patrick.net

I think we use to have a lot more master craftsmen. We don't build anything to last the ages.

Amazing, a fountain created in 2022 which is actually pleasant to look at:

In March 2022 the construction of the fountain in St. Peter's square was completed.[40] In the base of the marble fountain there are four lions. Above the visitor can see four members of the Danaids.[41] The fountain has a width of 7 meters and a height of 5 meters, while the fountain was designed in collaboration with the Supreme School of Fine Arts in Athens.[42]

Maybe there is hope that not everything modern will always be utter shit.

I like simple. Ornate structures are annoying and ugly to me. It's not about the skill either. People can still make this stuff. It's the upkeep of it.

I'm an MCM guy at heart, but there's still details that you can add that are artistic. Shit like that fountain annoys me and reminds me of Europe which I have no interest in. You have to go in annually, likely on taxpayer $$$$ and clean it and maintain it.

I don't like all glass structures or vanilla cladded buildings in high rises. In houses I like using this https://vintageplywood.com/collections/weldtex Accent walls and exterior in certain spots. I'd post photos of my house but don't want to dox myself with a reverse image search.

https://jameshowardkunstler.substack.com/p/eyesore-of-the-month-is-back-nov

Eyesore of the Month is Back (Nov. '24)

Commentary on architectural blunders in monthly serial.



Behold, the new Rose des Vents student apartments at the Technopôle Angus, Montreal, Canada! Zut alors ! ! ! Our neighbor to the north, laboring harshly under the regime of Justin Trudeau, has developed an extreme penchant for self-punishment. Hence, its student housing draws inspiration from the great 1954 movie by director Don Siegel, Riot in Cell Block 11. Yes, Looks exactly like the municipal lockup in a small-to-medium city. The two top floors just scream “Exercise Yard” with all that chain-link fencing. The ground floor has even less character than the building above, signifying nothing. Since that’s where the building meets the street, it will serve as a people-repellant. (People like to know what they’re walking into.) Designed by the Montreal architecture firm ADHOC. Now, imagine it in January of a Montreal winter: windswept, with giant piles of filthy snow all around.

DOGEWontAmountToShit says

See this?

It was TITTIES that saved Perseus!

Yeah, I'm not super ornate. I like Federal Architecture. Tudor style houses, clean lines, etc.

However when it comes to statuary, paintings, etc. anything before beats the living shit out of modern art.

AmericanKulak says

Yeah, I'm not super ornate. I like Federal Architecture. Tudor style houses, clean lines, etc.

However when it comes to statuary, paintings, etc. anything before beats the living shit out of modern art.

MCM for the win. Art, I don't care so much about. We'll have a ranch and basement. The mismatched art and knicknaks will go in the basement or garage. I want the main level clean. I really don't want anything on the walls.

Statues are gay. Never understood them. They're generally overdone for people to make them look better. As in not realistic. Modern art is lazy art. I wouldn't put it in my house but a lot of the famous ones 1920 or earlier are good if you get a print. I don't have millions for original art.

Not only is Boston City Hall a monument to vile Brutalism but across the street is the Government Services Complex, which is almost as shitty.


What a pleasant place to have a picnic.

I do have to say given the choice between Brutalism and the "Post-modern" Aqua Building or Container houses, I'll take the latter. At least they look like they were built by humans, and not by the Cybermen or the Fungi From Yuggoth.

AmericanKulak says

Not only is Boston City Hall a monument to vile Brutalism but across the street is the Government Services Complex, which is almost as shitty.


What a pleasant place to have a picnic.

I do have to say given the choice between Brutalism and the "Post-modern" Aqua Building or Container houses, I'll take the latter. At least they look like they were built by humans, and not by the Cybermen or the Fungi From Yuggoth.

These are the types of building when I when to UIC in college. They used to have elevated walkways because of riots. Depressing buildings on the inside. Looks like castles where archers would shoot through the small gap at people below. Probably the ugliest campus in America I would guess.

Part of Stranger Than Fiction with Will Ferrell and Dustin Hoffman were shot there. Didn't get to meet them, but did see them. Last year of college. My city stomping grounds back in the day.

I got into med school at UIC, but one reason I didn't go was the people interviewing me telling me stories about getting mugged going to or from their cars.

By black people, of course. Why is it so utterly forbidden to talk about the obvious reality that black people commit violent crime at vastly higher rates than any other group?

Patrick says

I got into med school at UIC, but one reason I didn't go was the people interviewing me telling me stories about getting mugged going to or from their cars.

By black people, of course. Why is it so utterly forbidden to talk about the obvious reality that black people commit violent crime at vastly higher rates than any other group?

To confound, confuse and utterly gaslight society. It is to enfuse psychosis into the very fabric of society. Meism. My .02.

WookieMan says

AmericanKulak says

Yeah, I'm not super ornate. I like Federal Architecture. Tudor style houses, clean lines, etc.

However when it comes to statuary, paintings, etc. anything before beats the living shit out of modern art.

MCM for the win. Art, I don't care so much about. We'll have a ranch and basement. The mismatched art and knicknaks will go in the basement or garage. I want the main level clean. I really don't want anything on the walls.

Statues are gay. Never understood them. They're generally overdone for people to make them look better. As in not realistic. Modern art is lazy art. I wouldn't put it in my house but a lot of the famous ones 1920 or earlier are good if you get a print. I don't have millions for original art.

You may not grok how culture is built. Art is universal as is sport. Show me a place without both. It's what makes us human. My .02.

Patrick says

I got into med school at UIC, but one reason I didn't go was the people interviewing me telling me stories about getting mugged going to or from their cars.

By black people, of course. Why is it so utterly forbidden to talk about the obvious reality that black people commit violent crime at vastly higher rates than any other group?

The neighborhood is way better now. When I went in 2001 I wouldn't let the wife walk alone though at night. She'd get done with her waitress job and call me and I'd walk down the block to meet her and walk with her.

Broke up for bit and she'd live in Oak Park and I'd ride the blue line with her every night out west as that was a shit show of ghetto. One of my history teachers got killed on that route. Like I said it's better, but as with any city you have to watch your back. Genetics did me well, so I don't think most people want to mess with me.

Haven't been in about 5 years, but the campus is much safer now. We lived across the street from this as they were tearing down all the buildings. https://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/IL-01-031-0037

Needless to say the blacks didn't leave because of the liquor store. Near our apartment. Got to know a few of the drunk blacks. I never felt threatened, but wouldn't trust them around my blonde (dirty) haired blue eyed girlfriend at the time. One guy I can't recall his name got stuck on the chain fence opening on his nuts of a vacant lot and I just laughed at him.

Back to architecture those buildings in the link were so bland. Taylor street is awesome though. I prefer the real Little Italy on Oakley to the southwest. Mafioso type places and great Italian food. https://globalphile.com/eating-in-the-heart-of-chicago/ Off the beaten path, but safe and amazing food. Cook county court house is about 5 block away so cops are frequents for lunch or dinner, so it's safe for Chicago. Someone is carrying a weapon.

https://www.kunstler.com/p/july-2025-in-memorium-leon-krier