We'll admit we've noticed a lessening of our colleagues' peeps; a slowing down of our detractors' cries. But what we haven't noticed—mostly because, um, we don't, like, read them all the time—is that archinect, our loyal archenemy and fickle rival, seems to have taken a little trip down to Davy Jones' locker. A Dear Reader reports:

I just tried www.archinect.com and it appears they didnt pay their network solutions bill...or they've been kidnapped...or bought by Gawker.

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We've said it before and we'll repeat it again: we love the mainstream media. Particularly its take on the more elusive vagaries of the profession we ourselves profess to—albeit loosely—cover. This week's New York decided to decide who, in the architecture world, has those particular qualities—influence! power!—that we ourselves have come to oh-so-relish. Inclusions run from the more Captain Obvious-inspired (Richard Meier, Bob Stern, Murray Moss) to the behind-the-scenesters (DBox-er Keith Bomely, green-er Douglas Durst, Sotheby's-er James Zemaitis). Looks like our standard architects-as-impotents party line just isn't gonna fly.

· The Most Influential People in Architecture and Design [New York]

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We're far too ensconced in the proletariat wings ever to get up close and personal enough with La Diller herself to tell whether or not the theories of nips and tucks (mostly tucks) have been at all founded. Which is why we're exceedingly grateful to this latest, closer Reader, who seems to have come out of the gate with not a small bit of vitriol of his (her?) own:

Seems like the childish ol' bitch has the same jowly face she's always had. Too bad—the humiliation of a public plastic surgery outing seemed fitting for an S/M queen who's spent decades belittling her employees. (Incidentally, they shouldn't be shy about sharing their salaries with one another—it could be very enlightening.)

Still, she looked ridiculous in that NYTimes Magazine photo.

· DillerWatch™: A Renovation Close to Home? [The Gutter]

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It has come to our attention that there are some out there, chattering ever-so-loosely on our always open comments boards, who have been offended not only by Reed Kroloff's recent "I May Look White but Underneath I'm All Brother" Metropolis story, but also—shockingly, as we are here only to serve, never to insult—by our response.

So, for the record: some of our best friends are short, we think the gays are adorable, and our Jew of an intern is a fantastic lay help.

· Reed Kroloff is Black! [The Gutter]
· Black Like Me [Metropolis]

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I spy for dead empires. It's my way of coping with the imperial ambitions of the living. I spy for Venice, Vienna, Istanbul: any imperial city that has lost its global reach.—Herbert Muschamp

People, people, people. You didn't think we'd let this go, did you? When we get two Muschamp pieces in one day, we know we must pace ourselves. You wouldn't eat a five-pound box of Godiva's in one sitting, would you?

The sad truth is we're concerned for poor Herbie. It seems our attorney general doesn't think spying is cute, no matter how dead the empire. Sources tell us a squad of Blackhawks descended on Duane Street at dawn this morning, and that our favorite critic is now down at Gitmo, hoping some GI doesn't flush his copy of the "Arcades Project." God help us. The last thing America needs now is rioting at Au Printemps.

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It's been a tough few days for those poor worker bees at Newsweek, so much so that we really, really hate to pile on. But if there's any lesson that can be gleaned from this latest tempest, it's that journalistic ethics must be respected. Yes, it would be wrong—just plain wrong—for us not to comment on the magazine's "Design 2005" package. So let's all forget about the rioting in the hills of Kush. There's no need for fear. Design will save us. "Americans are bellying up to Milan's high-style espresso bars for a strong dose of the cutting edge." Yes, the cutting edge. Like the Polaroid. And Mario Batali's baster. (Our guess: they're using it for something other than basting.) But seriously, we liked the story on prefab, especially the part about how a certain resolutionary architecture firm can't keep a budget. Okay. We gotta go. Toilet's overflowin'. Better go plunge that Koran.

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