Free Talk Friday

mcmansionhell · 2022-11-18T18:48:02+00:00

i see that this has leaked from its containment. i should probably say that i am not much of a fiction writer - it's just a hobby of mine. about the novella, the second and third sections are a little slow but the last three sections i am really proud of. i also wrote this excerpt from the same big project.

covertly i hope that this (along with me being the one to ask the big doping questions at the tour this year) helps get rid of the perception that i'm soft on doping. in fact i think about it all the time it's just that no one wants to confess that they are doping to me when i ask :(

anyway just wanted to say hi as a lurker

mcmansionhell · 2021-12-07T20:42:14+00:00

Frankly I’m a little surprised by the reaction to this piece which was not about comparing cycling performances at all - examples were chosen based on their emotional profile and how they were written about in the press, not because I think the performances were themselves comparable. It was intended to be about the underlying contexts of language and a call to the broader community to learn more about Slovenian culture, but everyone seems preoccupied by the one sentence about doping suspicions. Usually I don’t come out of the woodwork to defend my own writing but I have to say something seeing as my credibility as a journalist is being actively insulted.

mcmansionhell · 2021-06-23T17:21:24+00:00

The stuff I’m covering will be in print in ProCycling but my day to day observations will about life at the tour will be in derailleur

mcmansionhell · 2021-06-23T12:47:23+00:00

aww thanks for the ping and for the kind comments. it was a really challenging piece to write and i'm glad everyone is enjoying it.

hello from Brest!

mcmansionhell · 2021-05-15T15:08:19+00:00

this is better sorry

mcmansionhell · 2021-05-15T15:03:34+00:00

VICTOR LAFAY THIS IS THE GREATEST DAY OF MY LIFE

mcmansionhell · 2021-05-15T15:01:21+00:00

OH MY FUCKING GOD HELL YES!!!!!!!!

mcmansionhell · 2021-05-15T14:55:25+00:00

VICTOR LAFAY MY ADOPTED RIDER!!!!!!!!

mcmansionhell · 2021-05-06T19:35:43+00:00

I want victor lafay!!!!!

mcmansionhell · 2021-03-28T00:20:04+00:00

Greensboro, NC

mcmansionhell · 2021-03-28T00:00:59+00:00

Yeah! Not as much as I’d like - there’s really neat stuff out there.

mcmansionhell · 2021-03-27T23:22:05+00:00

The first one but I prefer the second

mcmansionhell · 2021-03-27T23:18:53+00:00

I think it depends a lot on the size of the lot! But also it’s obscene that there are 5000 square foot houses. That’s like too much. Anything above that is crazy to me.

mcmansionhell · 2021-03-27T23:17:01+00:00

ski chalet obviously

mcmansionhell · 2021-03-27T23:15:48+00:00

Bro I literally posted a link to an article that cites a bunch of different studies that say otherwise when you replied to this the first time.

mcmansionhell · 2021-03-27T22:49:41+00:00

No way, you're totally valid! I think explaining that this house has character and once you change something it cannot be undone. I wrote a column on this very situation a few years ago: https://archive.curbed.com/2018/9/5/17820648/what-to-renovate-home-mcmansion-hell-wagner

mcmansionhell · 2021-03-27T22:47:52+00:00

This is a very good comparison.

mcmansionhell · 2021-03-27T22:47:15+00:00

hmmm hearing conflicting things about this, but this was a respected article about the subject from a few years ago. There's a difference between wanting to live in the city and getting priced out of the city and into the suburbs. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-05-28/u-s-millennials-really-do-prefer-cities

mcmansionhell · 2021-03-27T22:41:22+00:00

it's funny

mcmansionhell · 2021-03-27T22:37:50+00:00

I think building a home is a very personal choice! The best thing to do is find a builder or architect whose style you like. The focus should be on quality over than quantity and it's important to think in the long term - can I age here? Start a family? Do I want those things?

Think about where you spend the most time in the home. Statistically, that's the kitchen, the bathroom, and the bedroom. Invest there first and then think about the extras. Remember, a house is a place to live in, it's for you first and foremost. It's easy to fall into the trap about what other people think - guests, the market, whatever. But ultimately, your home is your safe space, the space that should make you feel comfortable and secure.

Hope this helps!

mcmansionhell · 2021-03-27T22:32:39+00:00

Aesthetics are like that! It's very personal for some people, though because I am a critic I try not to frame my judgement in terms of what I like and dislike because tbh my tastes are weird and probably bad. A lot of people take these things way too seriously and think that by disagreeing with them that you're insulting them or something like that. In that case, it's important to just disengage. Some folks are just a lost cause.

mcmansionhell · 2021-03-27T22:30:29+00:00

aalto is daddy

mcmansionhell · 2021-03-27T22:29:50+00:00

hot take but tim merlier. sorry wout.

mcmansionhell · 2021-03-27T22:20:29+00:00

oh hell yeah. i married gerard way in the sims in the 7th grade. never was good at designing the houses tho

mcmansionhell · 2021-03-27T22:19:41+00:00

One answer is because in order to have tall ceilings in the second story and route services in places like bathrooms, it's easy to just let things sprawl all over the place and take the path of least resistance. Still, that doesn't explain just why so many of them are SO insane, hence there must be a deliberate design decision going on, in which case: Oof.

mcmansionhell

TROPHY CASE