From: punditster@gmail.com
On 2/18/2026 3:04 PM, Noah Sombrero wrote:
> On Wed, 18 Feb 2026 12:25:30 -0800, Dude wrote:
>
>> On 2/18/2026 10:45 AM, Noah Sombrero wrote:
>>> On Wed, 18 Feb 2026 10:22:52 -0800, Dude wrote:
>>>
>>>> On 2/18/2026 10:00 AM, Noah Sombrero wrote:
>>>>> On Wed, 18 Feb 2026 17:35:05 -0000 (UTC), Tara
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> On Feb 18, 2026 at 12:00:59?PM EST, "Noah Sombrero"
wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> On Wed, 18 Feb 2026 16:54:09 -0000 (UTC), Tara
>>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> On Feb 18, 2026 at 11:31:04?AM EST, "Noah Sombrero"
wrote:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> On Wed, 18 Feb 2026 11:15:57 -0500, Wilson
>>>>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> On 2/18/2026 11:07 AM, Tara wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>> On Feb 18, 2026 at 11:00:04?AM EST, "Wilson" wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>> On 2/18/2026 10:36 AM, Julian wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>>> On 18/02/2026 15:28, Wilson wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> On 2/17/2026 6:20 PM, Tara wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Tara wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> On Feb 17, 2026 at 4:24:25?PM EST, "Julian"
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> I?ve got a new thriller out this week, under my pen name of
S.K.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Tremayne. I am pleased with the book, and I believe it?s
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> entertaining. I
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> am also aware that, in a tough and competitive market, that
may not be
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> enough for it to succeed. I am even more aware that readers
might
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> decide
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> the book is dreck. They might give me one star reviews, and
no sales.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Then the book will crater, my publishers will probably
abandon me, and
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> my nice career will drift to an end.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> And that, of course, is how it should be. No one in any
career is
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> entitled to a free ride. That especially applies to people
who get
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> to do
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> a desirable, creative job such as novel writing. Whether
you?re a
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> writer, actor, director, sculptor or musician ? if you want
that
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> enviably fun creative profession, you live and die by public
approval;
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> and if you are bad, goodbye.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Unless, of course, you are an architect. I was reminded of
this
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> peculiar
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> anomaly by last week?s furore over the latest architectural
wart to
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> attach itself to London?s battered face: the already
notorious
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ?Belgrove
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> House?, that now dominates a prime corner of Euston Road,
where it
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> sits
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> right next to King?s Cross and St Pancras.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> I presume it has been situated in London after the original
design was
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> rejected by a horrified Uzbek government, as being too ugly
for
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Tashkent.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> If you have not seen it yet, the best way to get a sense is
to look at
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> photos like the one here.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> https://x.com/ianvisits/status/2020440287785443433
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Briefly. The second best way is for me to describe it, but
that is
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> actually quite hard. Because it?s difficult to verbally
capture this
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> weird, stupid and meaningless collision of styles, materials,
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> dimensions. The closest visual analogy, to my mind, is one
of those
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> plates piled high at a hotel buffet by an idiot: with a
splodge of
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> curry, some sauerkraut, five potatoes, some lemon pie, a
lamb cutlet,
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> smoked herring, and several cheesy crackers, and everything
banal and
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> tasteless even before you smush them together.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> In short, the building is appalling, and it?s not going to
get better
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> over time. It is a dud. A turkey. A calamitous flop. It is
the
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Millennium Dome. It is Fyre Festival. It is Triangle, the
BBC soap
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> opera
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> set on a North Sea ferry route. It is Raise the Titanic. It
is Harry
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Hill?s I Can?t Sing. It is Keir Starmer?s prime ministerial
career,
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> rendered in concrete and plastic. It is my first novel,
Absent
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Fathers,
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> which got a cheque for zero pounds zero pence, as a computer
could not
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> believe an author could sell so few copies, so sent a cheque
anyway.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Finally, it is the architectural equivalent of Via Galactica
(1972), a
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> space-themed musical with actors on trampolines, which
lasted seven
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> performances.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> But here?s the thing. For all the creative disasters listed
above,
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> someone responsible paid a price. Even the lavishly coddled
Millennium
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Dome project damaged careers. And yet, if you design and
erect a
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> hideous
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> building, equivalent to these aesthetic catastrophes, you
pay no price
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> at all. And this despite the fact that, unlike a rubbish
novel, you
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> can?t chuck a bad building in a bin. No, the building squats
there,
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> for
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> decades, blighting the lives of everyone who must look at
it. And
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> given
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> that this particular building is situated in one of the most
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> conspicuous
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> sites in the capital, opposite two of its grandest railway
stations,
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> that is going to be a lot of people.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Worse, there?s a decent chance the architects of this
carbuncle
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> will get
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> an award. Because that?s what they do in architecture world.
They have
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> hideous ideas, then they force them on the rest of us, and
then they
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> give each other prizes. Until, about 40 years down the line,
everyone
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> accepts the obvious truth, and the pile of ugliness is
finally
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> demolished.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> If you need proof, just look at the lists. Salford?s
laughable
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Centenary
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Building, Britain?s very first Stirling Prize winner (in
1996), was
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