I’m making a TV show!
Here’s why: When I was moving to New York, I told my leasing agent that I wanted a place with charm and character. She told me that if that’s what I want, I need to look for apartments built before World War II.
“So you’re saying we’ve basically built nothing with charm and character in the past 80 years?”
“That’s right.”
This is happening all over the world. The same boring and generic style has spread to the entire world. 150 years ago, new buildings in Shanghai looked nothing like the ones in Rome or Tokyo or San Francisco or Buenos Aires. The architecture of each place was as varied as the landscape itself.
And it’s not just the sameness of the modern world that has me scratching my head, but also the carelessness behind so much of what’s built these days. We boast about the triumphs of technology and how advanced we are as a civilization, but why has our built environment regressed so much? Shouldn’t we use our wealth to make our streets more charming and delightful?
There’s lots of talk about how we’ve polluted the natural world, but what about how we’ve polluted the man-made world? We’ve filled our streets with ugly railings, benches, lampposts, and clutter.
We assume these things have to be boring, but they don’t. Good design can make everything, even bins and bus stops, charming. New things can be prettier than old things. The first step is believing it’s possible.
Something has changed. We’ve taken a dramatic turn, and the majority of people prefer what we used to build to what we build today. Just look at where people take photos. In New York it’s the steps of brownstones in the West Village; in San Francisco it’s the old Victorian homes; in London there’s tourists galore in front of those iconic red phone booths which remain on the streets, even though they don’t work anymore, because they’re so nicely designed that people like having them there.
All this is what inspired me to make a TV show.
First: a pilot episode which now has 5.4 million views, 23,000 comments, and 379,000 likes. It also has 241,000 YouTube subscribers from that one video, which is just about unheard of for a new channel.
And now: a full-on, six-episode series.
But when I pitched Hollywood on the idea, they said cultural series of this sort don’t work: “The only kinds of documentaries that get funded are about sports, music, nature, or true crime.” Huh? How can that be?
People are interested in culture. The problem is most culture documentaries are terrible. They fail in one of two ways: (1) people dumb down the ideas in patronizing ways, or (2) people use so much jargon and high-falutin language that it becomes boring and inaccessible.
This is why I’m producing this work. It’ll be called The Modern World, and it’ll be a tour of art & architecture through the eyes of Sheehan Quirke, who goes by @culturaltutor.
It’s our ambition to do for the man-made world what Planet Earth did for the natural world. To use cinematic imagery and simple language in a way that everybody can understand. And to be rigorous, but not in a way that feels like school or your know-it-all friend who never stops talking.
The potential here is huge. Architecture impacts literally every person on earth. What we build shapes the moods of people and the spirit of our culture.
We’ll film in six countries (the United Kingdom, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, and the United States) to produce six 30-minute episodes which we hope to publish on a major streaming service. We’re currently in the fundraising stage, and production begins once we’ve raised the money.
It’s our mission to help people see the world more clearly, and in turn, make the world a more charming and delightful place to live in.
@CaratLane@TitanCompanyLtd@TanishqJewelry@TataCompanies This is the same generic message i have been getting for last 2 weeks. Clearly no one should make the mistake of purchasing from you online.
Either resolve today or i escalate this to consumer forum.
@CaratLane Prepaid order HA58B802 (Twinkle Tango Diamond Stud Earrings) promised 19 Feb is still stuck at “Order Received” — no dispatch, no ETA. WhatsApp/calls only repeat “technical issue / syncing / on hold”.
@TitanCompanyLtd@TanishqJewelry@TataCompanies
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Could this BE any more exciting?
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@OfficialStarAir my Goa flight from BLR for 5th Dec is delayed by more than 3 hours. This disrupts my plans significantly and i need to cancel it with full refund. Your customer care failing to connect despite multiple tries. Please help on this.
@gurkiratsgill Appreciate your point, agree on Mankad. But you got the meaning of spirit of cricket wrong. Laws can never be comprehensive in letter, and can always be interpreted against their ‘spirit’. Hence, spirit of cricket is important to embrace. And Mankad isn’t against it.
@signulll All healthy relationships are constant negotiations. Even your current self is outcome of negotiation with family and friends. Self discovery is outcome of this negotiation while finding out your non-negotiables.
@AravSrinivas Not sure about intellectual, but I surely miss the original facebook, which was an active community of friends and classmates. No news, no ads.
New update on ECI Voter ID FRAUD 👇
Yesterday, @AITCOfficial had given ECI 24 hours to admit and accept their blunder on the duplicate voter ID fraud issue.
Clearly the ECI, which has been exposed, wants to brazen it out.
The “clarification” given by ECI (on a Sunday) in response to CM @MamataOfficial is actually a COVER-UP. They have admitted there’s something wrong but are refusing to accept it.
THE FALSE "CLARIFICATION" GIVEN BY ECI CONTRADICTS THEIR OWN RULES AND GUIDELINES.
Therefore, here’s some new shocking details as promised 👇
First, it is important to know that Voter ID cards are also called "EPIC".
The process of issuing EPICs is laid down in the ECI's "HANDBOOK FOR ELECTORAL REGISTRATION OFFICERS”
Now, here's how ECI’s clarification is a FRAUD:
👉 ECI Claim 1: ECI says that EPIC with SAME NUMBER were issued to multiple voters due to certain states using the same "alphanumeric series"
TRUTH (See image 1): EPIC card numbers are an alphanumeric sequence of 3 letters & 7 digits. The ECI handbook CLEARLY states that the 3 letters, known as a Functional Unique Serial Number (FUSN) are different for EVERY Assembly constituency Therefore, it is IMPOSSIBLE for voters in 2 different assembly constituencies (even in the same state) to have the SAME first 3 letters on their EPIC. How is it then that the same EPIC numbers as voters in West Bengal have been allotted to random people in Haryana, Gujarat, and other states?
👉ECI Claim 2: ECI says that even with 2 people having the SAME EPIC number, they can only vote in their respective constituency where they are enrolled
TRUTH (See image 2): In photo electoral rolls, the elector is linked to his photo by the EPIC number. Therefore, when a voter in Bengal goes to cast their vote, their photo on the electoral roll will be DIFFERENT if the same EPIC number has been allotted to a person in another state. This will lead to REFUSAL OF VOTING due to a photo mismatch. By alloting same EPIC numbers in different states, voting can be DENIED to those who are likely to vote for non-BJP parties due to photo mismatch
👉ECI Claim 3: Same EPIC numbers were issued to different people in various due to duplication of alphanumeric codes and it does not make a difference
TRUTH (see images 2 & 3): ECI rules mandate that the software used for issuing EPIC keeps a track of EVERY used & unused number to ensure that same EPIC is not allotted to multiple people. Also, EPIC number links the details of voters with their photo and it is considered to be a "permanent unique ID" Therefore, it is IMPOSSIBLE that any "error" can lead to same EPIC numbers being allotted to multiple people in different states.
Also, since EPIC number is linked to voter details, a duplicate EPIC number will lead to DENIAL OF VOTING This clearly reeks of a conspiracy to conduct voter suppression in favor of the BJP where voters in non-BJP areas are being targeted by issuing their EPIC numbers to people in other states.
This raises serious questions about the actions and credibility of the ECI especially considering that the Election Commissioners are now appointed by the Modi Govt by majority on a 3- member panel where 2 members are the PM and Amit Shah. If ECI is compromised on behalf of BJP, there is ZERO possibility of elections being free and fair.
ECI must come clean and disclose how many EPIC cards are currently active and how many of those bear the same number.
ECI needs to stop this eyewash and give clear answers on the criminal DUPLICATE VOTER ID SCAM.
@gamestealer@Akshay_VAK Simple tests for arbitrariness of a regulation are a) Minimal scope for subjective interpretation b) consistency of its implementation.
Root of the problem is high barrier for entry in business. Labour laws, tax code, farm laws, land laws. Police! All this kills entrepreneurship. Fix ease of doing business and see the same engineers generating jobs.
Make in India was a failed campaign that did not achieve much except for creating a marketing buzz.
Countries like Vietnam have taken business away from us in the last 10 years.
If you look for the reason why? it is quite simple: we don't have a skilled workforce.
People train as Engineers at 3rd grade colleges, eventually to change their career paths. Most than 50% of our labour is involved in Agriculture. And, are poorly trained.
These are not my opinions. These are facts: it reflects in our low labour force productivity.
There is no way we will win a trade war with the US or China. They are way to powerful. We cutting duty on Harley Davidson is just the start.
The only honest way to actually build our economy now: is to train people well for relevant jobs.
Step 1 would be to train at least 20% people who are involved in agriculture currently for their next decent job (eg. could be a carpenter, painter, etc).
This doesn't generate any marketing buzz, so we continue to ignore. And, live in a la-la land.
Why are we discussing a couple of YouTubers when we have pollution, infra, bigger issues to worry about in India is just whataboutery. These folks, #RanveerAllahabadia and #samayraina have a huge following and are public figures. Gen Z, Gen Alpha avidly consume their content. While I'm against criminal FIRs, they should be called out. What if this clip is served to your kids while they are scrolling through YouTube shorts or Insta reels in between Dr Binocs or Numberblocks? Will you be okay with them using profanities in every second sentence? To top it all, one of these guys got a national creator award from the Government.
Even with 0 seats, Congress can actually consider Delhi 2025 as a W. With its invincibility gone, JJ Muslim vote bank is more likely to shift en masse to Congress in 2030. That if AAP somehow survives till then as a party.
The meltdown of a section of so called liberals is completely bizarre. They didn’t give these lectures on opposition unity to AAP when the party went to Goa, Gujarat, Haryana etc to fight elections and weaken anti communal, secular vote.
Delhi election result is a rejection of the Trojan horse that attempted to damage the liberal cause across the country.
Majority of liberals are rightly cheering the fall of the facade so that the real champion of liberal values - the Indian National Congress - can emerge stronger to take the BJP on and defeat it.
Dubai:
- Tax on Startups & Small Businesses: 0% flat
- Personal Income Tax: 0% flat
- Capital Gains (incl Cryptos) Tax: 0% flat
- GST/VAT: 5% flat
- Corporate Tax: 9% flat
- Oil Companies: 55% to 85%
- Foreign Banks: 20% flat
- Quality of Life: A+
Dubai is run purely on corporate taxes.
And look at the simplified tax structures without any unnecessary slabs... Wow!
Can India do it too?
https://t.co/KIandkbc3c
Dubai:
- Tax on Startups & Small Businesses: 0% flat
- Personal Income Tax: 0% flat
- Capital Gains (incl Cryptos) Tax: 0% flat
- GST/VAT: 5% flat
- Corporate Tax: 9% flat
- Oil Companies: 55% to 85%
- Foreign Banks: 20% flat
- Quality of Life: A+
Dubai is run purely on corporate taxes.
And look at the simplified tax structures without any unnecessary slabs... Wow!
Can India do it too?
https://t.co/KIandkbc3c