A busy news week to kick off 2013, it was difficult to stick to 5! Here are some articles I think you shouldn’t miss, enjoy!
Architecture to Watch In 2013: Part 1: There were countdowns to close out 2012, so let’s kick off 2013 with a countdown of architecture to look forward to (or not, depending on your opinion).
King Louis XVI’s Blood Found In Decorative Squash Centuries After Beheading, DNA Study Shows: A short but really neat article about a legend that proved to be true.
Urban Trends We Hope Die in 2013: I love Atlantic Cities, and I agree with many of its sentiments in this article. I do like yarn bombing though, but only if it is well maintained, meaning it is taken down by those who put it up before it gets all nasty from being exposed.
202-Year-Old Paris Bakery, City’s Oldest, Forced to Close: A true loss for cultural preservation.
Press Release re: Former North Park Baptist Church: It’s a disappointing loss, but I learned a few things about Historic Preservation tax credits and the difficulty that projects involving churches face in gaining these credits. Thank you to the Vernacular Architecture Forum for bringing it to my attention.
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For more stories, check out Bricks + Mortar’s This Week post.
Preservation and Place 
I can’t decide which new story I want to comment on most! 1. I love the idea of a count “up”! 2. Long live the King! No seriously, that story is both gross and crazy! A) I can’t believe someone soaked up the blood (ick!) B) I can’t believe the legend is true! 3) I also love yarn bombing provided that it is taken down before it gets disgusting or causes damage to trees. I hope it is a trend that never dies, twee or not! 4) Mon dieu indeed! What a loss for the neighborhood, the city, and visitors to Paris. France is generally so careful about protecting its cultural heritage, I’m really sad that no one has stepped in to save the bakery 😦
I noticed you have two French stories this week, are you a francophile? Or was it just a coincidence? I majored in France as an undergrad, so I particularly enjoyed those two pieces!
1. I saw the count up and after the special post with the countdowns, I had to share.
2. Gross and crazy indeed! It’s the randomest thing to, a gourd?
3. Have you seen Lego bombing? I think I like it more than yarn bombing.
4. Agreed.
I took French for four years, and at one point was really good at it, but when I transferred high schools twice, the curricula for the classes were so different that I had to stop taking it unfortunately. So it’s been years since my last class. Now I can order food in Montreal and Quebec (haven’t made it to France) and the waiters will know exactly what I mean, but then they come back continuing to speak French way to fast and I get lost. I have an okay vocabulary, but definitely am back to basic conversation. I might be chaperoning a junior high French class to Old Quebec City in April (one of my good friends that I had been in classes with became a French teacher and it’s her class), and plan on taking an online refresher course as soon as I get word that the trip is a “go.”
I always love finding a fellow francophile! It’s been years since I’ve need to use any French, so I’m sure I couldn’t even hold a conversation these days. I was lucky enough to spend some time in France teaching English right after college – I don’t know that I ever visited the bakery that’s being closed, but I’d like to think that I did. It’s really such a shame.
I hope you get to go on the trip to Quebec!
And thank you as always for the shout out!
And you’re welcome as always!