From: punditster@gmail.com
On 2/18/2026 5:31 PM, Noah Sombrero wrote:
> 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" <
ulianlzb87@gmail.com>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 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
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