expurgation

The US Federal Communications Commission released thirteen pages of public complaints on comedian Michelle Wolfe’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner performance.
Ironically, the majority of the objections focus on obscenities and profanities that the dotard Trump himself forced uncomfortably into the public sphere and lowered standards all around by his own words and actions. Furthermore, it looks like those getting grumbly couldn’t be bothered to switch stations—thirteen pages seeming rather measly compared to the furore ignited on social media.

lawful evil, neutral evil, chaotic evil

We’ve seen quite enough of this narcissistic jerk and given him enough free airtime to last several lifetimes, but it was nonetheless interesting to learn about the portrait painter Ralph Wolfe Cowan, who found his niche in as a vanity artist of the 1980s, specialising in pandering to the egos of the likes of the reality show star aspiring to dictatorship pictured, actual dictators and their trophy wives, several musicians, sultans, popes and royals. It’s strange to ponder Cowan’s various subjects sitting for him and to consider how they’re connected—ever so tenuously by this cult of personality that individually they’d probably would not want to share in and could not stand the each other’s company since the would all magnify the worst within them.

thank you for visiting arkham sanitarium

Via The Art of Darkness, we were delighted to discover a growing, carefully curated catalogue of charms and talisman that will be no match Cthulhu (previously) and the other dread elder gods return. Alas, not even this jean bag chair, despite being Shub-Niggurath-like in appearance, can save you from the horror to come.

this is

Profiled in The Atlantic, we appreciated Deborah Cohen’s introducing us to Czech illustrator Miroslav Šašek and his hopeful, happy picture book series that was targeted to a young readership to help them comprehend a post-war world that while polarised not so defined by nationhood.
This is Paris or London or Rome and many other editions, Šašek believed might prompt the next generation to imagine and understand a world not defined by brinksmanship and competition but cooperation and commonality. His message and distinctive Mid-Century Modern style is resonant with contemporary audiences and many of his books were re-released in the early Aughts.

janelas

We enjoyed exploring the distinguishing architectural conceit that become variations on a theme by browsing the photography of André Vicente Gonçalves’ Windows of the World collection. Much of his portfolio centres on the vibrant styles to be found in his native Portugal, like the pictured collage from Praia da Vitóia on the Azores, but Gonçalves’ beat covers much of Europe and a few localities in Asia with equally distinctive designs.

ma bell

The congressman who represents California’s Silicon Valley wants to summon a telecommunications behemoth to testify before the legislature to account for over a half a million dollars in payments made to the consulting firm, shell company that Trump’s lawyer and ambulance-chaser Michael Cohen established in order to pay hush money to keep secret a tryst between Trump and porn star Stormy Daniels.
The payments from AT&T only came to light in the wake of the attempt to silence Ms Daniels and although AT&T claims it only secured the services of Mr Cohen to gain insights into the inner workings of the administration, it’s intimated that the company was buying influence with the Federal Communications Commission to persuade them to repeal regulations that helped enshrine the principles of net neutrality and anti-trust laws that might be roadblocks to company acquiring a media monopoly.

administratively embargoed

The newly-minted ambassador, officially credentialed and assuming the role just hours prior to Trump’s announcement to withdraw from the Iranian nuclear deal, to the US mission in Berlin sent out his first missive, suggesting that “German companies doing business in Iran should wind down operations immediately.”
It seems like everyone in that crooked cadre does not see words as a mode of communication to be exchanged, but rather as projectiles to fire out demands. Though Trump did not have the nerve (happily) to careen the world economy into chaos with a full-fledged trade war with his promised tariffs on steel exports but a trade war may yet materialise over this threat, given that America reserves the right to impose secondary sanctions on businesses that have dealings with Iran, in any capacity and any company sizable enough to do business with Iran would most likely have an American presence to subject to punishment. Though the US withdrawal from the deal, which was one of Trump’s campaign promises, was not surprising—the extent of punitive second- and third-degree repercussions is, determined to drive a wedge between the US and Europe that will result in greater consensus among those still party to the agreement (were it a treaty, Trump could not withdraw unilaterally): the EU, China and Russia.