lost songs

Did Christopher Marlowe know he would die young? Did he seek out a life that would guarantee that? Did he enter that tavern in Deptford expecting fatal violence--if not for him, for others?
The context of his times suggests a more liberal attitude towards the young dying and great old age reserved for a very lucky few.

Modern fatalism seems to have greater diversity. A notable collection of fools--mostly middle aged white men in California--are investing great sums of money in the pursuit of life extensions. That they pursue this after the prime of their life, and with certain knowledge that their efforts will fail, is perhaps a greater error than those who take real risks in the pursuit of cheating death by a hair.

"Delight in your youth.....Fear God and obey His commandments...."

liver and onions special

Was Mark Rothko a sculptor or a painter? The same question could be asked about Jackson Pollock. When the dust settles, who else will be remembered from 20th century American art? (Architects are excluded from this.)

Towers of ilium puts the odds of tax cuts passing at around 60%--and maybe not by the end of the year. 2018 feels far away.

Richard Serra, Norman Rockwell, and Georgia O'keefe.

almost real news

The media analysts at towers of ilium have spent the better week distilling the truth for the sake of our loyal readership. So, with no further delays:

-The war between Steve Bannon and mainstream Republicans is mostly a sham. Nothing will be reliable except election results in next year's midterms. Roy Moore is headed for the Senate before that happens but his effects will be negligible in the greater scheme of things.

-Puerto Rico is in bad shape. The scandal involving Whitefish Energy has legs. Hopefully, there will be some good stories there, and more importantly, the power grid will be restored soon.

-The other shoe is dropping for some Internet giants. Russian spies are mildly amused.

-New housing starts in Massachusetts fell sharply on a year over year basis. Is this a sign of an economic downturn or simply a consequence of exhaustive permitting processes and the challenges of land acquisition for development? Renovations to homes appears to be a robust business.

seasonal remedies

New England folk tend to regard autumn as a mixed blessing. It's a good time to get work done, especially after the idiocy of the summer. There's a sense of false urgency created by the holidays, but everyone accepts that things won't get finished till the spring. 

Winter always brings a sense of accomplishment. The sun rests, but the blaze of headlights on the highways in the evening makes us all feel virtuous. Brave wanderers, bold conquerors all.

update on the AI

The algorithm employed by towers of ilium has been sacked. Editorial staff decided that the AI--known around the office as "Kenny"-- needed to spend more time with its family or some equivalent social experience. Regular programming will resume.

no more auction block

The Amazon headquarters game has nearly reached its peak of absurdity. As of this morning every town and hamlet in Massachusetts has submitted a proposal. Some of the same people who were touting the Boston Olympics are now leading the cheering section for Amazon. We can be certain that Bezos is currently in secret negotiations with Atlanta--squeezing as many financial incentives and legal exemptions as he can. Most likely it will end up being a fully automated headquarters with no human presence at all-- just banks of computers with AI programs that write AI programs and robots to repair the robots that make the robots that deliver cardboard boxes to the last remaining humans on the planet.

Rex Tillerson is trying to get Saudi Arabia to form an alliance with Iraq to counter Iran in the Middle East. Perhaps he can make a pitch for Amazon while he's on the ground there. Nothing to lose, after all.

dreams of a better land

Towers of ilium is testing an algorithm that would replace its staff of costly journalists and deliver this blog's hard-edged commentary more reliably. A sample follows:

"Fear fear cats large doom Trump modernism betrayed calendar time time bulletin book book dead gone lost fear sky turning painted broken lies the bread of life pumpkin spicy write sing die repeat rinse shiny shattered drink child water rising"

The focus groups are delighted.

over hill and dale

The romantic period of tall buildings is still going strong, but not in the U.S. or Europe. Africa is the last uncovered territory. Some entity in Lagos will build a thousand foot spire within the next ten years. A rising skyscraper does not lift all boats, but it is a useful symbol of the penultimate phase of urban development. What is the final phase of the city, you ask? Sprawl.

bookmaking amazon in massachusetts

The economic and business team at towers of ilium has wrapped up its analysis of plans that Amazon has for a second headquarters site. They have concluded, after exhaustive research and many late nights, that the odds of any place in Massachusetts landing this fish are less than 1%. The reasons are as follows:

-Prime spots in the greater Boston metro region are too expensive and the infrastructure is already overwhelmed. The downmarket spots like New Bedford and Worcester don't have the talent pool.

-Saturation of the tech market in the Boston zone would make positions hard to fill at competitive salary rates. Political opposition to Amazon policies would be considerable.

-Neither Charlie Baker nor Marty Walsh needs to cough up bribes to another big company to sustain the state's economic system.

So, where will Amazon end up? Maybe nowhere. But, before we consider that possibility, let's state that the natural place for the company to re-centralize itself would be in some southern state like North Carolina. Costs are lower, infrastructure is less congested, and politicians of all stripes will open up taxpayer wallets in a hurry. 

Amazon actually doesn't need a second headquarters. What they do need is a national recession to test the resiliency of their business model and the business models of their competitors. The internet retailers with the best organizations and lowest overhead will emerge from this recession with bigger market shares--regardless of their home base locations. If Amazon does choose some hapless east coast city for its new digs, the plan will fizzle once the stock market crashes. Amazon, with all its warehouses and robots and employees will probably make it through.

places to put stuff

Pure functionality is loathed by architects. The design profession places the highest value on things than cannot be justified beyond a moment of visual satisfaction or provocation. Fortunately, clients, despite occasional proclamations otherwise, have similar values. Even more fortunately, the trades deliver their highest performance for the most irrational components of a building.

wood roofs

An architect from the old school was once asked if a house should have a wood roof. "Is there any other kind?" he answered. Indeed, they look nice, but should probably not be used in California.

catalonia

The Catalonian independence movement certainly caught towers of ilium by surprise. Although it has been a few hundred years in the making recent events feel serious. More serious is the response by Spain and the position adopted by the European Union.

This blog predicts that things will proceed badly if Spain uses force in the matter. 

las vegas was never easy

Quite predictably, Blade Runner 2049 is included in the list towers of ilium architecture movies. The film-makers did a good job of referencing the original and adding some new visual twists. The long pan in the beginning over the solar energy fields can be juxtaposed against the 1982 movie opening. Overall, the effect of the new movie is more restrained than the original, while making an earnest effort to be more monumental in scope. Noir grittiness has been replaced with sepia-tinted drama. There is no vegetation anywhere.

early fall review

The towers of ilium newsroom held a two week retreat to re-assess basic priorities. Nothing was accomplished. The next retreat will focus on how to better manage time at retreats.

-Hurricane season is not quite over, and there's a fair chance that when Nate makes landfall it will reveal yet more weaknesses in American infrastructure. The more prosperous parts of Texas and Florida will probably recover quickly, but Puerto Rico may be in lots of trouble for years to come.

-The Trump administration lurches forward. This blog hopes that war with North Korea will not happen.

-Urban planning and traffic management in the greater Boston area is officially dead. No improvements will be made ever.

-The new Blade Runner movie will get several reviews in the upcoming week by the entertainment division of towers of ilium.

UPDATE: The effects of Nate are so far relatively minor.