Bartek Gniado

"Norman Foster and Zaha Hadid have been lined up to take on one of the most high-profile projects on earth – the redevelopment of Mecca According to sources, the scheme for Islam's holiest city could create a huge new structure around the central Haram mosque that will eventually be capable of holding three million people, making it the 'highest occupancy' building in the world. The top-secret plans are being backed by King Abdullah ben Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia who has asked a hand-picked collection of starchitects to 'establish a new architectural vision' for the 356,800m2 mosque complex. The AJ believes that the project is likely to be phased, with phase one transforming the mosque from having an official capacity of 900,000 to 1.5 million. This will then go up to three million with the completion of several phases over the following five to 10 years. - Cee Bee via Bookmarklet

It is understood the proposals have been split into two 'tracks', with Foster + Partners earmarked to look at a range of alternatives for the northern expansion of the Haram mosque. Ten other practices are also believed to have been approached to draw up feasibility studies for the extension programme, including Atkins. Meanwhile Hadid has been given the prize task of coming up with ideas for the Haram mosque itself as well as 'revisiting the whole area of the central district'. Another six other 'world renown' architects have also been linked with the job. British-based engineers Adams Kara Taylor and Faber Maunsell are also in the frame for the multi-billion pound project. A source close to project told the AJ: 'This study is not meant to be a competition… the main objective of the design studies is to enrich our discourse on how we should address the future architecture of the Haram and its growth. 'These design exercises in addition to other investigations will be subject to an exhibition - Cee Bee

o_O umm...that was all kinds of wrong - Anna Haro

Sydney, as we all know shares one of its edges with the Pacific Ocean, and another with the Blue Mountains. Along the eastern edge are many beaches, and to my surprise in putting this post together, almost all of these beaches has its own pool carved somewhere into its rocky perimeter. The geometry of each is slightly different. They are skewed rectangles, triangles, they are of indeterminate length - although most are around about 50m - they are embedded along the edges of cliffs, they sit solitary on reefs, they occasionally like at Narrabeen, spectacularly hinge off the point of a peninsula. At Wylies Baths they play host to a wonderful timber platform. At Collaroy, the ocean side edge of the pool bends as an abstraction of the bend of the cliff behind. - Cee Bee

SF had some of these baths, called the Fleischhacker baths- now covered and in dissuse. piped in sea water for the same reasons- safer from the tide, had changing rooms, etc. Sad! - anna

just flying:) - Igor Poltavskiy

"Well, Art is Art, isn't it? Still, on the other hand, water is water. And east is east and west is west and if you take cranberries and stew them like applesauce they taste much more like prunes than rhubarb does. Now you tell me what you know. Groucho Marx" - anna via Bookmarklet

This is kinda random, but I met someone from Newfoundland tonight and was looking it up, and the Facebook page is amazing! It's like a social marketer's wet dream. So successful and high participation, and gorgeous. Anyways, just wanted to share. - anna via Bookmarklet

I seriously challenge someone to find a more active and interesting facebook page (minus Obama's) - anna

"Stacks of papers, envelopes and a half to write formulas. These images of Albert Einstein’s desk in his office at Princeton were published by Life magazine in 1955, just months before his death. They can contemplate a blackboard full of equations, a pile of old magazines and even his own pipe momentarily abandoned on one of the notebooks. We can see, what looks like a dress, some books, a copy of a journal of philosophy and even a glass ashtray. Under the piles of papers were lost atisban pens and unopened letters, documents that might contain the key to the unified theory, which invested unsuccessfully in recent years of his life. At the center of the picture there is a photo of what looks like a square, not people. What Einstein was thinking minutes before it reached the photographer? On the advantages and disadvantages of having a messy desk authentic treaties have been written, some of whom argue that chaos can be more productive than an order too strict. - Cee Bee via Bookmarklet

Amazing the one man I totaly would put up with :) and the messy desk too! - SekhemetsHathor

The work produced from a much earlier messy desk is still the most important 'theory' that we have today. Has there been anything in science in the past one hundred years to surpass the magic of E = M c squared ?? - Chris Loft

Drawn with coffee on napkins...fantastic - Pete Gilbert via Bookmarklet

"Tired of arguing with complete morons? Tired of getting into bar room brawls? Well now avoid the confrontation with our glorious Douche Card. Simply hand it to the asshole in question and walk away. Problem solved. Package includes 25 cards $5.00" - Cee Bee via Bookmarklet

available on amazon for $14: http://www.amazon.com/gp/produ... - Cee Bee via Bookmarklet

Sleep all day - Corvida via twhirl

Two chicks at the same time? Oh wait, that's if I had a million dollars... - Ben Jackson via twhirl

We don't really have to work for someone else. We have just been conditioned think we have to go to college, get in debt, get tracked in the system as wage slaves. You could stay home, plant a garden, raise a few chickens for eggs, goats for milk, maybe a calf or two, make a little money here or there. - Internet Strategist

So far, the commenters on my site _don't_ want Twitter and FriendFeed to go mainstream. Do you want to keep these technologies to yourself? - Louis Gray

Has anyone else noticed the push the major media give to some services and not others? How often did Television Programming (news, sitcoms, talk shows) talk about "googling" something; did you ever hear them talk about "yahooing" or "asking" anything? Then it was myspace, myspace, myspace followed by Facebook. Makes me wonder if those who own the media heavily invest and then push their investments. - Internet Strategist

Internet Strategist: media people just want to be cool. It's easy to understand why they push certain stuff. I do the same. I have no investments in anything. - Robert Scoble

Nothing says "I am stupid and have personal issues" like having most of your body tattooed. - Robert Miller

He'll look great in nursing home, when (or if) he gets old. - Jemm

The pentagram on the forehead is a nice touch. - Mike Doeff