Our betters

Know that at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, a professor has been suspended and is under investigation because she mentioned Palestine in a class assignment. No, really, that's what it's about.

It's also not the first time the SAIC has brought down the hammer on that particular topic. They did some shutting down just back in April.

We're also at a point where war-wary combat veteran Graham Platner has become the presumptive nominee for US Senator in Maine, and both parties are ratfucking his campaign to death. Well, trying to, anyway.

I remember in the 2000s being told that real Americans were all for kicking ass in the Mideast, and only subversives and hipsters were concerned about Arab lives at all. Even then, that was a crass generalization. Still, more recent turns of events have been weird. The broad American populace is now markedly dovish on things like Israel and Iran. And the institutions? Don't care at all. They're backing the neocons all the way, often at the expense of things like free speech.

Something garish

Like I was hoping, I managed to get to sleep the last couple of nights without taking any cough medication. It looks pretty good for tonight, as well. 

There's a reason I prefer this. Besides the taste, which is never particularly good and often wince-inducing. The other thing is that it seems to make my dreams more violent. For instance I dreamed about walking through a door and knowing without looking that the guy who was walking behind me didn't have his head anymore. 

Some of this can be useful for a self-styled creative type, especially if you deal with somewhat dark subject matter. But every night? Nah, take it down a notch.

snap-snap

 

If you asked me who my favorite black comedy cartoonist is, I'd have to say Gahan Wilson. But I have to admit that Charles Addams was a true pioneer in that area. And a very funny one.

One thing I hadn't know is that he lived and created up until 1988. Some of his works―largely single panels and covers for The New Yorker―came while I was in high school. Changes your perspective. 

It's also kind of funny that he looked an odd bit like Gomez Addams but with a bigger wardrobe.

Picturesque

Portmeirion is a colorful Gwynedd village, as seen on TV. It is, of course The Village featured in Patrick McGoohan's The Prisoner. Its Mediterranean flourishes and children's book elan made it both quaint and otherworldly. Later on, Doctor Who would also film there, in a serial called "The Masque of Mandragora" and actually set in Renaissance Italy.

But while these pieces of iconic British telly probably made Portmeirion more famous than it otherwise would have been, it always would have had a reputation. It looks like nowhere else. 

Its big moment in the sun came when it was only a few decades old. The village was the passion project of Sir Clough Williams-Ellis, a very accomplished Welsh architect. The whole thing must have been a peak experience for him.

Is this your card?

A few minutes ago I took an online test using virtual Zener cards. A brief test, I only opted for five deals. I got three right. What does this mean? No idea. It's probably about average, maybe a little above, but not a statistical slam dunk. I certainly don't credit myself with great powers of remote viewing.

But the story of the cards is interesting. Most of us probably learned about them from Ghostbusters, where Bill Murray uses them as a pretext to reward an attractive female test subject and punish another subject who doesn't meet that description. Dr. J. B. Rhine, who had the idea for the tests, was a curious man, and inspired by a talk from Arthur Conan Doyle. He had a hot streak and then things started going cold for him.

There are more things in Heaven and Earth than are dreamt of in our philosophy. This includes weird science stuff and more spiritual matters. We'll never know everything, but we can always learn.

Respite

While out walking today I saw a flier taped to a pole. It announced a new club, a "no phones" club as it happened. Not that you're not allowed to own one. Just that you don't bring it to this particular place. Aptly enough the flier appeared to have been written out by hand.

I wonder how much of this is going on. Sure, people as a rule seem to like having everything at their fingertips. But the human mind and the human being weren't intended to be in the middle of an electronic communications grid 24/7. It makes sense that some feel a need to get away, if only temporarily.

You mean you can't take less

You might expect to see a major sculpture based on Alice in Wonderland in London. The idea seems even more native to Oxford, where Charles Lutwidge Dodgson actually taught. Offhand it might sound a little random in the context of New York City. But of course, there it is, smack in the midst of Central Park. And it must be said that it complements the Big Apple. Manhattan is a serious place and can be more than a little nerve-wracking. Having a place where kids can play on a giant rabbit is a healthy outlet.