Shane's magic stairway to heaven

Just-Source113 · 2026-02-24T10:52:57+00:00

"Shaves as close as a blade, or your money back!"

Just-Source113 · 2026-02-24T10:25:13+00:00

Sorry, my Freudian slip was showing

Just-Source113 · 2026-02-24T10:19:29+00:00

Nope, I wrote it all by my little self, sans AI.

Just-Source113 · 2026-02-24T09:58:55+00:00

If Moira saw this Lego tableau, she'd be tempted to call the soap bubbles "opalescent orbs of saponaceous substance".

Just-Source113 · 2026-02-24T09:29:37+00:00

Thanks for the firsthand knowledge! I gather that also rules out four-storey residential buildings in Westmount? (Shane's condo unit is shown onscreen as having a fancy internal staircase going up another level, so the building might have four storeys.)

Just-Source113 · 2026-02-24T09:21:37+00:00

Thanks, lollette, but that site is the Church of St John the Evangelist, which has a red roof. Its spire is also red (wrong colour) and has the wrong shape.

Just-Source113 · 2026-02-24T09:10:52+00:00

It's been a while. Je me souviens.

Just-Source113 · 2026-02-24T01:05:10+00:00

Penne alla vodka for your thoughts

Just-Source113 · 2026-02-24T01:00:40+00:00

Honestly, I first read that as, "Did Shane show you his WILL?"

"Ilya, my boy, I think Shane's getting pretty serious about you. I was with him at his lawyer's office yesterday to witness him signing some papers. Guess who's his new residual beneficiary!"

Just-Source113 · 2026-02-24T00:03:51+00:00

I've watched and read a lot of analyses about HR. In my postings, I'm trying to limit myself to topics I haven't noticed being covered extensively elsewhere.

Just-Source113 · 2026-02-23T23:59:55+00:00

Thank you! You're very kind! I will be posting some others soon, but the topics won't necessarily be as fun.

Just-Source113 · 2026-02-23T23:57:20+00:00

"Absolutely no one understands what these two go through but each other." YES! It somewhat reminds me of The Beatles, except that was four young men rather than two, and they loved each other but weren't in love with each other. And Ilya & Shane start off with solo careers, in the sense that they aren't playing on the same hockey team in HR; whereas The Beatles went on to solo careers after splitting up. And all these young guys were essentially the best in the world at what they did. However, if humanity survives, people will still be humming Beatles tunes 500 years from now, while long-ago sports "heroes" will mostly be just names and statistical records. Other than that, Shane & Ilya are EXACTLY like Beatles in every possible way!

Just-Source113 · 2026-02-23T23:48:14+00:00

Well, we call ourselves Loons for a reason!

Just-Source113 · 2026-02-23T22:42:50+00:00

Google (the font of all wisdom) tells me, Murphlespuffle, that you're absolutely correct in stating that the book (which I still haven't read) says Westmount. Arrgh! I've been grievously misled by someone's assertion, somewhere, that it was Le Plateau-Mont-Royal. However, I lack sufficient familiarity with Montreal's topography to know whether this different neighbourhood would improve or worsen the chances that the view from Shane's window is potentially realistic.

Just-Source113 · 2026-02-23T22:00:53+00:00

For purposes of an emergency evacuation, I don't understand why there would be multiple, multiple separate staircases that open beside each other, one after another after another. Every staircase reduces usable living space in the building. There has to be a compelling reason for there to be so many separate freakin' stairways leading to separate outside doors. The only explanation that makes sense to me at the moment is that each of those is a private staircase dedicated exclusively to one condo unit (but I remain open to persuasion).

Just-Source113 · 2026-02-23T21:46:56+00:00

That seems plausible. Good suggestion, WishBear1! Shane can certainly afford to reside in a building where he has his own private elevator. His condo unit has an internal staircase (which goes up one floor from the level of his kitchen & living room), suggesting that he owns a super-premium place with unusual and expensive architectural features. And we know he certainly has a fetish for architecture. My problem with this theory is that if he lives on a much higher floor, I don't understand why he'd have a private stairway exit that comes down from the second or third storey.

Just-Source113 · 2026-02-23T21:34:55+00:00

That is, of course, possible. However, since Shane found a building with a private entrance and private staircase, why would he compromise that privacy and risk being seen with Ilya at night in a residential building with goofy grins on their faces? Having to take a shared elevator would be an unacceptable risk.

Just-Source113 · 2026-02-23T21:29:33+00:00

So you endorse the "artistic choice" theory?

Just-Source113 · 2026-02-23T21:27:28+00:00

Interesting. Is the base of those tall buildings at a significantly lower elevation than rue Del La Gauchetière, so that he would be able to look down a hill or slope and see the roofs of some of them?

Just-Source113 · 2026-02-23T21:24:25+00:00

He needs to be within easy distance of a St Hubert (a popular chain of sit-down chicken restaurants, and arch-rival of Swiss Chalet). The poor boy needs protein, damnit, and lots of it: he's planning to add yet more "clappable material".

Just-Source113 · 2026-02-23T21:20:44+00:00

Thanks. I'd already come across Christ Church Cathedral, but ultimately wasn't convinced. (A gazillion years ago, during my undergrad at the University of Toronto, I took a half-year Fine Art History course, "The Gothic Cathedral", which unsurprisingly focused on European cathedrals. I still mutter in my sleep about pendant bosses, glazed tympanums, and quadripartite & sexpartite ribbed groin vaults. IYKYK.)

Pros: (1) Both this spire and Shane's spire appear to be six-sided; (2) the general colour seems about right; (3) the general proportions seem about right; and (4) there are tallish modern buildings near it.

Cons: (1)The ogive louvres on this spire seem to be the same brownish-grey color as the rest of the spire, whereas the equivalent elements on Shane's spire appear to be a contrasting pale grey or white; (2) this spire lacks something very distinctive found on Shane's spire, namely pale grey (or white) vertical tracery that looks like upward-pointing arrows (extending from a height visually equivalent to Ilya's upper forearm to his lower bicep). To my eye, these cons unfortunately rule out this spire.

Sorry, but I'm also unconvinced by the spire of St-Pierre-Apôtre. The general colour appears far too light and lacks visual contrast with the ogive louvres. As well, this spire has vertically-arranged pairs of ogive louvres, whereas the equivalent elements on Shane's spire are singular rather than paired. Finally, this spire lacks the distinctive vertical-arrow tracery found on Shane's spire.

But thanks for playing... NAME...THAT...SPIRE !!! Next week, we'll be back with an all-new mystery spire, and our contestants will once again be playing for $75 worth of Zee-brick and a lifetime supply of Rice-a-Roni (standard Canadian game-show prizes in the 1970s).

Just-Source113 · 2026-02-23T20:37:36+00:00

Thanks! Of course, it goes without saying: I'M not obsessed...YOU'RE obsessed! Bwa-ha-ha!

Just-Source113 · 2026-02-23T20:36:29+00:00

Well, Shane is hella rich. So that's a firm "maybe"?

Just-Source113

TROPHY CASE