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An E-Mail From Across The Atlantic

World Financial Center
Duke Energy Center

So this was fun.

Yesterday at work, we got an email from a guy in the United Kingdom who wanted to know why the skyline behind the main logo on wcnc.com was from Shanghai. Of course, it’s not Shanghai, it’s Charlotte. Duh. But through the power of Twitter, I found out that the new Duke Energy Center in Charlotte looks a lot like the World Financial Center in Shanghai. I wrote the guy back, then wrote a blog about it on wcnc.com:

It turns out our brand spanking new Duke Energy Center has a much taller and slightly older brother who lives in Shanghai.

The World Financial Center is the second tallest building in the world. At 1,622 feet, it’s more than twice the height of the Duke Energy Center. Its main architectural feature is what looks like a carrying handle on top. You know, just in case Paul Bunyan comes to town and decides to take it with him.

This morning, I got an email back from the guy, who explains his initial confusion:

I live in a small town called Newport Pagnell in the UK.

I saw your website because you did a piece with headlines “York to revise Smoking Ban”

which caught my eye, as at first I thought it was York UK. and last thing i want is people smoking in public again.

1n 2008 We went to china for a month, when the “bottle top Opener” building was being built. We would have been told what the Building was called and its purpose, but “bottle top opener building” stuck. when I sent original email I had not looked at photos, and was doing it from memory. and from memory many of the building in your Logo I thought resembled buildings in Shanghai. I have now looked at the photos and can see there is a lot of difference.

Never been to Charlotte, We did drive up the coast from Florida to New york some 10 years ago, but went through Charleston and Jacksonville.

No real plans to come back to the US. After 9/11, I hear US immigration is a right pain in the arse. Last time we came (10yrs ago) it took us an hour to get through, so how long would it take now?

Sorry to spark things of in your office, but i am sure it was a good healthy debate.

No need to be sorry, Kevin. The pleasure’s all ours.
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Here’s the blog: Is That Charlotte? Or Is That Shanghai?

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My Email Address Has Become Obsolete

I’ve had the same e-mail address for about eight years now, which is saying something. I’m not sure what.

Anyway, after today, that address (it starts with “freejimtraficant”) is no longer really relevant, since Jim Traficant will be freed from a federal prison sometime today. Jimbo, the former congressman from my former district in Ohio was sentenced to prison seven years ago on corruption charges. He was kicked out of Congress as well, after saying stuff like this:

Now he’s getting out, and the sideshow begins:

  • In 2002, the minor league Mahoning Valley Scrappers held Jim Traficant Night. Those wearing a toupee or those who could prove that they were the son of a truck driver got in free. Turns out, the team wanted to do the same thing for Jimbo’s release. Not so much.
  • A Youngstown TV station promised to deliver Jim’s first letter to the media since his trip to prison. In fact, they said it was his first contact with the media in seven years. Then the story aired. Was it a revealing first-hand look at his time behind bars? No. Traficant rambled on about some book he’s writing about high school football.
  • There will be a Jim Traficant Appreciation Dinner, which the former congressman is not expected to attend. It’s $20-a-plate, and according to the Youngstown Vindicator, “all party goers are invited to dress Jimbo-style. But if you don’t own skinny ties, bell-bottom pants and denim suits — all Traficant trademark clothes — the dress is casual.”
  • Some guy paints Traficant-related art. One shows him as a UFO. Yeah, you can buy one if you want.

My actual contact with Traficant has been nil, except for the one time he visited my high school and I asked him a question about NAFTA and he got all pissed off. His response wasn’t like this, but it was close:

I ended up with the e-mail address on a lark; I didn’t want something like jeremy3952, so I just typed in random stuff, and freejimtraficant was the first one that stuck. And it’s stuck ever since. I have a bunch of Traficant campaign paraphernalia, thanks to my dad, who stopped by the campaign office one night and picked up pins, t-shirts and yard signs. That, of course, was the year that Jimbo ran from prison.

I’ll be watching today to see what happens. Jim’s not expected to talk to the media. But if he does, beam me up.

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From September 2, 2009