New Idea #2: Isometric Landscapes

I've been looking into how to best create landscapes for very large areas recently. Using Isometric drawing and rendering atmosphere, clouds, buildings, etc. ends up looking pretty nifty. I'll be posting this image as it gets farther along.

A pinch in the arm.

I can't post for a few days because of a comprimised arm. No typing
allowed. More later.

Astor Place

This is an article, written by me and edited by Alex Marshall, recently published in Spotlight, Regional plan Association's weekly column.

Coming Into Being
For such a large physical space, Astor Place has a surprisingly low profile in Manhattan. It is mostly known for the Kmart, Cooper Union and, of course, Tony Rosenthal's Alamo sculpture, better known as “The Cube,” around which the intersection seems to revolve.

In other cities, a square where two subway lines meet and three major streets overlap would probably be a vibrant downtown core, with a gravitation felt for blocks around. In Manhattan however, it is an in-between space. It is devoured historically by the Bowery to the south, Greenwich Village to the west, Union Square on the north and the recently-renovated East Village to the east. It has a foot in each of these places, and has not quite managed to emerge on its own feet, as its own place.

It should be said that Astor Place is different things to different people. For some, it is essentially just a subway stop, a small traffic island within some busy streets. But for me, and I believe for many others, Astor Place is the relatively large trapezoidal-shaped area that runs from Broadway over to 3rd Avenue, and 4th Street to 9th Street.

I walk twice daily through Astor Place, on my way to Union Square and back, usually through a sea of Ipodded fellow travelers. I notice that Astor Place is changing, and quickly. As buildings rise and fall, and streets and sidewalks are re-carved, Astor Place may continue to exist as a non-space defined by the places around it, or it may coalesce into a place whose boundaries define other places, rather than being defined by them.

On my daily trips, I notice changes in and around the square the way I might notice flowers budding or leaves falling from trees. Recently the luxury condominium tower, designed by architect Charles Gwathmey, was built with a lot of hand-wringing. Its form of wrap-around mirrored glass was a mystery to locals until the water tower had been completed and covered. Back in March 2005 the Cube was removed temporarily, prompting Internet accusations of a fate similar to the Tompkins Square band shell, which was “removed for cleaning” in 1992 and never returned. In response to the cube’s absence, residents quickly, and hilariously, replaced the empty space with a PVC pipe version of the sculpture. The Cube was reinstalled late last year, prompting a sigh of relief. But just last week the statue of Peter Cooper was removed without explanation. In typical New York fashion, people take these changes in stride with a dash of resignation and humor. “Maybe he’s in the bathroom,” a friend said about Peter Cooper’s disappearance.

Around this changing square, titans of American consumerism are growing up like deep-rooted oak trees. We live among the essentials here. We have Starbucks (two! one east, one west), Barnes & Noble, Kmart, The Gap, McDonald’s and Chase all circling the Cube. We also have Cooper Union and McSorley's, Collonade Row and Grace Church and all the undeniable history that comes with them being piled on top of one another. And we also have the stretch of 8th Street known as St. Mark's Place. What we don't have is a neighborhood.

The districts that surround Astor Place are coming into their own, and this in turn can help Astor Place form its identity. Nearby St. Mark’s Place is one example of this. It is changing rapidly, even while it retains its intimate and parochial flavor in the best sense of the word. Cars travel slowly down its length, limited by the street’s narrow width and overflowing sidewalk traffic. Pedestrians cross in the middle of the street. The stores articulate themselves into the sidewalk with abandon. The old Astor of crime and punk rock has shifted itself into history. Now, new Japanese restaurants and markets open up every month. Chain stores, though, wither and die, crowded out by the local commercial foliage. Quizno’s failed because the little market right next door makes tastier sandwiches. It all adds up to a better experience.

Helped along by its vibrant neighbors like St. Mark’s, I feel a guarded optimism that Astor may actually live up to its name, and become “a place.” But it’s contingent on the city making the right public improvements to guide private investments in the area. More defined edges, more pedestrian scale, more sidewalks, more places for humans as opposed to cars, is the way to go. Helped along when it is needed, Astor Place can emerge as an invigorating hub around which equally vibrant parts of the city swirl.

Reserch Item #1: Predictive Markets

Recently I've been looking into the state of prediction markets. A prediction market is any stock market-like game or system where you can bet (usually not in real money) on the outcome of an event or competition, like American Idol, movie releases and anything buzz-worthy. I have a feeling that we'll see a lot more of these in the near future, given their tremendous potential value in taking the pulse of society.

A couple of words of warning: The markets can become very addictive. Try to schedule time to pay attention to them, rather than doing it haphazardly. Don't expect yourself to be a pro overnight. It takes time to get the hang.

Having been a member of HSX's movie prediction market for 6+ years, I wanted to see how the competition had evolved. Or if there was any. It turns out that it really hasn't moved far at all, which surprises me. The main examples are weak, underpopulated and poorly designed right now, but evolving quickly.

The Markets:

HSX: My first trade was Deep Impact in 1998 and I've (slowly) built to 550 million HSX dollars. Reliably stable and thorough, HSX offers an easy to understand model of prediction markets and is based upon the actual box office reciepts. The competition is stiff and already way ahead of you here. Competent newbies (of which there many) can really take off in the rankings. As good as it is, they seem to be slowing the impovements considerably. Having said this, when they upgrade the site next week and it's great, I won't be surprised.

Inkling: Looks to be a popularity market, allowing bets on everything from American Idol winners to Apple Rumors to the price of oil. Smart looking site and easy betting tools are appreciated, but there needs to be more to bet on. Perhaps with time and more members there will be something really solid here. The staff is very responsive to requests and seems excited about the concept in the various blogs and news items detailing the process of starting the market. Trading is really easy and plainly evident. It actually asks you a question to help you get to a buying decision faster, which helps. The amount to trade leaves wide gaps for the future. I want so badly to create a market of two, and I believe this is on the horizon for them.

Yahoo Buzz: This market has the most content potential of the new crop, but I doubt it will ever be organized into something better. It is SCREAMING for an AJAX interface and an information designer to grab it by the neck and shake it. It is plainly designed, but the content is terrific and easy to bet on, much like HSX. The focus is (kinda) on tech and tech products.

CrowdIQ: I really tried to like this one. In the end, however, it was a bit intricate for my idea of fun. It is built as a series of smaller, user-created markets, all functioning on their own. In the looks department it gets a 9, however, and it has little moments of brilliance like giving confidence percentages as newsworthy items.
These markets can all be a lot of fun and really bring current events into a new place for you. It makes reading the news much, much more interesting because there is a sort of investment in it. No matter how evil that may sound, it keeps me reading.


I'll possibly add more as I encounter them and update this list every so often.

C'mon, kids, it's time for our brainwashing.

This ain't your Grandma's Scientology headquarters. No. Not at all.

What you say?

Absolutely not.

A fucked up scene on the (grass) beach.

Oops. I did it again. Gradients, that is.

Asterix of my dreams.

Another period of experimentation with gradients and transparency. More to come.

Push it.

This was a translation of a drawing to computer experiment. I was testing Illustrator's limitations and my own.

New idea #1: Post your freakin' drawings

I'm trying something new to see if it works. I'm going to upload work and let it be out in the world. I've decided it has no place or viewability on my computer.