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Behold the Dubai of the future!

George Costanza: "You know I always wanted to pretend I was an architect."

As long as we're talking about architecture this week, here's one more set of pictures to set your little George Costanza hearts
a-flutter.

Inside Dubai's palatial malls, you find lots of things: DKNYs by the dozen, fashion runways, and of course, miniature horses. This website will soon feature a very colorful horse show, in fact... though maybe we'll wait until Jen M. completes the bar exam.

But you find even stranger things in the malls, like giant model cities. This model -- as long as a school bus -- represents some development they want to build in Dubai, as if what this city really needed were more giant buildings.

In any case, I give you... the Dubai of the future!

Though I think this city's constant lust for more, bigger, richer is a bit unattractive, the little boy in me thought this model was totally... freaking... awesome. Look at the little people! Going about their happy little business! I'm sure it's just a coincidence that they're all adorable little white people.

The itty-bitty cars trundle happily along the itty-bitty streets. In their tiny little world, a cool breeze blows in off the Gulf, rustling the precious little trees. All seems peaceful in the world of the happy little white people... They are totally unaware of the terrible giant lurking on the horizon...

The fury of Sally Forth

I never thought the comic strip Sally Forth was anything to get all bent out of shape about. But apparently people do. Check out this page of hate mail the artist gets.

The first -- and especially the last -- are particularly funny.

More architecture

This next one is one of the two Emirates Towers, which are visible in the distance from my neighborhood. See those pictures here.

Dubai architecture

These photos aren't going to win any prizes. They were taken from the inside of a moving car (no, Mom and Dad, I wasn't driving at the time). But they give a decent idea of what Dubai-style architecture looks like. It can be gaudy, but also more innovative than what we see in the U.S.

When I lived in Chicago -- the only place in the U.S. where architecture approaches this level of creativity -- I was told that the city only became an architectural capital after the Fire burned the entire place to the ground. The best architects in the world flocked to Chicago and made it their canvas.

Dubai is so new -- it was literally desert forty years ago -- that something similar has happened here, I would guess. Designers don't have to fit the mold because there is no mold, just sand. Some of these styles will trickle their way into the West in the next decade, I'll bet.

All pictures can be double-clicked for a full screen view. Or better yet, right-click on the photo and select "Open Link in New Window."

From a distance:

Driving through downtown:

Some interesting buildings:

Only lame cities build their towers one at a time:

Even ordinary overpasses are exciting suspension bridges:

And all of this is built with magical curving cranes!

I hear Japan is working on a miniaturized version of this magic crane that will help make PB&J sandwiches and tuck your baby into bed.

Ironically, the tallest building in the world is going up just two blocks away from the smallest apartment in the world (mine). It's still just a big hole in the ground and a bunch of exciting street signs. Unfortunately, it will only be the tallest building in the world for a second, before a taller tallest building in the world is completed a couple miles away in downtown Dubai. It's History Rising, people!

By the way, do not confuse the Burj Dubai ("History Rising") with the Burj al-Arab, the seven-star hotel and my own personal Everest. The other, taller tallest building in the world will be called Burj World, or something like that. Burj is Arabic for "tower." It sort of sounds cooler before you know what it means, I think.

Last but not least, a roadside café. (By the way, I think using that little accent on "café" is a bit pretentious, but asshole Microsoft Word is not giving me any choice. Where's that talking paper clip when you need him, Dobias?)

Anyway, a roadside café.

Let's zoom in on the man. What, pray tell, is he doing? Why, he's smoking shisha!

I think I'll go have a shisha right now.