It's good to have photographs like this around to remind me why I left Chicago, twice. At times it seemed like Chicago was a giant black hole relentlessly sucking me in, even before I was living in America. I well remember the awful "Noo Joisey" accent of a recruiter calling me at two thirty in the morning as I and my family in New Zealand were trying to sleep; whether she did this out of ignorance or lack of respect I'll never know, but even then I knew enough about Chicago's climate not to want to live there. Nevertheless, after nine months in the country, and the first death of a high-tech company that I was working at, I landed work with Motorola in Chicagoland, that great expanse stretching from Gary in Indiana, all the way up to the Wisconsin border, and perhaps beyond. After 12 months I quit and headed to the gentler climes of New Jersey, only to land up in Chicago yet again, after the death of another company. Eighteen more months and another commercial entity's near-death experience, and I moved down to a new job in Evanston, which is where this photo of downtown Chicago was taken from. On the far right of the photo is the Sears Tower, in the center the John Hancock center, which I always thought was more attractive than the Sears Tower, and on the extreme left you can just make out one of Indiana's few remaining steel mills belching out steam and smoke.

Heading north from downtown Chicago we come to the Baha'i temple at Wilmette, which is easily reached by car or the El ("elevated railway", an extremely ugly but functional system, and as much part of Chicago as Navy Pier or the Sears Tower).

Of the seven Baha'i temples around the world, this one and the one in New Delhi, India, are two of the most attractive. In 2003 the Wilmette temple had its fiftieth anniversary, and at the time I photographed it there was restoration work being done outside, to fix up the damage caused by Chicago's tropical summers and arctic winters.

The Chicago skyline at night, photographed from the Planetarium across the frozen surface of Lake Michigan. By taking the photo on a weeknight in winter it's possible to get adequate darkness while there are still workers in their lit-up offices. This is one of the photographs that's been stolen from me most often - I keep having to request web hosts to remove this picture from people's websites, and I've even had to use lawyers' letters to squeeze money out of a couple of people who were using it commercially.

Sue the Tyrannosaurus has plenty of room to wander around inside the cavernous spaces of the Field Museum, the third member of the Museum campus. Sue is the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus Rex ever discovered, and the cause of a considerable amount of controversy - found in 1990 in South Dakota, the legal battle for ownership took five years to resolve and it wasn't until 1997 that the Field Museum made the winning auction bid of $8.4 million and brought Sue to Chicago. Now she gets to stare all day at the delicious but unsuspecting morsels who turn their back on her, while she enjoys the company of Egyptian mummies, Maya artifacts, stuffed animals and meteorites.

The Adler Planetarium is one of three institutes which together comprise the Museum Campus at the south end of Grant Park. A statue of Copernicus sits outside the planetarium, a conscious reminder that Chicago is the second largest Polish city in the world, thanks to the number of immigrants who came here and continue to come here. The second member of the campus is the large Shedd Aquarium. I haven't been inside the planetarium, the aquarium, or the Art Institute across the park, mostly because none of them offer much in the way of opportunities for photography.

Amongst other pieces of symbolism, the aquatic monsters surrounding the central fountain represent the four states around Lake Michigan - Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin. An informed person might well think that this poor creature's current activities are very appropriate for any animal unlucky enough to find itself in what was once a very polluted section of the lake; even today, disturbing the layers of muck at the bottom of the lake is likely to result in the release of a very toxic cloud of industrial chemicals.

Leaving the artificiality of the city's concrete canyons, we head across Michigan Avenue to Grant Park, a very welcome antidote to the glass, steel and tarmac. The centerpiece of this large park, which is just a small part of the lakeside green strip which runs for many miles north and south of downtown, is Buckingham fountain, named after the brother of its donor, Kate Buckingham. Built in 1927, it's twice the size of its model, the Bassin de Latone at Versailles, and shoots a stream of water worthy of Chicago 150 feet into the air. It performs its display throughout the warmer months, both by day and illuminated at night.

On State Street, that great street, this old gentleman ensures that the large clock outside Marshall Fields department store keeps good time, regardless of what sun, rain or snow can throw at him. Like many of America's great department stores like Sears and Montgomery Ward, old Marshall Fields' glory days are gone, but it's still interesting to walk through and see the costly and elaborate displays during holiday seasons like Christmas - just watch out for the icicles!

Architecture buffs will enjoy a tour among the many renowned buildings lining the banks of the much tormented Chicago River. Heavily polluted by the city's vast stockyards and slaughterhouses, the flow of the river was reversed in 1871 to carry the foul effluent away from the lake. The abuse continues even now - each year on St Patrick's Day the river is humiliated once again by being dyed bright green.

Chicago is a real feast for those who love architecture. As well as being home to many of the world's first skyscrapers, there are also smaller but still significant structures designed by world-famous architects like Frank Lloyd-Wright whose houses, including his own home and studio, can be visited. In addition to the huge and awesome structures like the John Hancock center and the Sears Tower, still high up the list of the world's tallest buildings, there are many other interesting and attractive buildings like the James R. Thompson Center, shown here.

You might be forgiven for wondering why a place called "Navy Pier" would be located in the center of America's midwest, many miles from the ocean. In fact, Chicago really was a major naval port during the two world wars, and many soldiers did board troop ships on this half-mile long pier for the trip through the great lakes, down the St Lawrence river and across the Atlantic. Today the pier is the boarding place for tours of the harbor, and there are numerous attractions along its length, including a stained glass window and a 140 foot high ferris wheel, great grandchild of the world's first ferris wheel, which was constructed for the 1893 Chicago World Expo.

The buildings in the foreground of this photograph stand along Michigan Ave, which did indeed once run beside Lake Michigan. Despite many efforts by commercial interests to cut it up, Grant Park now stands along the lakeshore, protected by the protests of the people of Chicago under the leadership of public figures like department store magnate Montgomery Ward. Just as Central Park in New York acts as the lungs of that city, so does Grant Park provide a welcome green carpet next to the blue lake. Nevertheless, the skyline with its tall buildings is magnificent, quite appropriate for a place which is often considered the birthplace of the skyscraper, epitomized by the large black Sears Tower, tallest building in the United States.

Here's the view from the observation deck of the Sears Tower, a must do for any visitor to the city. Click on the photo to bring up the same shot in a new window, with annotated pointers to various downtown landmarks.

Akshardham Temple Monument to World Peace, Akshardham Complex, New Delhi

The megha Akshardham temple complex is finally opened to the public on 8 November 2005. The temple which depicts the Hindu mythology and Indian culture promises to attract lakhs of tourists’ every year with its religious tourism. Build over an area of 100 acres on the banks of the Yamuna River, it took more than 2 years for construction and costed around Rs.2 billion, funded by millions of Bochasanvasi Aksharpurushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) followers worldwide. The temple has 234 ornate pillars, 20,000 statues and many arches. Besides the Swaminarayan temple the complex consists of the main monument, exhibition halls, an IMAX theatre and a musical fountain, surrounded by a garden. It also got a restaurant modeled on the Ajanta and Ellora caves and an Ayurvedic bazaar.

Akshardham Temple Monument to World Peace is located at the mega Akshardham temple complex in New Delhi. The temple which depicts the Hindu mythology and Indian culture promises to attract lakhs of tourists’ every year with its religious tourism.

Build over an area of 100 acres on the banks of the Yamuna River, it took more than 2 years for construction and costed around Rs.2 billion, funded by millions of Bochasanvasi Aksharpurushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) followers worldwide.

The temple has 234 ornate pillars, 20,000 statues and many arches. Besides the Swaminarayan temple the complex consists of the main monument, exhibition halls, an IMAX theatre and a musical fountain, surrounded by a garden. It also got a restaurant modelled on the Ajanta and Ellora caves and an ayurvedic bazaar.

The monument was constructed by BAPS Foundation. It took over 300 million man hours of services rendered by 11,000 volunteers, sadhus and artisans. The Akshardham monument, Built inch to inch according to the ancient Sthaapatya shastras of India, is built without steel, and is entirely composed of sandstone and marble.

It consists of 234 ornately carved pillars, 9 ornate domes, 20 quadrangled shikhars, a spectacular Gajendra Pith (plinth of stone elephants) and 20,000 murtis and statues of India's great sadhus, devotees, acharyas and divine personalities.

Akshardham Temple Monument to World Peace was constructed by the BAPS foundation -- the builders of the various Swaminaryan Temples across the world, is truely a modern day Wonder of the World.

It is one of the biggest and most intricate religious places of worship ever constructed. Combining several completely different and contrasting architectural styles of Hindu temple architecture of northern India -- Rajasthani, Orrisan, Gujarati, Mughal and Jain -- the Akshardham Monument is entirely constructed of marble and the red-sandstone that Delhi is famous for, and that so many of her monuments are constructed of.

So after years of waiting, the Temple was opened to the public -- and to photographers. At its inaguration, it is widely being heralded as one of the greatest monuments India has ever produced.

The monument is a fusion of several architectural styles of pink stone and pure white marble. Pink stone symbolizes bhakti (devotion) in eternal bloom and white marble of absolute purity and eternal peace.

It is one of the wonders of the modern world, and the wonders of modern India.

Akshardham Temple Monument to World Peace

Attached Thumbnails

just an FYI, sent to me from a friend:

"After 5 years of non-stop, round-the-clock construction, the massive and awesome Akshardham Temple Monument to World Peace was inaugurated today. The Akshardham Temple in New Delhi, India, constructed by the BAPS foundation -- the builders of the various Swaminaryan Temples across the world, is truely a modern day Wonder of the World.

It is one of the biggest and most intricate religious places of worship ever constructed. Combining several completely different and contrasting architectural styles of Hindu temple architecture of northern India -- Rajasthani, Orrisan, Gujarati, Mughal and Jain -- the Akshardham Monument is entirely constructed of marble and the red-sandstone that Delhi is famous for, and that so many of her monuments are constructed of. It was completed in only 5 years a world record of sorts

So after years of waiting, the Temple was yesterday opened to the public -- and to photographers. Below is the New Delhi Akshardham Complex.
At its inaguration, it is widely being heralded as one of the greatest monuments India has ever produced.

Monument of Akshardham
Akshardham means the eternal, divine abode of the supreme God, the abode of eternal values and virtues of Akshar as defined in the Vedas and Upanishads where divine bhakti, purity and peace forever pervades.

The Akshardham monument, built without steel, is entirely composed of sandstone and marble. It consists of 234 ornately carved pillars, 9 ornate domes, 20 quadrangled shikhars, a spectacular Gajendra Pith (plinth of stone elephants) and 20,000 murtis and statues of India's great sadhus, devotees, acharyas and divine personalities.

The monument is a fusion of several architectural styles of pink stone and pure white marble. Pink stone symbolizes bhakti (devotion) in eternal bloom and white marble of absolute purity and eternal peace. The monument was built after over 300 million man hours of services rendered by 11,000 volunteers, sadhus and artisans.

It is the one of the wonders of the modern world, and the wonders of modern India."

Blair's Lingerie in Gossip Girl "Wild Brunch"

I've gotten several emails asking about the corset and boyshorts combo worn by Blair Waldorf's character on last week's "Gossip Girl". Well, Glam Girls, I have good news and bad news: I did identify it, but I don't know where to get it outside of Australia. Yeah.

Sophie B "In Love Again" Corset & Boyshort
(René Rofé)
AU$94.95 (~US$85) Fantasy Lingerie
If anyone locates this in the US, please email a tip!

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