Is Paris Burning?

[DCI Harry Batt]

Like one of those canopy-walk rope bridges between the bell towers, or a zipline running the length of the nave?

Those wouldn't be my choices, but really anything is better than the tedious "let's remake it exactly as it was at the time it burned".

[Patrick Thistle]

anything is better than the tedious "let's remake it exactly as it was at the time it burned".

Making it out of fireproof materials might be a good idea, for example.

[Bruno]

I think they should form medieval guilds and do everything old school by hand.

[ursus arctos]

Given the controversy over the Viollet le Duc additions, there will certainly be a long debate, but I'm quite afraid that the outcome TonTon fears will win out. Indeed those exact words have already been used by some officials.

That said, even if they try very hard to replicate things exactly, they simply will not be able to find 700 year old oak of the requisite size.

[Bruno]

The report linked there confirms that the damage to the organ is from water used to fight the fire rather than the fire itself (and suggests that the damage may be less than "severe")

No, water can really fuck up a pipe organ.

[ursus arctos]

Of course it can, but I was referring to the characterisation of the damage in the French original report.

[Bruno]

I'm saying the chances of a water-soaked pipe organ being "severely" damaged are high rather than low, but I could be wrong.

[ursus arctos]

It also may not have been "soaked". Neither of us knows.

[Bruno]

It may not have been soaked, but it doesn't actually take much water to necessitate expensive repairs.

[WOM]

Those wouldn't be my choices, but really anything is better than the tedious "let's remake it exactly as it was at the time it burned".

What do you find tedious about a faithful restoration?

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

Several billionaires are lining up to be seen to be among the philanthropists who ensure the cathedral gets rebuilt. One's pledged £100m. A cynic like me would suggest if these bastards paid tax on their accumulated wealth in the first place the French state would have more than enough money to do it themselves.

[Bruno]

I see no major ethical difference between the replica approach and the redesign approach. If you're determined to have a big fancy church, either approach would have interesting challenges and the results could look good. There are a million ways to fuck up either way.

[ad hoc]

I like the Coventry approach, but that symbolises the circumstances of the cathedral's destruction, and is therefore a monument to the horrors of war. If they did that here it would be a monument to the poor bloke who dropped his Gauloise through the slats.

[ursus arctos]

I would be remiss not to also acknowledge that what constitutes "severe damage" will be very different to an organist or one with great appreciation of their art than it will be to a preservationist or art historian.

I'm afraid that the chances that it will sound the same to a trained ear after all the work is done are very, very small.

[G-Man]

Those wouldn't be my choices, but really anything is better than the tedious "let's remake it exactly as it was at the time it burned".

Do you apply that logic to football clubs as well?

[WOM]

Hoo-ah...

[Bruno]

the poor bloke who dropped his Gauloise through the slats.

He should definitely get a gargoyle.

[Nefertiti2]

Shame they didn't offer before the fire.

[ad hoc]

I work for a charity which has just lost its major funder. All we need is about 30,000 Euros a year to help tonnes of kids. So, it does stick in the craw a bit to see the amounts of money being thrown at Notre Dame. I mean I do get it, but still...

[Sporting]

No doubt the homeless of Paris could do with some decent accommodation, too.

[ursus arctos]

ad hoc, is that the one I think it is?

[ad hoc]

ad hoc, is that the one I think it is?

Yeah, things were going really well, but surprisingly the person who was essentially funding the day to day administration of the charity pulled out without warning, which has been a real blow. We can still carry on, but the guy who did all the work now needs to find a job and as a result things will have to get pared back significantly until we can come up with something more sustainable. Mostly now trying to get people to sign up for standing orders so that we have a regular source of cash, as opposed to occasional donations.

[ursus arctos]

Check your DMs later today

[ursus arctos]

A cynic like me would suggest if these bastards paid tax on their accumulated wealth in the first place the French state would have more than enough money to do it themselves.

This is a truth of general application, but particularly apt in this case.

The Arnaults and Pinaults were among the handful of French taxpayers who have benefited the most personally from Macron's tax "reforms" and I would bet my house that their very public contributions are not a coincidence, especially as the tragedy has already amplified calls to reverse one of the measures most favourable to them.

[Levin]

https://twitter.com/AnandWrites/status/1118176071445303296