2002-12-30 - 5:39 p.m.
Our First Reader Feedback
A reader from Manhattan sent this response to WTC II: Super-Phallic Nightmares: "I think the restrictions placed on the participating architects were such that they required verticality. They had to incorporate a ridiculous square acreage of office space, to replace what was lost. I was actually quite 
heartened to see some interesting shapes, and not the usual modernist crap. We're still years away from building anything anyway. The tictactoe SOM project is a piece of shit
though."
Thanks to O.B. for his useful insight. Unfortunately, we have no prizes to award at this time ...
Who's It, What's It
From AP: "On economics, even most Republicans said it would be better to hold off on tax cuts to avoid deeper deficits. The White House is putting together tax cuts that could total $300 billion."And: "On the international front, the poll found people wary of a war with Iraq and much more likely to view Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaida network as threats than Iraqi President Saddam Hussein."
Just a little reminder that your government is acting with impunity. Happy New Year!
Round-Ups
Received word today that an Iranian family who has lived in Austin for several years will be deported because INS rejected their asylum claims. Where will the family go? They probably don't know. What a Christmas gift from the feds ... More info in the next Chronicle. I did not cover this one -- was laid up with ...Stomach Troubles
Everywhere I go, people and pets are getting sick. It started last week, when my friend "D" (names obscured to protect the innocent) took me to her friend's house and the friend's three-year-old sicked up for no reason. One minute he was fine, the next he was a goo fountain. The rest of us shook our heads, mystified.
Later in the week, sickness struck home. Saturday found me spent in bed, with headache and itches and nausea. Tomorrow I must go to the doctor to get my itches checked out -- they are tenacious. Inexplicable itchy bumps have formed all over my limbs and other parts (ears, stomach, back). Fortunately you can't see them. But I can feel them, and they worry me. Is it a flea? The tiny little weird ants that crawl around the bathroom? The lymph node in the left side of my neck also hurts. Anyone with clues can email me above ... though hopefully the doctor will identify the problem and fix me before my big trip to Spain on New Year's, for which I have planned nothing. My pending travel seems more like a rumor than reality.
One source of the trouble was the turkey I cooked, which apparently had some germs in/on it. The turkey made my friend and his dog ill; please pray for their intestines.
Our final spewnario involves Indian food. Last night, a friend and I went to a local basmati buffet and this food made my friend very sick. He threw up several times, and later complained that he "felt like he was dying" during his tumultuous ordeal. Even though I ate more than he did, I did not fall ill.
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Things are going to get a lot worse before they get worse. � Lily Tomlin |
