new seven wonders

Some Swiss rich guy had a great idea. Well, not so great, given that it'll become a popularity contest in which most of the participants are idiots, homers, or both. But a novel attempt nonetheless. His idea is here -- the home of a web-based campaign to elect Seven (New) Wonders of the World.

I of course think it will come down to which regions get out the vote the best and which finalists are more reknown and visited, which are both crappy ways to select wonders of the world. People naturally know more about some than others or will tend to be more partial toward some aspects of the finalists than other aspects. For example, there are several on the list, some that'd I've even heard a bit about, that I just don't know enough about to judge the merits of. They could be great, or they could be beneath the others. Unfortunately, I haven't been to all of the sites and I'm not very well versed in world history so I'm stuck working with the limited set of knowledge and experience I have. Despite its inherent flaws and injustices, though, the contest is still a neat idea that combines wonders throughout history and will result in seven sites selected through a worldwide vote. I'm very curious as to which will be the final seven. But we'll all have to wait until July to find out.

So, of course, the next step is to select the sites to vote for. In my selection I focused primarily at how awesome and innovative sites were for their time and still are today, and how much of a mark they've made on history. Being there should make you feel like you're on hallowed ground. It should not just be cool and unforgettable but indescribable. Simply put, it should be an experience of a lifetime. In my book, qualities like beauty and impact within a region or culture aren't so important since they're hard to quantify and compare. Beauty, for example, often represents the best of a very wide selection. There are lots of beautiful sites and buildings and such in the world, so simply being similar but better than the rest doesn't cut it. It needs to be not only beautiful but advanced for its time and radically unique. (I guess that's my engineer side speaking.) And a real wonder needs to have, and have had, a profound worldwide impact beyond its immediate region or culture.

On those grounds, some finalists are easy to eliminate up front. A Japanese temple that's been destroyed and rebuilt several times? Uh, no. A big statue of Jesus? The Statue of Liberty? A modern opera house? No, no, and hell no. Unique and cool, but not breathtakingly awesome on the level of a true world wonder. The site of a middle-ages university? Sorry. A fantasy-esque castle built centuries after castles went out of style and created with tourism and popularity in mind? Gimme a break. As you can see, a lot of finalists must be surviving on popularity and home crowd vote-mongering alone, because they sure didn't earn a spot here.

Anyway, on to my vote-getters. If you haven't already clicked over to the website, do so now so you'll understand the process. There are 21 finalists out of 77 (I think) original contestants and we -- the internet-connected world -- must select seven of those to be the New Seven Wonders. With that, I proudly present my long-awaited selections, not necessarily in any particular order...

Roman Colosseum. This one is obvious, and not just because it's one of the few I've actually been to. Not only is so much of it still standing almost two millenia later, but it was an engineering and architectural feat that still ranks as one of the greatest ever. The site clip puts it well: "Its design concept still stands to this very day, and virtually every modern sports stadium some 2,000 years later still bears the irresistible imprint of the Colosseum's original design." Roman architecture at its best. It's way, way up there on my "hallowed ground" list.

Stonehenge. If centuries and centuries later people still can't explain how those ancients built that contraption then it qualifies as radical for its day. This is one of those sites that perhaps lacks the beauty and intricacy of others but has a wonder to it that few, if any, others do. It has to be one of the greatest engineering marvels of all time.

Pyramids of Giza. A combination of the above two. The manhours and decades of effort that went into building them are unbelievable. Ditto for the intricacy and creativity behind the inner tunnels and traps. This is another one that one must actually visit and take the inside tour of to fully appreciate. How the Egyptians could build passageways and rigging systems so perfectly accurate and to scale with crude instruments defies the imagination.

Great Wall of China. Another marvel of effort and dedication that is still standing. The fact that it's the largest monument ever built by man, and probably by a very large margin, speaks for itself. I think of this in the same vein as the Pyramids in that the kind of dedication needed to actually build this thing, especially well enough that it's still standing strong today, is too hard to grasp.

Machu Picchu. A city on top of a mountain? Built over 500 years ago with rudimentary technology? Whose layout is still intact? Definitely put this one on the list. It still looks as if it's out of a dream or something. I can't imagine what it would have been like back in the day. No wonder this is on the short list of stuff I need to visit.

Easter Island Statues. These are in the Stonehenge category of "How'd they do that?" A collection of huge stone statues on an island otherwise almost entirely devoid of rocks is just freakish. We still don't have many clues as to how, why, and by whom they were built. As the description says, the statues have "long fascinated the entire world and endowed this island with a mythical atmosphere." Well said. This is perhaps the most mysterious of all the finalists.

Athens Acropolis. This one is similar to the Colosseum in that it was built at a time when architecture and buildings of that grandness were pretty much unheard of. It represents another leap forward in civilization. Not only the site itself but the history and story behind it have continued to influence societies across the globe. Another one that's on the short list of places I need to visit.

There you go. So what are you waiting for? Sift through the travel memories, history books, photo albums, Civilization progress charts, and the rest, and go vote!