##Yearning to Inhale Free

"Owners of businesses that are patronized by immigrants who smoke fear they will lose their clientele to places outside of New York."  Immigrant perspectives on smoking.  As a young boy, I spent many hours in smoke-filled Spanish bars.  I blame my imagined traces of asthma on that experience, but I wouldn't give it up for the world.  It was a part of the local culture that defined the time and place.  [&nbsp;<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/21/nyregion/21SMOK.html?tntemail0&pagewanted=print">Link</a>&nbsp;]

##In The City

Taipei and Shanghai:  it's hardly fair to compare the two.  Shanghai atrophied under decades of Communist austerity while Taipei expanded and upgraded under Japanese and American influence.  Yet underneath, they are still populated by the same culture.  Recently, two articles in the New York Times touched on these cities.

"Lee Ying-yuan, the challenger for Taipei's mayor's office, wants to raze the city's downtown airport and replace it an imitation of Central Park."  This is also the man who wants to push for direct 80 minute flights between the two cities.  [&nbsp;<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/14/international/asia/14TAIW.html?tntemail0&pagewanted=print">Link</a>&nbsp;]

"Shanghai, a bustling port city of 13 million people, is speaking the international language of design, but in mixed tongues."  This is the story of many Chinese metropolises; there exists no unified vision for the architectural unity of the city, as every builder tries to one-up the last.  This is surprising to me, as I was under the impression that many young Chinese artists have a very refined sense of style.  One day their time will come.  [&nbsp;<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/14/garden/14SHAN.html?tntemail0&pagewanted=print">Link</a>&nbsp;]