Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico

Does anyone else think these high-rise apartments look like corn cobs? Plant that idea in your head: You could build an apartment building that looks exactly like an ear of corn with an apartment in every kernal. Now think how cool it would be to make it look like an ear of Indian corn! [2020]

New York, New York, USA

Intrepid means fearless, which captures the resolve of New York City to meet Covid-19 head on. The USS Intrepid is practically next door to the Javits Center, which is being temporarily transformed into a 1000-bed hospital for non-corona cases. [2017]

Richland, Mississippi, USA

Whether your name is Bruce, Joe, or Frank, this is your day. You've reached another milestone! Happy 60th Birthday! In your imagination, replay all of the great parties you have had in the past, 'cause this year it is not meant to be! [2018]

Jackson, Ohio, USA

Let's take a moment to honor the Governors of our fifty states for their leadership in bringing us through the corona virus pandemic. No matter how bad it gets, it would have been even worse were it not for these men and women and their able lieutenants. When this has all passed, perhaps we should build one memorial to all fifty. [2016]

Flagstaff, Arizona, USA

Science + Technology + Engineering + Math = STEM. Flagstaff became America's first STEM City in 2012. Who else is surprised? Perhaps, as good scientists, we should ask for evidence that it deserved the notoriety. Surprised by anything else? The STEM City clock, so cleverly artistic it seems to transition the city from STEM to STEAM. The added A is for Arts. [2019]

Flagstaff, Arizona, USA

It could be a church, but there is no cross on top. Even the library-in-a-box (not to mention the Romanesque shell) suggests a place of worship. Whoever had this built wanted to be taken as seriously as God-fearing Christians take God. They even wanted to lift your eyes to the heavens with that steeple. Sorry, 'tower.' Think it might be a county courthouse? [2019]

Flagstaff, Arizona, USA

Amtrak's Southwest Chief (see it?) runs from Chicago to Los Angeles and still calls at Flagstaff, but the station isn't as busy as it used to be, so now it functions as a visitor center as well. And, no, you don't see it because that's a freight train, many of which still pass through town. [2019]

Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain

 "Letters mingle souls, for thus, friends absent speak." That was the judgment of John Donne (a contemporary of one William Shakespeare) in the late 1500s. Today in Spain, that is the job of la oficina de correos (see it?). Or, is it the job of the teléfono móvil? Mobile phones are everywhere taking post offices out of the soul-mingling business. [2017]

Changhua, Taiwan

"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy." So sayeth Hamlet ever since he was given voice by one William Shakespeare who was born (probably) on this day in 1564, and who died on this day in 1616. [2012]

Bangkok, Thailand

Just resting her eyes, she is. But, what else is there to do at Jack's ("Bangkok's cheapest riverside bar") in the morning? For someone riding the water taxis from the east side of the Chao Phraya to the west side, Jack's bar is nearby and worth a look-see. [2011]

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Is that a scooter or a chaise lounge? Is that a blue beard or a face mask? Is that a helmet for the hell-bent or a hard hat for the laid back? Is that a smile for the miles ahead or an invite for convo, head to head? [2016]

Taipei, Taiwan

A scooter like this lets you scoot around town, park where you want, save money on gas, and rest on your bum even when you are not in motion. Cities could be smaller and more convenient if we all drove scooters instead of cars. Instead, Americans have gone in the other direction, preferring vans, trucks, and RVs over small sedans. [2011]

Washington, DC, USA

Welcome to the first day of spring in Washington. The cherry blossoms are early this year and are probably at their peak right about now. Too bad you won't be able to congregate around the Tidal Basin to bask in their abundance as you have done so many times in the past. [2011]

Mohave Valley, Arizona, USA

Exactly one year ago, when this picture was taken, the Mojave Desert looked like God's flower garden. More than the usual amount of winter rainfall resulted in a super bloom. Not this year though: yes, a bloom, but not wet enough for a super bloom. [2019]

Columbia, South Carolina, USA

Every large city, including South Carolina's capital, has a Five Points, an intersection that distinguishes itself from the grid around which most cities are planned. A location with five points has an additional vector of accessibility and a reason for being a shopping hub. Here, though, you will have to turn around to see how business loves Five Points. [2020]

Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Downtown Atlanta's skyline emerged in the 1970s with the development of Peachtree Plaza. It included the round Westin tower. The 1990s brought much new development, but by that time Midtown's skyline was also rising. And, the 21st century has seen the vertical emergence of Buckhead and now Sandy Springs, all along Peachtree Street as it extends north. [2020]

Augusta, Maine, USA

Maine separated from Massachusetts in 1820, and Augusta became the official capital in 1832, the year the capitol building was finished. Do you see the resemblance between the Massachusetts and the Maine capitols? Charles Bullfinch designed both. 1820 to 2020: Happy bicentennial birthday, Maine! [2019 and 1987]

Williams, Arizona, USA

Choose one: (a) Classical art has devolved into folk art on the Arizona frontier. (b) Classical art has evolved into folk art on the Arizona frontier. What makes it classical? The telamons and caryatids of antiquity. What makes it folk? The chain saw sculptors of the wild West. [2019]

New London, Connecticut, USA

What words come to mind when you round a corner in New London and these maidens come into view? Strong. Greek. Antiquity. Entablature. Caryatid. Mural. Sculpture. Trompe-l'œil. Erotic. And maybe a few more that can't be spelled out here. [2008]

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Members of a jury are a nation's pillars of justice. But here there are only 11. "The missing pillar invites you to imagine that you are the twelfth juror." Jurors, yes, but also telamons and caryatids. What are they holding up? Not just the pediment of a Greek temple, but the entire Canadian justice system. [2013]

Changhua, Taiwan

How does a city make its sidewalks fun? The sculptural arts can help. Included in that category would be the fantastical beasts that greet shoppers and pedestrians in downtown Changhua. Also included in that category are the botanicals that give the animals an ecological niche of their own. [2011]

Nogales, Sonora, Mexico

Along the frontier that divides Mexico from the United States, there are 50 border crossings, including three in Nogales. Here is a view of one of them taken over three decades ago before the current era of fortification and militarization. [1988]

Koper, Slovenia

This is one of the reasons why European cities are "greener" than US cities. People have convenient access to intercity trains and they use them en masse. One engine gets everyone where they are going. In other parts of the world, every person must have a carbon-burning engine of their own. [2008]

Imlil, Morocco

The Atlas Mountains are full of villages like this, and so many are still inaccessible by paved road. All, however, are connected by pistes, walking trails that lead you over one ridge and then another, all with belles vues to stun and inspire. [2017]

Ritzville, Washington, USA

He pulled into a parking space in the 1920s, got out of the car, and never came back. The town where he parked it continued to expand, and soon a building was erected right over the abandoned vehicle. The only fear now is that the driver's descendants have the keys and will return to drive it away. Actually, no ignition keys until 1949! [2019]

LaVerkin, Utah, USA

Even before there were satellite dishes to break the shackles of isolation, there were horseless carriages. We know them now as cars. No, don't look at the sales transaction going on at street level, look up to the second story. Why not use your roof as a junk yard? [2019]

Ash Fork, Arizona, USA

A 1958 Texaco Station-cum-beauty salon is one of the finer establishments in Ash Fork. The railroad enabled the village to ship out the flagstone that was quarried all over the area. And, in the mid-20th century, Route 66 provided a boost to the economy. But the "improvements" to Route 66 and the Interstate system brought only abandonment and decay. [2019]

Ocracoke Island, North Carolina, USA

The keepers' quarters still stand next to the historic Ocracoke Light, but there are no keepers. Only one lighthouse in the entire country continues to be staffed by a resident human being. All others are run by the Coast Guard from control rooms that are miles away. [2019]

Fenwick Island, Delaware, USA

Fenwick Island Light is in Delaware, but most of us think it is in Maryland. That's because it's a few feet from the state line, the Transpeninsular boundary surveyed in 1751. At the time, Delaware was part of Pennsylvania. Not until a hundred years later was a new lighthouse commissioned to fill the gap between the Cape Henlopen Light and the Assateague Light. [2019]

Mystic, Connecticut, USA

Punctuating the tip of Shipyard Point (see the tall ship?), the Mystic Seaport Light has been around only since 1966. It was built to be part of the Mystic Seaport museum complex on the Mystic River. River lights are never as tall as seaboard lights because you don't have to see them from a distance. [2006]

Jamestown, Rhode Island, USA

It's the first day of meteorological spring. Let the daffodils bloom! Let their coronas sparkle in the sunshine. Let their trumpets herald the coming of longer days and warmer temperatures. [2019]