From: julianlzb87@gmail.com
On 19/02/2026 03:57, Dude wrote:
> 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"
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 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
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* Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)
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