Cities: Pretty From a Distance, Less Pretty Up Close

Here are some beautiful (and contrasting) visuals for you on this sunny Friday, with apologies for not posting last night (I know you're all bereft).

First, there's this listing of the 15 best skylines in the world, accompanied by some stunning photos. (This comes to me via Norman Geras, who got it from someone named Emily.) Interesting to see Chicago ahead of New York -- but I'm OK with that; it was the birthplace of the skyscraper, after all, and it is a beautiful city. Nice to see Pittsburgh and Dallas make the cut for honorable mentions -- I really liked Pittsburgh the one time I went, and Dallas, well, as Jimmie Dale Gilmore sang:

Did you ever see Dallas from a DC-9 at night?
Well Dallas is a jewel, oh yeah, Dallas is a beautiful sight.
And Dallas is a jungle but Dallas gives a beautiful light.

Secondly (via The Stranger), there are these photos of Hong Kong by Michael Wolf, starkly displaying the less picturesque realities of urban living. (Less picturesque only in terms of the reality; the photos themselves are quite attractive.)

If you follow the tab labeled "Editorial Work: Non-China" on Wolf's site, one of the projects is called "Subway Dreams," and the photos there remind me that the crowded underground experience can do a lot to kindle dreams of living in Pittsburgh.