Ryan D

[Chris Stritzel @chris_stritzel]

Good Thursday morning to everyone, including the haters and losers who continue to write off my hometown of the City of St. Louis, even though local groups, both for- and non-profit and big and small, continue to pump good money into neighborhoods across the City with the goal of slowly making it better (and its actually slowly working).

AND QUITE LITERALLY JUST RECENTLY, the State of Missouri pushed forward enhanced incentives that'll help the redevelopment of office buildings into residential buildings all over Missouri (a tax credit program), but the beneficiaries of the legislation more or less limit it to St. Louis and Kansas City because of property size that can make projects worthwhile, and of the two, primarily the City of St. Louis. The bill also allows for employer relocation incentives of up to $5000 per employee relocated into an economic development district, and public safety funds for said designated district (which can be up to 10% of a City's land area).

This means that even the haters, who so desperately want the City to die, will be partially incentivizing its own redevelopment. How great! More residents, businesses, and tax revenue will be generated benefiting public safety, infrastructure, parks, zoo-museums district, and schools. You know, the things that make a city, a city and hold the key to success. All the while the haters and losers will continue to kick and scream about how bad the City is despite the fact that an overwhelming majority of those who live in the City love it and want to see it better off.

Maybe instead of foaming at the mouth of the idea that the City completely dies and everyone move to your characterless suburbs, and commenting negatively on every single positive news article, or post, about the City, you can actually be positive for once and celebrate the fact that a road to a better future is being created right now. It's not easy work and the general desire of the "anon" haters on this platform, and elsewhere, is not ground in any reality. There's a reason why they need to hide their faces because I totally understand that they'd be embarrassed otherwise.

Me though? I'm not embarrassed by what I post because I keep it real. I recognize my hometown has tremendous problems, but no problem is worse than the self-hating, defeatist attitude so many supposed "city residents" have about the City itself. You don't see the same amount of people whining about affairs in Detroit, Cleveland, Buffalo or other hard-hit "Rust Belt" cities that fell from grace. It's pretty much a uniquely St. Louis thing and, in particular, only on social media (how convenient that cesspool ideology lingers in the hellish swamp itself).

Don't be a hater or a loser. Be positive and be a winner. Maybe then you won't be a sulking mess that seeks to drag everyone down into your rabbit hole of darkness.

Bless you all!

[The Culturist @the_culturist_]

What mindset built the Old World?

This mindset:

[The Cultural Tutor @culturaltutor]

I’ve made a short film.

Look at the things around you: doors, bins, staircases, furniture, railings, doorhandles, windows.

Do you like how they look, or not?

Modern design has become boring, but it doesn’t have to be this way.

The word “beautiful” is overused. We don’t need “beautiful” lamps, bus stops, and water fountains – we just need lamps, bus stops, and water fountains that are interesting, that actually mean something.

Or, at the very least, not boring.

Because the aesthetics of architecture and urban design aren’t just a bonus; they totally change how we think, feel, and behave.

Boring environments make us more stressed and less productive; they erode our sense of community; they make us sadder, less trusting, and lonelier.

A boring world is one where we spend even more time online and where our addictions are even harder to battle.

The Problem

There is global, widespread dissatisfaction with how the world looks. In this film, and the series it will lead to, we want to investigate that feeling and give it a voice.

The point isn’t that we should return to the past or get rid of modernism. It’s about learning from the past in order to improve the present, and about giving the public what they very clearly want, which isn’t the eradication of modernism but the co-existence of modernism AND traditionalism.

Just look where tourists go, where they take their photos, and that tells you everything you need to know about what most people find interesting or beautiful.

And look at where people go on holiday. It’s always to cities filled with old architecture and design, with churches and mosques and palaces, with charming little alleyways and stone staircases and wrought-iron railings.

Of the world’s fifty most visited buildings, only four were made in the 20th century, and they’re all museums or memorials.

There’s a reason why posts about this go viral online all the time. Regardless of why the change happened, it is clearly the case that we no longer make things how we used to.

People are rightly confused by the fact that old lamp posts (to take the example we focus on in the film) are usually so pretty, while modern ones are usually so boring.

Some people say this is just an example of survivorship bias… and they’re mostly correct. But that’s the whole point!

Saying old buildings are usually prettier than modern buildings is not to say that architecture used to be better, or that the past was better.

It is simply to say that certain kinds of buildings, because they have been preserved, are good examples of what people like most.

In which case... shouldn't we try to design at least some buildings in a way that we know people like?

A Unifying Cause

Everybody, from all sides of the political spectrum and all backgrounds, stands to benefit from a world that is designed more thoughtfully and imaginatively. The world could be such a colourful, meaningful, and thrilling place!

So this isn’t about left versus right or conservatism versus progressivism; it’s about making our world a more interesting and meaningful place to live in. This should be a unifying cause, because everybody loses out when our homes and cities are badly designed.

I want this film to unite people who think they’re on opposite sides, and to create a consensus that we need to change our approach to how we design our buildings and the objects – benches, bus stops, bins, lamp posts, aircon units – that fill our cities.

The Importance of Details

We are incredibly rich and have a sprawling choice of shows to stream, phones to buy, or shoes to wear… but everything feels more and more generic all the time.

If you want to understand a society, don’t listen to what it says about itself – look at what it creates. You can learn everything about the Victorians – the good and the bad – just by looking at their lamp posts.

And what do the ordinary details of the modern world say about us?

That we are technologically advanced, very efficient… and care more about making money, about making things as quickly and cheaply as possible, than making our world an enjoyable place to actually live in.

It’s important to learn about why and how things have changed, but that’s for another time. The first step is establishing that the public aren’t happy with modern architecture and design, and that something needs to be done.

But what we need isn’t a total revival of so-called ‘traditionalism’; the truth is that traditionalism and modernism can (and should) co-exist.

The trouble right now is that we only have one, and that people are tired of it.

The Power of Noticing

But this film (and the series it will, all being well, lead to) is about more than the specific argument it presents. Above all it’s about a way of seeing the world around us, a way of noticing and thinking.

“How you do anything is how you do everything.” That is probably true, and it also applies to whole societies, not just individuals; a single doorbell implies everything else about the whole socio-economic and political system that gave rise to its creation.

And, beyond being merely “useful”, the ability to notice details makes the world a richer place to live in, and life a richer thing to lead. This is what the film is about, more than anything: the power and joy of noticing.

A Bigger Project

This short film is just the beginning. We want to make a full series about the history of art and architecture, both for their own sake and also to see what we can learn about life in the twenty-first century and how to improve it. To keep updated you can join our email list over at our website, linked in the reply below.

Final Words

You can watch the film here on X, or over on YouTube, also linked in the reply below.

So… this is where the dream begins, the dream of a new series and the dream of a more charming, more interesting, more meaningful modern world.

Spread the word.

[Carter Fogarty @carterfogarty24]

@FormerRedbirds Kinda wish I was on Facebook. Cardinals are the first team in mlb history too have the worst team ever two years in a row but still be above .500. That’s what I’ve learned from X

[Ryan D @ryand_15]

@joshjaco98 He essentially demanded a trade, he’s also a bullpen guy this year.. way to stir up the fanbase even more with a click bait article!

[Dealin' the Cards @DealinTheCards]

Cardinals attendance is at an all-time low and @SandyMac718 is not happy about it. Can the Cardinals win their fans back by capitalizing on a strong start to the 2025 season? #STLCards

Full episode: https://t.co/lHvCRISo5Z

[MLB @MLB]

Happy 45th birthday to Albert Pujols!

Remember when Pujols became the oldest player with 7 home runs in a 10-game span?

Repost and like for a chance to win this autographed card celebrating that milestone.

[FanDuel Sports Network Midwest @FanDuelSN_MW]

MVP. Silver Slugger. Gold Glove winner. All-Star. All-around good guy.

All the best to Goldy, who is headed to the Bronx per multiple reports after six seasons in STL. #STLCards

[MLB @MLB]

Taking home the NL Rookie of the Year Award calls for a card giveaway!

Repost for a chance to win this Paul Skenes @Topps Relic Card.

[MLB @MLB]

BASEBALL HISTORY HAS A NEW CHAPTER 📖

SHOHEI OHTANI IS THE FOUNDER OF THE 50/50 CLUB!

[Ryan D @ryand_15]

@BRWalkoff Robo umpires would ruin the game.

[Ryan D @ryand_15]

#STLCards

[FOX Sports: MLB @MLBONFOX]

BASEBALL IS BACK!!!

[St. Louis Cardinals @Cardinals]

We're opening 𝙍𝙀𝘿 𝙁𝙍𝙄𝘿𝘼𝙔 by giving away a 10 Game Opening Day Pack!

RT this tweet for your chance to win!

[Ryan D @ryand_15]

@Padres

[Ryan D @ryand_15]

Zack Snyder deserves more credit

[Quinn @QuinnSTLCards]

The Cardinals graphic design department has made some great strides in the past 3 years

[Boston Celtics @celtics]

1 RT = 2 votes

@jaytatum0 #NBAAllStar

[MLB @MLB]

RT if you’ve ever caught a ⚾️ at a ballgame.

[Ryan D @ryand_15]

@neiltyson We’ll get there some day!