in 2004 to be the centerpiece of its $20 billion `Downtown' project. The tower is facing delays of at least a year after Swiss contractor Schmidlin Ltd. Facade Technology went bankrupt, leaving it without external walls."

In related news, developers of the nearby iPad building announced that it would now be the iPad Touch building.

Recently
WTC "Final Renderings" Revealed [tr]
To Dream, Perchance to Build [tr]
San Francisco: Three Firms Vie for West Coast's Tallest Skyscraper [tr]
Is This the Gayest House in America? [tr]

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WTC "Final Renderings" Revealed

Curbed has posted "final renderings" for the towers that will stand alongside the Freedom Tower at the WTC site, which were just revealed, apparently. They're more fully-realized than the designs released a year ago today.

Here they are:

Norman Foster's Tower 2 [curbed]
Rogers Partnerships' Tower 3 [curbed]
Fumihiko Maki's Tower 4 [curbed]

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To Dream, Perchance to Build

Japan is usually remarkable for its ability to cram lots into tiny spaces, but the most recent architectural unveiling shows they know how to think big as well.

The Taisei Construction Corporation has unveiled some utopian plans for the world's largest building.

Inhabit writes: "Looking eerily like Mt. Doom in the above rendering, the mountain-like X-Seed 4000 represents a utopian eco-vision for a self-contained high-rise city in the Tokyo harbor - powered mainly by solar energy. Aesthetically inspired by nearby Mt. Fuji, the behemoth building would measure 13,123 feet tall with a 6 square-kilometer footprint, and could accommodate five hundred thousand to one million inhabitants. Designed by Taisei Construction Corporation as an 'intelligent building,' the futuristically-named X-Seed 4000 would maintain light, temperature, and air pressure in response to changing external weather conditions. Unlike conventional skyscrapers, the X-Seed 4000 would be required to actively protect its occupants from considerable air pressure gradations and weather fluctuations along its massive elevation. Its design calls for the use of solar power to maintain internal environmental conditions. Some estimate that the cost to construct the X-Seed 4000 structure may be somewhere between US$300-900 billion."

I doubt that such a monstrosity would be built within our lifetimes, but imagine the penthouse.

(via slog)

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San Francisco: Three Firms Vie for West Coast's Tallest Skyscraper

A competition is underway in San Francisco to design a skyscraper that will be part of the Transbay Terminal development, a transportation hub that will provide access to a proposed high-speed rail line linking the city to Los Angeles.

Inhabit notes: "The three proposed skyscraper designs, by SOM, Pelli Clarke Pelli and Richard Roger’s Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, are all over 1200 ft (nearly 1/3 higher than the current skyscraper champion in San Francisco, the 853 ft Transamerica Pyramid). All feature large wind turbines on the roof to provide renewable energy for the building."

One proposal, from Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners design.

A second proposal from Pelli Clarke Pelli.

A third from Skidmore, Owings, & Merrill.

Having been in San Francisco during the 1989 Loma Prieta quake, I don't envy anyone on the top floors of these towers when the "big one" finally decides to hit.

Tallest Skyscraper in San Francisco Will Be Green? [inhabit]

(via boingboing)

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Is This the Gayest House in America? [tr]
Turned On: Nocturne, Britain's Largest Public Lightwork [tr]
Calatrava's "Chicago Spire": North America's Tallest Skyscraper? [tr]
Getting Interactive with Frank Gehry and Barry Diller's IAC [tr]
Philip Johnson's New York Apartment for Sale [tr]

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Is This the Gayest House in America?

Perhaps, according to the Washington Post:

"...seen as a single entity, the Glass House/Brick House structures add up to the gayest house in America, an architectural enactment of a life lived with a rigorous division between the public and the private. Not that Johnson, a man who enjoyed wealth throughout his life, lived that particular dichotomy of hiding and revealing in the way that less fortunate men had to. But even at the level of its mechanical systems, the two-house dyad seems like a metaphor for the publicly brilliant homosexual: The Glass House is enticingly open but dependent on the Brick House for its hidden electrical and plumbing connections."

Philip Johnson's 1949 modernist masterpiece, the "Glass House" in New Canaan, Connecticut, will open to the public as a National Trust for Historic Preservation site this Saturday.

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Turned On: Nocturne, Britain's Largest Public Lightwork

Click here for more on art or architecture...

Great Britain's largest public art "lightwork" installation has gone up in northeast England, on the Queen Elizabeth II Metro Bridge which shuttles the Tyne and Wear Metro from Newcastle upon Tyne to Gateshead over the River Tyne. "Nocturne" was created by artist Nayan Kulkarni and was funded by the public transportation group Nexus.

According to Nexus, "Nocturne – longer then three football pitches – will illuminate the so-called ‘blue bridge’ for at least the next 15 years. Its low-energy LED lights will never repeat the same combination of colours twice as pre-programmed barcodes of colour ripple across the structure, rising and falling in brightness and intensity to match the ebb and flow of the tide. Millions of people will see Nocturne every year from Newcastle-Gateshead's vibrant quayside bar and restaurant district, from surrounding riverside apartments, offices, roads and railways, including the east coast mainline to London."

According to the project's website, "The light effects that Nocturne shows are determined by the colours displayed in digital photographs that have been sent. This means that anyone can change the way the bridge looks and feels by sending a photograph, or a scan of an image, in fact, anything that can be sent as a jpeg will control the appearance of the bridge."

You can send an image in here. And here it is in action...

Nocturne – Britain's biggest new artwork is born. [nexus]

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Calatrava's "Chicago Spire": North America's Tallest Skyscraper? [tr]
Massive Skeleton Laid Out in Milan's Palazzo Reale [tr]
Gilbert and George's "Deeply Filthy" Career Takes Over the Tate [tr]
Banksy Reacts to Sotheby's Record Auction Haul [tr]

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Calatrava's "Chicago Spire": North America's Tallest Skyscraper?

With an endorsement from the Chicago City Planning Commission last week, Santiago Calatrava's 2,000 ft. "Chicago Spire" has come one step closer to reality. The building would become North America's tallest skyscraper, surpassing its next tallest rival, Chicago's Sears Tower, by 550 feet.

The project has been through several iterations, according to the Chicago Tribune: " Inevitably, some will lament that this is not the original version of the tower, called the Fordham Spire, which proposed a hotel and communications antenna as well as condos on a vacant site west of Lake Shore Drive and on the north bank of the Chicago River. But that design was a seductive fantasy. This one, which would house about 1,200 condominiums, is striving to be real. Certainly, it has made great strides toward balancing form and finance, especially since December, when Calatrava made public a banal, nearly flat-topped version of the skyscraper. It instantly was tagged 'Twizzler Tower' (see video, below right) for resembling a piece of licorice. Since then, the restless architect has moved gradually to the present plan, in which the tower rises energetically but nobly, making a 360-degree twist as it moves from the ground to a sharply articulated summit."

Recent improvements to the plan, including moving a parking structure underground and a generous financial commitment toward the development of adjacent DuSable Park (named for Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable, the first non-native settler of Chicago) from Shelbourne Development, appear to have won city planners over. The Chicago Spire's plan includes 150 stories, each of which would rotate two degrees from the one below it , to a total rotation of 360 degrees. The videos below show part of a presentation Calatrava gave to the Chicago City Planning Commission (left) and an earlier plan for the project.

City panel endorses Spire's latest twist [chicago tribune]
Chicago Spire gets Plan Commission OK [crain's chicago business]

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Getting Interactive with Frank Gehry and Barry Diller's IAC [tr]
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Getting Interactive with Frank Gehry and Barry Diller's IAC

I blogged about Frank Gehry's headquarters for Barry Diller's InterActive Corp. while the building was going up. Now it's completed. Someone with a video camera and a key to the castle has now offered us a closer look...

Click small photo to enlarge...

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Frank Gehry: Half Dressed [tr]
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Philip Johnson's New York Apartment for Sale

For a cool $2.5 million you can inhabit the apartment once owned by architect Philip Johnson:

"Mr. Johnson, one of America's most celebrated (gay) architects designed a glamorous coffered ceiling in the living room which overlooks the famed MOMA Sculpture Garden that Mr. Johnson designed in 1964. The apartment also looks toward the pink and granite AT & T building designed by Mr. Johnson in 1984. Viewed from the floor to ceiling windows, Mr. Johnson chose this apartment as his own for these special views."

Special bonus is that you get an Andy Warhol artwork with your purchase. The powder room is papered in the artist's "cow wallpaper" signed by the artist himself.

15 West 53rd Street [elliman]
The Real Urban Ass House [curbed]

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Gerald Ford's Childhood Home: Restored with Gay Pride

Via The Cup of Joe comes this great piece from today's Wall Street Journal about Tim England and Rob Kent, a couple together for nearly 20 years, who bought Gerald Ford's childhood home in 1991 and restored it. In the process, they caught the attention of Ford, and developed a friendship with the former president.

"After moving in, Messrs. Kent and England painted walls and did a lot of patching. They replaced all 36 windows and the three outside doors. They scoured yard sales for antique clocks, lamps, chairs and bookcases to give the house a vintage feel. Mr. England bought an old chandelier and restored each of its 500 crystals by hand. The two men planted a garden in the barren backyard. The restoration, and others like it, helped improve the neighborhood.

Then in 1992, a letter arrived from President Ford out of the blue. "Mrs. Ford and I are very pleased and honored that you have done such a wonderful restoration of my family home," he wrote. Excited that the former president had taken an interest, the two men tried to have the house designated as a historical landmark and sought public funds to help with the restoration."

Ford later paid a visit to the couple and they began corresponding. As Joe notes, "Isn't it nice to read about non-gay-baiting Republicans?" It certainly is, and their actions perhaps contributed to Ford's views on gay marriage. News of Ford's death was poignant for the couple:

"Just past midnight on Wednesday morning, after Messrs. England and Kent went to bed, a friend called and told them to turn on their television. Watching the report of Mr. Ford's death, Mr. England says he felt sick to his stomach. A few minutes later, a local news crew pulled up in front of the home in the darkness. Mr. England went outside and pleaded with them to wait before they started shooting. He brought out the big American flag and draped it over the front porch. Then he told them they could start their cameras."

A New Year; My First Post [the cup of joe]
In Grand Rapids, Fixer-Upper Leads To Unusual Bond [wall street journal]

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Former President Gerald Ford is Dead at 93

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Dubai Real Estate Developer Plans Ipod Building

If you thought that the oil lamp building in Guzhen, China was weird, a real estate developer in Dubai (where they plan some of the most strangely scaled development projects in the world) is planning an $800 million tower inspired by the iPod, called the iPad.

"The 23-storey building, which is scheduled to bring more than 200 units onto the market in 2009, was designed by Hong Kong-based architects James Law Cybertecture International. The tower will sit atop a docking station angled at six degrees to give the exact look."

More shots here.

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News: SF Skyscrapers, Lynne Cheney, Eric Dane, Nemesis

Lynne Cheney doesn't understand the "fuss" over Mary's out-of-wedlock lesbian love child: "Well, I think that it's just very lucky for me that I enjoy being a grandmother and I get to do it for the sixth time. Dick and I both very much looking forward to this new baby."

Eric Dane rocks the business suit.

Sex and the City feature film may be back on track. Kim Cattrall: "I'm just so glad we haven't been missed or forgotten!"

Gay couple wed in Brighton UK on first anniversary of civil partnerships. They are the 680th same-sex couple to legally bond in that city.

Proposed Renzo Piano-designed San Francisco high-rises would dwarf every other building in that city. Piano likens them to a cluster of bamboo shoots.

Senator Sam Brownback continues obsession with gays: "Sen. Sam Brownback, who wants to champion social conservatives in the presidential race, said Tuesday he wants a Senate panel to re-question a judicial nominee who attended a same-sex union ceremony. Brownback, a Kansas Republican, said he wants Michigan state judge Janet Neff to testify about her role in the 2002 Massachusetts ceremony, her legal views on same-sex unions and her ability to be impartial if called upon to rule on such cases."

Jacob and Joshua Miller talk to NewNowNext about their "disfellowship" from the Jehovah's Witnesses: "The whole thing ends up being very painful... I don’t think there’s anything wrong with following a faith and believing in God and worshipping, but as a result of this, I think some people close to us will have their faith shaken and compromised, and that’s really unfortunate."

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Guzhen, China Dreams of Jeannie

Scheduled for completion by the 2008 Beijing Olympics, a gigantic tower shaped like an oil lamp will soon be the centerpiece of China's "lighting capital" Guzhen. They wanted a monument that would be as fitting a symbol for their city as the Eiffel Tower is to Paris:

"...the $38 million Century Giant Lamp Tower will stretch 430,560 square feet over 48 floors, with an immense glass chimney on which an array of images will be projected at night from inside. With an observation deck at its crown, the building has a base that will contain shops, restaurants, and a museum to document 'humanity’s quest for light against darkness.'"

It's also the only building that, when rubbed, releases a colossal replica of Barbara Eden.

The Century Giant Lamp Tower [bldg blog]

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Wooster on Spring - a Street Art Time Capsule

This morning I headed down to 11 Spring Street, a building that has long been known as a canvas for street artists. In 2003, the building was bought by Lachlan Murdoch (son of Rupert) and was recently sold. The new owners plan to renovate the building, but before they do they decided to allow the Wooster Collective to produce a massive street art installation on the outside and inside of the property (much more here).

The project opened today at 11am, and I went down there with a friend at about 10:30 to check it out. there wasn't much of a crowd at that time, but by the time I left there was a line to get in that wrapped around the side of the building.

It's a very impressive collection of artists that have participated — Shepard Fairey, WK, Jace, Swoon, David Ellis, FAILE, Cycle, Lady Pink, London Police, Prune, JR, Speto, D*Face, JMR, Blek Le Rat, John Fekner, Bo and Microbo, Above, BAST, Momo, Howard Goldkrand, Borf, Gaetane Michaux, Skewville, Michael DeFeo, Will Barras, Kelly Burns, Abe Lincoln, Jr, Thubdercut, Judith Supine, Rekal, Maya Hayuk, Anthony Lister, Stikman, You Are Beautiful, Gore-B, Elboe-Toe, MCA, Jasmine Zimmerman, Plasma Slugs, Diego, RIPO, The Graffiti Research Lab, Txtual Healing, Mark Jenkins, Dan Witz, Iminendisaster, Rene Gagnon, and Banksy.

I shot a whole bunch of photos which I'll continue to post up here for the next few hours.

Wooster on Spring is open today thru Sunday from 11am-5pm. Once it's over, the owners of the building will renovate and the walls will not be destroyed, but will be covered. A time capsule, if you will. It's a pretty impressive happening though, and if you're into street art, don't miss it this weekend.

Artists were still painting the outside of the building when I arrived, before the doors were opened.

Much more after the jump, and I'll be adding to it...

The press was on hand. They reported it was like watching paint dry.

These faux crates were stuffed with real produce.

The building has a terror alert warning system.