Morning Dan, it's irrelevant to the topic of this newletter - but I've finally received my signed copy of Powers & Thrones!!! It travelled to Belarus in the autumn of 2021, was sent back to England and waited patiently until I moved to Cyprus a few months ago. So we have reunited at last and there's one happy history buff :D
When we turned 65, my wife says, we got to move to a one story house and I resisted mightily. I loved our house, neighborhood...I could walk to the pub, never did, but I could have...everything was perfect. but surprise, we moved anyway to a one story home...and I love it, 6 years now and the benefits are obvious. I say this because we just got back from Portugal and stayed in a couple of castelos and it was ROUGH dragging this old body up and down the stone steps. I would have loved it back when I was younger but THESE days I am totally down with comfort. And the joint in Poland reminds me of the ridiculous McMansions that rich dolts build when they knock down the original homes in small neighborhoods here. I got to say that I would like to see it though!
I think castles are great to visit, but living in one is a different kettle of fish. Kind of like time travel; I would love to visit different times and places (ancient Rome, the Tudor court, renaissance Florence, etc.), but actually living their would almost certainly mean an early death. I much prefer living in a time when drinking the water or cutting my finger won’t kill me (at least, 99.99% of the time). The modern amenities needed to ensure a basic level a comfort destroy the romanticism of “living in a castle”.
This project is a monstrosity. The fact that the people responsible seemingly think that they are above the law and don’t give a sh*t about the surrounding environment or the surrounding neighborhood speaks volumes. I suspect anyone who tries to live there is going to be hated by the locals. I don’t fancy living in a neighborhood where every single person for miles around hates me.
Finally, we should all be following the example of Edward I and banning coal!
I'd love to live in a castle, but mine would have to have central heating and running water - all the mod cons. I wouldn't want to live in something as large as this, not that I could afford to anyway. Having the balls to ignore the legal ruling... Well, the impact of knocking it down would be as concerning as the impact of continuing to build. Could you leave it half-built? This is a real can of worms.
I don’t know wether they spent $100M or less (or more, for that matter) but we have our very own newly built castle in The Netherlands: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almere_Castle
Ohhhhhh Jones, you got my mind soaking wet with this one. Where to even begin...
I do not trust the U.S. government to allow a group of indigenous queers to do anything without their interference, but if they did leave us alone for once in 400 years, I'd oversee construction and maintenance. I was born to be the Chief of Operations (pun intended). We'd need funding first, preferably a straight white man who uses our livelihood as one of his many tax deductions.
I would build a giant communal environmentally sustainable castle where we would raise our own livestock, grow our own food, and grow weed, poppy, etc. for the highly profitable drug trade.
Our benevolent colonizer could "strategically" dip out after the initial investment, after all he doesn't want his good name sullied by the dirty job of growing and harvesting drug crops. But of course behind the scenes he's getting a cut because this is America, where nothing is free.
I just need a creative genius CEO type to have the vision of the castle collective itself. I'm the construction manager, not the architect.
Creative, visionary types, please add to this!!!! What do we need in a queer indigenous castle collective??
Protected areas and environmental laws are violated more often than we think. The construction of this castle in Poland has shown that the Polish state's back and forth over its construction as a result of underlying corruption, and the only relevant consequences has been the arrest of some peolple for acts of forgery and the investigation of the construction company for non-transparent financial sources. However, the construction of the castle continues.
In Peru, the construction of an airport in Chincheros (Cuzco) is a similar case. The territory of Chincheros has natural reserves and cultural heritage. Contrary to the opinions of all technical sectors, the airport is being built in spite of legal proceedings that have stopped the work more than once. I dare to believe that the airport will probably be abandoned the day a sound-stunned condor crashes into a plane. Modernity and business development are trampling, both in Poland and in Peru on natural places.
The opposite happened in Iceland in 2013, when the Transport Office modified a highway construction project in Reykjavik, because it would pass through a forest where locals believe goblins live. The government decided to respect local beliefs, even if it cost a few million more.
P.d I wouldn't live in a place like that. It's against my mental and spiritual health.
I think I'd rather live in a manor type house. Kinda castle -ish but without all the cleaning. Plus who wouldn't love to say "We'll be up to the manor at week's end ".
I only want a castle with provenance, but handsomely fitted with modern creature comforts. Why have a castle if it isn’t old, if the stairs aren’t worn down and distorted, or if there’s a single straight line in the place. But like, also a sexy pool and yoga studio.
There are all kinds of things that say, shopping centers and things like that have to do in order to comply with environmental regulations (like building spillways and things so their parking lot rain runoff doesn't go into the rivers and ponds around them, or having barriers up during construction to protect the water, as some small examples--drainage is a big deal). If the builders if this wanna-be castle can't be bothered to follow some laws, certainly they aren't following others. I've yet to see that personality type manifest in any other way. The fact that they BUILT THE ISLAND it's on has huge impacts on the ecosystem and water flow of the pond. And the nearest town to this monstrosity is teeny and will completely disrupted by this thing, which will be a residence to 97 people. The protected forest will be severely impacted, like we've seen happen time and again. That's why even just camping has been restricted in US national parks. They need to build roads to get there, and they are planning a pumping station for sewage to get it to the nearest station. There are ZERO plans for anything like solar panels or wind turbines--it's all going to be powered by wood-burning boilers, and they are planning to dispose of the ash in a landfill. There is nothing good about this. It's pretty gauche, honestly.
You could probably build or restore a castle and still be cautious about the environment. Solar panals, wind turbines, good insulation and ventilation, etc. could make for an environmentally friendly or neutral castle. Just so long as no one uses night waters for the murder holes
All I can say is, if I had the money, and land to build absolutely anything I wanted, your god damn right I’m building a massive authentic castle.
Morning Dan, it's irrelevant to the topic of this newletter - but I've finally received my signed copy of Powers & Thrones!!! It travelled to Belarus in the autumn of 2021, was sent back to England and waited patiently until I moved to Cyprus a few months ago. So we have reunited at last and there's one happy history buff :D
It must be nice to be so rich that you can ignore the law of the land and carry on regardless!
When we turned 65, my wife says, we got to move to a one story house and I resisted mightily. I loved our house, neighborhood...I could walk to the pub, never did, but I could have...everything was perfect. but surprise, we moved anyway to a one story home...and I love it, 6 years now and the benefits are obvious. I say this because we just got back from Portugal and stayed in a couple of castelos and it was ROUGH dragging this old body up and down the stone steps. I would have loved it back when I was younger but THESE days I am totally down with comfort. And the joint in Poland reminds me of the ridiculous McMansions that rich dolts build when they knock down the original homes in small neighborhoods here. I got to say that I would like to see it though!
I think castles are great to visit, but living in one is a different kettle of fish. Kind of like time travel; I would love to visit different times and places (ancient Rome, the Tudor court, renaissance Florence, etc.), but actually living their would almost certainly mean an early death. I much prefer living in a time when drinking the water or cutting my finger won’t kill me (at least, 99.99% of the time). The modern amenities needed to ensure a basic level a comfort destroy the romanticism of “living in a castle”.
This project is a monstrosity. The fact that the people responsible seemingly think that they are above the law and don’t give a sh*t about the surrounding environment or the surrounding neighborhood speaks volumes. I suspect anyone who tries to live there is going to be hated by the locals. I don’t fancy living in a neighborhood where every single person for miles around hates me.
Finally, we should all be following the example of Edward I and banning coal!
I'd love to live in a castle, but mine would have to have central heating and running water - all the mod cons. I wouldn't want to live in something as large as this, not that I could afford to anyway. Having the balls to ignore the legal ruling... Well, the impact of knocking it down would be as concerning as the impact of continuing to build. Could you leave it half-built? This is a real can of worms.
I feel like this is something one would see in Las Vegas.
Wretched excess!!
Imagine you have to vacuum the damn thing!
I don’t know wether they spent $100M or less (or more, for that matter) but we have our very own newly built castle in The Netherlands: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almere_Castle
Ohhhhhh Jones, you got my mind soaking wet with this one. Where to even begin...
I do not trust the U.S. government to allow a group of indigenous queers to do anything without their interference, but if they did leave us alone for once in 400 years, I'd oversee construction and maintenance. I was born to be the Chief of Operations (pun intended). We'd need funding first, preferably a straight white man who uses our livelihood as one of his many tax deductions.
I would build a giant communal environmentally sustainable castle where we would raise our own livestock, grow our own food, and grow weed, poppy, etc. for the highly profitable drug trade.
Our benevolent colonizer could "strategically" dip out after the initial investment, after all he doesn't want his good name sullied by the dirty job of growing and harvesting drug crops. But of course behind the scenes he's getting a cut because this is America, where nothing is free.
I just need a creative genius CEO type to have the vision of the castle collective itself. I'm the construction manager, not the architect.
Creative, visionary types, please add to this!!!! What do we need in a queer indigenous castle collective??
Protected areas and environmental laws are violated more often than we think. The construction of this castle in Poland has shown that the Polish state's back and forth over its construction as a result of underlying corruption, and the only relevant consequences has been the arrest of some peolple for acts of forgery and the investigation of the construction company for non-transparent financial sources. However, the construction of the castle continues.
In Peru, the construction of an airport in Chincheros (Cuzco) is a similar case. The territory of Chincheros has natural reserves and cultural heritage. Contrary to the opinions of all technical sectors, the airport is being built in spite of legal proceedings that have stopped the work more than once. I dare to believe that the airport will probably be abandoned the day a sound-stunned condor crashes into a plane. Modernity and business development are trampling, both in Poland and in Peru on natural places.
The opposite happened in Iceland in 2013, when the Transport Office modified a highway construction project in Reykjavik, because it would pass through a forest where locals believe goblins live. The government decided to respect local beliefs, even if it cost a few million more.
P.d I wouldn't live in a place like that. It's against my mental and spiritual health.
First glance I thought of Alcatraz.
I think I'd rather live in a manor type house. Kinda castle -ish but without all the cleaning. Plus who wouldn't love to say "We'll be up to the manor at week's end ".
I only want a castle with provenance, but handsomely fitted with modern creature comforts. Why have a castle if it isn’t old, if the stairs aren’t worn down and distorted, or if there’s a single straight line in the place. But like, also a sexy pool and yoga studio.
There are all kinds of things that say, shopping centers and things like that have to do in order to comply with environmental regulations (like building spillways and things so their parking lot rain runoff doesn't go into the rivers and ponds around them, or having barriers up during construction to protect the water, as some small examples--drainage is a big deal). If the builders if this wanna-be castle can't be bothered to follow some laws, certainly they aren't following others. I've yet to see that personality type manifest in any other way. The fact that they BUILT THE ISLAND it's on has huge impacts on the ecosystem and water flow of the pond. And the nearest town to this monstrosity is teeny and will completely disrupted by this thing, which will be a residence to 97 people. The protected forest will be severely impacted, like we've seen happen time and again. That's why even just camping has been restricted in US national parks. They need to build roads to get there, and they are planning a pumping station for sewage to get it to the nearest station. There are ZERO plans for anything like solar panels or wind turbines--it's all going to be powered by wood-burning boilers, and they are planning to dispose of the ash in a landfill. There is nothing good about this. It's pretty gauche, honestly.
You could probably build or restore a castle and still be cautious about the environment. Solar panals, wind turbines, good insulation and ventilation, etc. could make for an environmentally friendly or neutral castle. Just so long as no one uses night waters for the murder holes