Where's the What?

First up, today marks the birthday of my oldest and best friends. While we don't have the same level of contact that we used to, he is a true friend (in fact he has been superb in helping me get through this recent computer crisis affecting the Brave Astronaut command console) and I wish him a very happy birthday.

Now on with the post of the day (coming from the newly mobile Brave Astronaut Command Console) . . .

When one goes to New York City as a tourist, it's a pretty safe bet that even if you are using an old dog-eared copy of a travel guide, you will be able to find your way to places like the Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, Madison Square Garden. You know why? Those names don't change. Make no mistake, I am certainly generalizing here, and New York is not alone in keeping its landmarks named for long periods of time. For the record, Europe certainly has a better track record of keeping their named stuff straight, they've certainly been doing it longer.

I noted with some derision an article some time ago about the tallest building in the United States, the Willis Tower. What's that, you've never heard of it? Sure you have. It used to be called the Sears Tower. The Willis Holding Group, an insurance company based in London has leased 150,000 square feet in the building and scored the naming rights in the process. Sears' naming rights for the building expired a few years ago and Sears relocated out of the building to the suburbs. And hey, let's face it, retail ain't exactly the best business to be in right now.

In the retail vein, I even heard the other day that the Chrysler headquarters was built in such a way that it could easily be converted to a shopping mall, in the event that Chrysler went bankrupt. Hey, guess what? There's going to be a new mall in Auburn Hills, Michigan.

And of course, there are always bright spots in the dimming economy. Remember Blob's Park? With the housing market in a nosedive, the developers who had planned to build on the site of Blob's Park have all but vanished and the Park is enjoying a Renaissance. Perhaps a summer outing? I'm always up for a good schnitzel . . .