Author Archives: Felix

WTC worries

Posted on September 10, 2004 by Felix

I’ve long been a cheerleader for the WTC redevelopment. Even when others started griping, I was still optimistic about the prospects for the site and the likelihood that it could become a vibrant and world-beating neighborhood. In recent days, however, … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture | 19 Comments

Waiting for fabulous things

Posted on September 8, 2004 by Felix

Today is the first day of New York Fashion Week, when the world’s fashion industry descends on Bryant Park for a sleepless round of shows, parties and gossip. The magazine industry loves it, of course, with the September issue of … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments

The NYPD is out of control

Posted on August 31, 2004 by Felix

After the Critical Mass ride, I suspected it. The following day, I thought it might just be a bike thing. But events today have made it clear: everything we thought we knew about the NYPD’s ability to manage protest is … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 22 Comments

Scenes from the protests

Posted on August 28, 2004 by Felix

A nice balmy summer’s night – perfect for a group bike ride around New York City, no? I thought so, anyway, so I joined about five thousand other like-minded bicyclists at Union Square this evening for the monthly Critical Mass … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | 12 Comments

Blodget on Google

Posted on August 19, 2004 by Felix

I was never a big fan of the Google IPO. I didn’t understand it when it was announced, and it looks even more stupid now that the prime reason for doing it – allowing big VC investors to monetize some … Continue reading →

Posted in Finance | Comments Off on Blodget on Google

Google IPO questions

Posted on July 27, 2004 by Felix

I’m a financial journalist, but I’ve never pretended to understand the stock market. Bonds, yes; stocks, no. A recent Reuters story, for instance, includes this bizarre segue: “In a deal like that where it’s priced for perfection, anything that occurs … Continue reading →

Posted in Finance | 14 Comments

The WTC panel

Posted on July 14, 2004 by Felix

I wasn’t the only person to get up early in order to go to a "professional forum" at the Center for Architecture in Greenwich Village on the subject of the World Trade Center site. The auditorium was packed, mostly with … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture | 5 Comments

Gwathmey on Meier

Posted on July 13, 2004 by Felix

The August issue of Vanity Fair – not online, of course – runs a letter from superstar architect Charles Gwathmey, responding to an article the magazine ran in June about Richard Meier’s Perry Street towers: I was disappointed by the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 7 Comments

Cassis on Stone

Posted on July 11, 2004 by Felix

I love New York Restaurant Week: just last week I had an absolutely stunning lunch at Aureole, with fantastic wines and great service, for a fraction of what such an experience would normally cost me. Unfortunately, NYRW has spoiled me … Continue reading →

Posted in Restaurants | 3 Comments

How many people read Gawker?

Posted on July 9, 2004 by Felix

Überblog Gawker is running a house ad between the fourth and fifth entries on its homepage. "SPONSORSHIP" it says: "Gawker, part of the largest weblog media group, reaches over 600,000 media junkies each month." This comes as something of a … Continue reading →

Posted in Media | 24 Comments

Before Sunset

Posted on July 3, 2004 by Felix

I’m probably biased, but I’ve always considered Richard Linklater’s Before Sunrise to be a film which is loved by those who have seen it, and hated by those who haven’t. Linklater is one of the most interesting American directors working … Continue reading →

Posted in Film | 7 Comments

Solar energy in California

Posted on June 28, 2004 by Felix

California, we were repeatedly told during the gubernatorial recall election last year, is largely ungovernable. The reason? California’s version of direct democracy, with an initiative process which has been hijacked by special interests, means that there’s very little discretion in … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | 16 Comments

Corporate profits

Posted on June 24, 2004 by Felix

I got an email this morning pointing me to an entry at the Washington Monthly weblog, which essentially excerpted a longer post by Brad Delong. The heart of the argument is a graph, showing how corporate profits are going up, … Continue reading →

Posted in Finance | 4 Comments

A Brief History of Jake Dobkin

Posted on June 11, 2004 by Felix

I’ve long been a fan of Gothamist: in my very first BlogWars posting, I anointed Jen Chung Queen of the Blogosphere, with a superior site to Gawker and The Kicker. A few days later, in BlogWars III, I said that … Continue reading →

Posted in Media | 13 Comments

White collar crime in the New York Times

Posted on June 8, 2004 by Felix

I was wrong: my report on the death of the New York Times magazine was, as they say, exaggerated. In fact, the latest issue is the best magazine of any description I’ve read in many months, if not longer. There … Continue reading →

Posted in Media | 1 Comment

Luxury buildings

Posted on June 7, 2004 by Felix

I’ve long had an interest in what was going on at 90-96 Clinton Street, between Rivington and Delancey. For a long time it was one of the neighbourhood’s better 99-cent stores, before a long demolition job started which carefully left … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture | 8 Comments

Libeskind and the Freedom Tower

Posted on May 31, 2004 by Felix

We can officially assume now, I think, that Daniel Libeskind and the Freedom Tower are barely connected any more, let alone in any kind of one-designed-the-other relationship. My guess is that when all is said and done, the name and … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture | 4 Comments

Postrel responds

Posted on May 31, 2004 by Felix

Virginia Postrel has responded to my post of last week, on the subject of her take on federal highway spending. Basically, she doesn’t believe the numbers being bandied around Washington on the subject of how many jobs are created when … Continue reading →

Posted in Finance | 4 Comments

For Some, the Blogging Never Stops

Posted on May 26, 2004 by Felix

TO celebrate four years of of writing about blogs, Kevin McKenna, the editor of the New York Times Circuits section, and his deputy, Henry Fountain, recently spent a week working wirelessly from Bryant Park. Early on the morning of their … Continue reading →

Posted in Humour | 14 Comments

Postrel, highways and jobs

Posted on May 26, 2004 by Felix

One of the great things about blogs written by professional journalists is that they often contain a lot more information than gets printed. Newspaper columns, by their very nature, have to be a certain length and accessible to a wide … Continue reading →

Posted in Finance | Comments Off on Postrel, highways and jobs

Housing bubbles

Posted on May 22, 2004 by Felix

Is the New York (indeed, the US) housing bubble going to burst? A look at the situation in the UK would suggest that it isn’t. Interest rates have already started rising there – but a new report says that 25 … Continue reading →

Posted in Finance | 5 Comments

Ethics lapse at Time Inc

Posted on May 18, 2004 by Felix

The blogosphere is all atwitter this afternoon about an article Greg Lindsay wrote about Nick Denton, and Denton’s response. Blogfight! If you want to see Lindsay’s response to Denton (and me), it’s below. The name-calling is fun: Denton calls Lindsay … Continue reading →

Posted in Media | 1 Comment

Timeless art

Posted on May 15, 2004 by Felix

Is there such a thing as timeless beauty? I’m a fan of built-in obsolescence in art, but at the same time many great artistic creations can and have retained all their power and beauty for centuries. Look at Piero della … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture | Comments Off on Timeless art

Beleaguered editors

Posted on May 15, 2004 by Felix

I readily admit that I live in an anglophone bubble, but I think it’s probably fair to say that Piers Morgan is the highest-profile newspaper editor in the world. Make that was the highest-profile newspaper editor in the world: He … Continue reading →

Posted in Media | Comments Off on Beleaguered editors

Globalisation’s commandments

Posted on May 10, 2004 by Felix

Lance Knobel lists today Martin Wolf’s "ten commandments of globalisation," saying that "they make great good sense." I disagree: 1. The market economy is the only arrangement capable of generating sustained increases in prosperity, providing the underpinnings of liberal democracy … Continue reading →

Posted in Finance | Comments Off on Globalisation’s commandments