The See-Through Skyscrape

“Transparency” is the architectural watchword of the era, almost guaranteed to appear in any reference to contemporary glass-clad towers.

But real buildings usually look a lot different than the clear plastic models and crystalline renderings shown at news conferences and ribbon cuttings.

Once in a while, however, when the light and the angles are just right, a skyscraper can come close to vanishing.

That happened last Thursday, when the 52 floors of 7 World Trade Center faded into the cloud-flecked blue of a late summer afternoon. Its masonry neighbors (140 West Street and 90 West Street) stood out in contrast. – nytimes

Japanese Police Get Fooled, By “Mannequin Murder”

… Investigators found what seemed like a body in a forest in Izu City, a seaside resort in central Japan, after an anonymous caller reported seeing it, police said. Investigators felt it from outside but never actually looked inside, and bought it back to the city police station for a post-mortem examination, she said.. Apparantly no one doubted a human body was inside until a medical examiner unwrapped it and found a doll there. The Asahi newspaper said the doll was sophisticated and life-sized, and wore a brown wig, a blouse and a skirt. It appeared to have been wrapped or enclosed in a dark green sleeping bag. – mystery