nyt - arch

The Royal Mecca Clock Tower, part of a complex housing a hotel and shopping mall, towers over the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on Dec. 2, 2010...

The Royal Mecca Clock Tower, part of a complex housing a hotel and shopping mall, towers over the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on Dec. 2, 2010...

Construction cranes crowd the area around the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on Dec. 2, 2010. Construction projects in the center of Mecca are r...

Construction cranes crowd the horizon behind the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on Dec. 3, 2010. Construction projects in the center of Mecca ar...

New high rises fill the skyline behind the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on Dec. 3, 2010. Construction projects in the center of Mecca are resh...

A product shot of the eyelash enhancer L'Oreal Double Extend in New York on Dec. 21, 2010. Eyelash enhancers have become a booming market with produc...

FILE -- James Franco in Vancouver, Canada, Aug. 22, 2010. Franco and Kalup Linzy's performance at Webster Hall made it to No. 22 on the The New York T...

FILE -- Steve Martin inside Acquavella Galleries in New York, Nov. 11, 2010. Martin promoting his new novel set in the art world made it to No. 27 on...

The actress Stella Schnabel, at her New York home, on Dec. 10, 2010. With Schnabel's role in the film "You Wont Miss Me," she seems to be stepping ou...

Residents try to dig their cars out after New York was hit with a blizzard leaving more than 20 inches of snow, Dec. 29, 2010. New York Mayor Michael...

A car sits covered after a blizzard hit New York leaving more than 20 inches of snow, Dec. 27, 2010. Mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg, addre...

A New York City bus sits stuck and abandoned after a blizzard hit the city leaving more than 20 inches of snow, Dec. 27, 2010. Mayor of New York City...

Jin Wang, professor of electrical engineering at Ohio State University, in his office in Columbus, Ohio on Dec. 9, 2010. Utilities are spending billi...

The second-floor parlor, decorated in English Aesthetic, of Charlotte and Peter Fiell's home in London, on Nov. 20, 2010. The ebonized Aurora sideboa...

A desk in the second-floor parlor, decorated in English Aesthetic, of Charlotte and Peter Fiell's home in London, on Nov. 20, 2010. The ebonized chair...

A bowl and table light in the second-floor parlor, decorated in English Aesthetic, of Charlotte and Peter Fiell's home in London, on Nov. 20, 2010. Th...

The ground-floor living room of Charlotte and Peter Fiell's home in London, on Nov. 20, 2010. The room features a Flowerpot hanging light by Verner Pa...

The first-floor hallway, opening onto the living room of Charlotte and Peter Fiell's home in London, on Nov. 20, 2010. The hallway has wallpaper by Wi...

Sarah Fisher with her husband, Andy O'Gara, at their home in Indianapolis, on Dec. 21, 2010. Fisher, the first and only female team owner in the IndyC...

Students work in a classroom at a middle school affiliated with the Jing'An Teachers' College in Shanghai, on Dec. 21, 2010. Students in Shanghai outp...

Song Zuokai, a farmer who says illegal rare earth mineral mines have polluted his village's fields and streams, outside his home in Baishazhen, China,...

Women look at a well that they say has been contaminated by illegal rare earth mineral mines nearby in Baishazhen, China, on Dec. 20, 2010. China has...

A woman washes clothes in a river that locals claim has been polluted by illegal rare earth mineral mines in Baishazhen, China, on Dec. 20, 2010. Chin...

Song Zuokai, a farmer who says illegal rare earth mineral mines have polluted his village's fields and streams, walks towards an active mine in Baisha...

Mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg, address the media about the city's response to the blizzard that left more that 20 inches of snow, Dec. 29,...

The actress Stella Schnabel, at her New York home, on Dec. 10, 2010. With Schnabel's role in the film "You Wont Miss Me," she seems to be stepping ou...

Mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg, address the media about the city's response to the blizzard that left more that 20 inches of snow, Dec. 29,...

The actress Stella Schnabel, at her New York home, on Dec. 10, 2010. With Schnabel's role in the film "You Wont Miss Me," she seems to be stepping ou...

The actress Stella Schnabel, at her New York home, on Dec. 10, 2010. With Schnabel's role in the film "You Wont Miss Me," she seems to be stepping ou...

A product shot of the eyelash enhancer Line N Grow in New York on Dec. 21, 2010. Eyelash enhancers have become a booming market with products ranging...

FILE -- The cover of the book "An Object Of Beauty" by Steve Martin. Martin promoting his new novel set in the art world made it to No. 27 on the The...

Fans hold up signs while waiting for Lauryn Hill to perform in New York, on Dec. 29, 2010. Hill, who was late to the show and took the stage after mid...

Lauryn Hill performs in New York, on Dec. 29, 2010. Hill, who was late to the show and took the stage after midnight, performed songs from her two sol...

Lauryn Hill performs in New York, on Dec. 29, 2010. Hill, who was late to the show and took the stage after midnight, performed songs from her two sol...

Lauryn Hill performs in New York, on Dec. 29, 2010. Hill, who was late to the show and took the stage after midnight, performed songs from her two sol...

Juliet Huck, founder of the Huck Group, a 10-employee consulting company that creates graphic presentations to help participants in litigation tell th...

Chemical washes for developing Kodachrome film at Dwayne's Photo in Parsons, Kan., on Dec. 28, 2010. The lab is the last one processing the 75-year-ol...

Thank you notes on the wall of the room where Kodachrome film is processed at Dwayne's Photo in Parsons, Kan., on Dec. 28, 2010. The lab is the last o...

Mounted slides of Kodachrome film come off a machine at Dwayne's Photo in Parsons, Kan., on Dec. 28, 2010. The lab is the last one processing the 75-y...

A roll of Kodachrome film is fed into a slide-mounting machine at Dwayne's Photo in Parsons, Kan., on Dec. 28, 2010. The lab is the last one processin...

FILE -- Jimmy McMillan, a New York state gubernatorial candidate in New York, Oct. 19, 2010. As the candidate of the one-man Rent Is Too Damn High Par...

The Royal Mecca Clock Tower, part of a complex housing a hotel and shopping mall, under construction in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on Dec. 3, 2010. Construc...

A tea set in the second-floor parlor, decorated in English Aesthetic, of Charlotte and Peter Fiell's home in London, on Nov. 20, 2010. The tea set was...

A teacher directs students in a classroom at a middle school affiliated with the Jing'An Teachers' College in Shanghai, on Dec. 21, 2010. Students in...

Peter and Charlotte Fiell in the office of their new publishing company in their Victorian home in London, on Nov. 20, 2010. The couple had previously...

Henry Barbour, nephew of Mississippi's governor, and and his dog Dixie outside his home in Yazoo City, Miss., Dec. 29, 2010. A member of the Republica...

A Mangalitsa Serrano ham and Speck ham hang up to dry in the winecellar at the home of Dr. Erno Hollo, who has raised Mangalitsa hogs on five acres at...

Rufus Brown, of Johnston County Hams, slices thin strips off of a Mangalitsa hog leg before a Mangalitsa tasting dinner at the Pluckemin Inn, in Bedmi...

Aglae Rodriguez, left, eats a beef taco during a meal with with Josefina Diego, center, Valentina Rodriguez, 5, right, and her mother Silvia Espinosa,...

People wait in line to buy hot punch at an outdoor market in Mexico City, Dec. 16, 2010. Deep in this country's Aztec roots, there is admiration for s...