To buy the world that is… We’ve been thinking a lot about Dubai recently. It’s a place you can buy your very own island. Or if you have enough $$$, you can buy The World. But it’s going fast. Rod Stewart is already rumored to have bought Britain. By the time you save enough Dirhams, maybe only the outer stars of the universe will be left. Or maybe the Lower East Side. The New York Times describes Rem Koolhaas’ generic city project “as if a fragment of Manhattan had been removed with a scalpel and reinserted in the Middle East.” Live from Dubai… it’s Saturday night!

Interestingly, you can see the World Islands on Google Maps, but only if you zoom in. Once you zoom out, both The World and the Palm resorts disappear… What’s the use of making artificial islands if you can’t see them from space?