This will be the last post about Modern architecture today, I promise. As you might be able to tell, I'm a bit of a biulding nut.

I wrote below, in the post about IBM building 25, about the U.S., and the world, lagging behind Abu Dabhi in architectural innovation, and this site only goes to prove it.

Look at what Dubai has planned for itself. Putting all the inequities in that society aside, it's quite amazing, really. If Dubai can pull of all of these buildings, it will truly outshine, archiecturally, anything America or the world has pulled off in terms of imagination and innovation of urban space.

Just a big wow here for some of these buildings. The one below is but a sampling of the amazing stuff being planned there.

The tallest building in the world? A resort, literally, in the louds... Crazy, man, crazy...

The big question is will it all be built, and will it last?

Michael Weller was one of the biggest names in the fileds of antique silver numismatics. Here's a link to the SF Chronicle on his death and what he meant to both businesses as an expert and a person.

It was late last week when he died.

Hunt Auctions sold a rare signed letter by a young Hank Aaron for more than $22K over the weekend.

I only use the glib headline because it came across the google alerts on the Canadian Press.

All I'll say, Mr. Bonds and Mr. Clemens, is that - above all with fans - class still counts.

Honest Abe wrote to a group of schoolchildren asking him to "free the poor slavechildren," and told them of how moved he was to get their letter.

That letter will be on the block in early April at Sotheby's, and could well bring $5M.

It's hard to say which I would rather have; this, or the Triceratops that Christie's will auction off in three weeks.

On one hand, you have a letter from Abraham Lincoln addressing the seminal issue of emancipation - a decision on his part that has effect even today, and on the other you have a Triceratops...

I'd have to go with the dinosaur. Does that make me a bad person?

This is a story from the San Jose Mercury news.

A great piece of early modern architecture, IBM's Building 25, in Silicone Valley, was destroyed in a blaze that burned for eight hours yesterday.

Whether you love or hate IBM, as an entity, this is a shame. The building - meant to look like a computer punchcard - was an fine piece of work that burned amidst controversy and questionable conditions. Read above or below if your're interested. Sorry I couldn't find a better pic...

There's always been debate in the pursuit of antiques as to whether or not the business should be federally regulated, i.e., official government oversight provided by a dedicated federal agency.

This is obviously too big a discussion to have in this small space. Suffice it to say, there are plenty of people who have plenty top say on both sides of the issue. Antiques is a huge business, all told, at all levels, and there are a lot of bucks changing hands.

In my experience, it has come down to what, exactly, someone deals or collects in. If your business or hobby is dependent upon small items, sold at relatively low prices, at large volumes, then regulation could be a problem.

If you deal, however, in rare and one-of-a-kind pieces of art, furniture and accessories, etc., then some oversight might be good thing for safety back-up and to make sure no false merchandise would get peddled.

Either way, it would probably, hopefully, stop scammers from passing off fake goods - at least that's my take. I know there is a movement to get some help - see the good work of show promoter Dordy Fontinel, et al. - but I wonder what Trader readers think.

Should the business and/or hobby of antiques be federally regulated? Let me know at noah.fleisher@fwpubs.com, or post a comment here.

Cool post from glivingtv.com about a Chicago architecture firm chosen to design the greenest building ever, The Masdar Development in Abu Dhabi.



One of the things that Middle Eastern countries with gobs of cash, and gobs of oil, are doing is pushing the design envelope on Modern Architecture - sometimes for the better, and sometimes for the worst - but this is a pretty good looking building and a great idea. The philosophical underpinings of it, minus the exorbitant cost and the big "if" of will it ever get finished, will have repercussions throughout the world of green building.

Give it a look. Cool.