From: fedora@fea.st
On Wed, 18 Feb 2026 16:01:13 -0800, Dude wrote:
>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
[continued in next message]
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