World Trade Center Reboot?

It's 2012 and another presidential election is just around the corner.  In hopes of gaining the attention of New Yorkers and other Americans across the United States, President Obama has looked into a tax cut that would not only boost transportation in the lower Manhattan area that surrounds ground zero, but will also start the rebuilding of the World Trade Center.

The tax cut is part of President Obama's budget plan that he proposed to congress on Monday.  The tax cut would be $200 million under this new budget plan.  The credit would be given to both New York City and New York State and would be given annually from 2013 to 2022 totaling up to a whopping $2 billion.

The "Liberty Zone" - the area in lower Manhattan where the World Trade Centers used to stand has already received a large sum of money, $21 billion in money and incentives, to revamp the terror stricken area.

The rebuilding of the World Trade Center has increased in speculated costs.  In 2008 it was estimated that the rebuilding would cost around $11 billion, but now it is estimated to be up to $14.8 billion.

Now to my thoughts - is this a good idea?  I've often wondered if they would rebuild the two large towers that once stood in lower Manhattan.  I have mixed feelings about the reconstruction.  It would show that we are strong as a country and not afraid to rebuild what others want to tear down.  The towers would be a symbol of hope and faith in our country.  On the other hand, I believe that the area should be kept as a monument and memorial for those who lost their lives that fateful September day (now roll - "Where were you when the World stopped turning that September day...").

I could see the families of the lost ones becoming upset at the thought of new towers being put in the same place where the old ones used to stand.  Did their loved ones die for nothing?  Now, when they want to visit the spot where their friends took their last breaths, they have to look at a skyscraper that (odds are) looks exactly the same as the two that were brought down so easily by the two renegade airplanes?

The thought of a duplication of the two towers slightly makes me cringe.  The area should be revamped, but perhaps they should put off the building of the towers and put something like a museum or a better memorial instead.  What do you think?

Check out the full article here.

Oh, The Vampires!

In light of the recent New Year I have decided to start being a little more active, like most of the people in the world, but I needed something to keep my brain busy while I worked out.  I decided on an audiobook to keep my brain entertained – an audiobook about Vampires (and no, I am NOT talking about Twilight). 

I’m sick of vampires just as much as the next person, but there is something about the mythical creature that draws us in.  What is it that makes them so enjoyable to read about?  I would guess it’s their otherworldly strength and super-human powers that probably reel the reader in.

We’ve all heard of the HBO series TrueBlood about a telepathic barmaid named, Sookie Stackhouse who falls in love with Vampire Bill.  The series holds many twists and turns and is very enjoyable to watch, but the books are even better. 

 

(Above is the cast of the TrueBlood HBO series)

There are several books in the Sookie Stackhouse Southern Mystery novels.  Many of the characters featured in the TV series either meet a different fate or are not even in the book series altogether – for example, in the books, Vampire Bill’s “child”, Jessica, does not exist.

I would recommend this series for anyone who enjoys to read fantasy books or if they are a lover of the HBO series as well.  The author of the series, Charlaine Harris, paints a perfect picture of Bon Temps, Louisiana and builds a strong and caring in our heroine, Sookie Stackhouse who, with her supernatural friends, takes you on magnificent adventures.

 

Above is author, Charlaine Harris (kind of hard to imagine this woman writing some of the scenes in her books…)

Above is the series (which does not include her ninth installment Dead Reckoning) the tenth installment of the Sookie Stackhouse series is due out in May and will be titled, Deadlocked.  The picture above is also missing other short stories written by Harris such as the novella, Sookie Stackhouse Companion. Harris plans to end the series after the thirteenth book is released.